1.
Hinduism by country
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Hinduism has over 1.09 billion adherents worldwide with about 95% living in India. Along with Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, Hinduism is one of the four major religions of the world by percentage of population, most Hindus are found in Asian countries. Hinduism is a religion and consists of many schools of thought. Estimates of Hinduism by country reflects this diversity of thought and way of life, demographic estimates of Hindu population by country has been published by the Pew Research Center in 2012, as well as US State Departments International Religious Freedom Report 2006. By total number, India has the most Hindus, by percentage, Nepal has the largest majority of Hindu population in the world followed by India and Mauritius. There are an estimated 60 to 70 million Hindus who lived outside India in 2010, only three countries in the world, in 2010, had a majority of its population as Hindus - Nepal, India and Mauritius. Guyana, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname have large Hindu minorities, sources used for the table below include the US State Department, the CIA World Factbook adherents. com, Pew Research Center. These percentages were calculated by using the above numbers, the first percentage, 4th column, is the percentage of population that is Hindu in a region. The last column shows the Hindu percentage compared to the total Hindu population of the world
2.
Hinduism in Kenya
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The influence of Hinduism in Kenya began in early 1st millennium AD when there was trade between East Africa and Indian subcontinent. Archaeological evidence of small Hindu settlements have been mainly in Zanzibar and coastal parts of Kenya, Swahili coast, Zimbabwe. Many words in Swahili language have their roots in Indian languages associated with Hinduism. Pew Research Center estimates there were 60,000 Hindus in Kenya in 2010, other estimates place the number higher. There were over 200,000 Hindus in Kenya, before it gained independence from British colonial rule in 1963, during political conflicts that followed, many Hindus emigrated from Kenya to Europe and other commonwealth nations. The Hindu temples in Kenya are mostly of north and west Indian architectural style, according to the 2009 Census, there are a total of 53,393 Hindus in Kenya. Hinduism in Kenya mainly comes from coastal trade routes between primarily between Gujarat, Marwar and Odisha in India and East Africa, the origin of the Kenyan Gujarati dates back to the late 1800s, when British colonialists brought laborers from India to build the Uganda–Kenya railway. Many of the laborers, rather than back to the Indian subcontinent, simply settled in Kenya. One percent of Kenyan population practiced Hinduism as reported by IRF and this is in contrast to 0. 14% reported in the Kenyan Census of 2009. Today, the Gujarati community in Kenya is estimated at over ninety thousand, despite varying degrees of acculturation, most have retained their strong Gujarati ties. Pushtimarg Vaishnav Sangh and Brahma Kumaris are also active in Kenya, there are approximately more than 40 Hindu Temples in Kenya. The Council is recognized by the Government, until a few years back, the Hindus were described in the voter’s register as Non-Muslims. Due to the efforts of the Council, they are now described as Hindus, the Council has been busy in preparing syllabus and books for Hindu religious education. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness also known as Gaudiya Vaishnavism or The Hare Krishna Movement has successfully established 4 Temples in Kenya till date. With all efforts and hard work, they preach the glories of Lord Sri Radha Krishna, love of godhead, also organize wonderful festivals such as Krishna Janmashtami, Radhastami, Rama Navami, Gaura-purnima, Narasimha Chaturdashi and many. The most famous is the Jagannath Ratha-Yatra also known as the Festival of Chariots which attracts over 5000 Kenyans to dance, Hare Krishna Food for Life is the worlds largest vegetarian non-profit food relief organization. Its efforts span the globe, with projects occupying over 108 countries, volunteers in Kenya provide up to 20,000 free meals daily. Food For Life does not only one form of hunger but reaches out to all in need, including
3.
Hinduism in Libya
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There are many Hindus in Arab states, many due to the migration of Indians and Nepalese workers to the oil-rich states around the Persian Gulf. Hindu temples have been built in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, millions of Indian diaspora, of different religions, reside and work in the Arab countries. It is not known whether any Hindu temples exist in these countries, Indian settlers came in Oman making settlements for practising Hinduism. Arab sailors were using the southwest monsoon winds to trade with western Indian ports before the first century CE, an Arab army conquered Sindh in 711 and Arab traders settled in Kerala in the 8th century. In the opposite direction, medieval Gujaratis and other Indians traded extensively with Arab and Somali ports, including Ormuz, Socotra, Mogadishu, Merca, Barawa, Hobyo and Aden. Arab merchants were the dominant carriers of Indian Ocean trade until the Portuguese forcibly supplanted them at the end of the 15th century, indo-Arabian links were renewed under the British Empire, when many Indians serving in the army or civil service were stationed in Arab lands such as Sudan. The current wave of Indian immigration to the Arab states of the Persian Gulf dates roughly to the 1960s, Hinduism is also one of the fastest growing religions in the Middle East. Mainly by immigration from the Indian Subcontinent, South Asians in the United Arab Emirates constitute the largest ethnic group in the country. Over 2 million Indian migrants are estimated to be living in the UAE, a majority of Indians live in the three largest cities of the UAE — Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. In the 2 million migrants,1 million are from Kerala and 450,000 from Tamil Nadu, by 1999, the population of Indian migrants in the UAE, which stood at 170,000 in 1975, was at 750,000. The estimated population of Indians in the UAE as of 2009 is near 2 million, Indians constitute 42% of the total UAE population. A majority of Indians in the UAE are from the South Indian state of Kerala, the majority of Indians are Muslim, followed by Christian and Hindu. Estimates suggest Hindu population in UAE to be anywhere from 6-10% There are three Hindu temples operating in rented buildings in Dubai, one of which is used by Sikhs as well. Sikhs and Hindus living in Abu Dhabi also practice their religion in private homes, There are two operating cremation facilities and associated cemeteries for the Hindu community, one in Abu Dhabi and one in Dubai. Oman has an immigrant Hindu minority, the number of Hindus has declined in the 20th century although it is now stable. Hinduism first came to Muscat in 1507 from Sindh, the original Hindus spoke Kutchi language. By early 19th century there were at least 4,000 Hindus in Oman, by 1900, there numbers had plummeted to 300. In 1895 the Hindu colony in Muscat came under attack by the Ibadhis, by the time of independence, only a few dozen Hindus remained in Oman
4.
