Miniatures paintings as the name suggests are beautiful handmade paintings, which are quite colorful but small in size. The intricate and delicate brushwork, forms the highlight of these paintings and gives them a unique identity. The colors are handmade, from minerals, vegetables, precious stones, indigo, conch shells, pure gold and silver. In India the most common themes of the Miniature painting comprised of the Ragas i.e., the musical codes of Indian classical music. There were a number of miniature schools in the country, including those of Mughals, Rajputs and the Deccan.

The evolution of Indian Miniatures paintings started in the Western Himalayas, around the 17th century. These paintings were highly influenced by the mural paintings that originated during the later half of the 18th century. During the time of the Mughals, Muslim kings of the Deccan and Malwa as well as the Hindu Rajas of Rajasthan, this art flourished to quite an extent. Infact, the Mughals were responsible for introducing Persian tradition in the Miniature paintings of India. The credit for western influence can be ascribed to the Muslim kings. Although The earliest examples of miniature painting in India exist in the form of illustrations to the religious texts on Buddhism executed under the Palas of the eastern India and the Jain texts executed in western India during the 11th-12th centuries A.D.