In practical terms, the application of the Christian framework to understand what constituted ‘the Hindoo religion’ translated to its ‘essentials’ being distilled. This had the following two consequences that are of patent relevance to contemporary debates surrounding Hinduism, both in society as well as in judicial treatment: 1. The Essential Religious Practices (ERP) test, as applied by the Indian Supreme Court in matters involving protection of religious practices and institutions under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, may be traced to the Christian colonial distinction between
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