Hinduism in Mauritius
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The migrants came primarily from what are now the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Bengal, Maharastra, and Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, India. This makes the Mauritius islands in the Indian Ocean as the country having highest percentage of Hindus in Africa and third highest percentage of Hindus in the world after Nepal and India. The European colonial powers banned slave capture and trading in the first half of the 19th century, however, the demand kept rising for low cost, high intensity labor in colonial plantations of sugarcane, cotton, tobacco and other cash crops. The British Empire substituted the slave labor supplies from Africa with indentured labor supplies from India, the indentured people brought from India included primarily Hindus, but also included Muslims and Christians. They were subject to indenture, a form of contract which bound them to forced labour for a fixed term, apart from the fixed term of servitude. The first ships carrying indentured labourers from India left in 1836, the Hindus, and non-Hindus, who accepted indentured labor contracts and were brought to Mauritius, faced difficult conditions in India. Poverty in colonial India, starvation, epidemics and severe periodic famines in British Raj were rampant during the colonial rule, millions of Indians died from mass starvation during the 19th-century British India. The extreme circumstances broke families, villages and triggered migrations, by the time Mauritius gained independence from the British Empire, a majority of its population were from Indian heritage. According to Patrick Eisenlohr, about 70% of Mauritius total population is of Indian origin and those who identify themselves as Hindus constitute about 48% of the total population, or about 69% of those of Indian origin. The major languages spoken by Hindus in Mauritius, at home and in commerce, are Creole, Bhojpuri, Tamil, the island nation carries many Bhojpuri-language television programs on Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation, the channel controlled the Mauritius government. Hindus in Mauritius that widely use Bhojpuri include the rural south, as per the 2011 Census, Hindus constituted for 48. 54% of the total population of Mauritius. Excluding the island of Rodrigues, Hindus were 50. 15% of the population, in the island of Rodrigues, Hindus are 0. 84% of the population. According to Oddvar Hollup and other scholars, Hindus that settled in Mauritius did not observe caste system, one of the biggest Hindu festivals on the island is Maha Shivaratri. During this annual Hindu celebration, which place in the months of February and March, four to nine days of ceremony. Other important Hindu festivals in Mauritius include, Thaipusam, honoring the South Indian god Muruga and it is particularly observed by Tamil Hindus. Ganesh Chaturthi, a festival occurring on a public holiday assigned to the extensive Marathi-speaking community, diwali, the Festival of Lights, also known as Deepawali. This Hindu festival is a public holiday in Mauritius. It is popular, cuts across ethnic barriers, with Mauritius Christians observing it as well, ugadi/Gudi Padwa, Hindu New Year Holi The Festival of Colors Makar Sankranti, a harvest festival The International Society for Krishna Consciousness maintains several temples in Mauritius
5.
Hinduism in Mozambique
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Mozambique has a historic Hindu community. Some of their ancestors came to Mozambique at least 500 years ago, predating their economic participation in Mozambique before the arrival of Vasco da Gama, they adapted during the Portuguese colonial rule. An exodus began during the wars between 1975-1990. After 1990 political and social reforms in Mozambique, the Hindu community along with the minority religions, have once again begun to become vibrant. There is a Hindu temple built in Mozambique, most of the Mozambican Hindus are Goans who migrated to Mozambique from Goa which was a Portuguese colony until 1961. Hindu traders thus arrived in Mozambique, and were settled in Ilha de Moçambique, before Vasco da Gamas maiden visit to Mozambique in 1499, however, since those early times, Hindus in Mozambique have always been a minority. Their property and bank accounts were confiscated, entire Hindu families placed in a concentration camp, in 1975 Mozambique gained its independence from Portugal, and shortly thereafter civil war broke out. During this period, thousands of local Hindus migrated to Europe, some to South Africa, since 1990 reforms in Mozambique led by Joaquim Chissano, an active Hindu community has once again flourished. The community is largely in commercial and trade operations, and have a Hindu community center in Maputo, small Hindu temples are present near residential areas of the community. The Mozambique Hindu community has reached out to form associations with Indian communities in Kerala, West Bengal, Goa. Pujya Swamiji and Pujya Bhaiji in Mozambique
6.
Hinduism in Seychelles
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Hinduism in the Seychelles is the second largest religion after Christianity, with more than 2. 4% of the population. The Hindu following in Seychelles has seen an increase in the community with the organization of the Seychelles Hindu Kovil Sangam, the increase in size and popularity of Hinduism caused the Government to declare Taippoosam Kavadi Festival a holiday. In 1901 there were 332 Hindu families out of a population of 19,237, there were over 2,150 Hindus in the Seychelles as of the 2010 Population and Housing Census, an increase of 500 from the 2002 census. The percentage of Hindus from the 2002 census to the 2010 census increased from 2.1 to 2. 4%. The ever-popular kavadi festival and special Hindu festivals are covered in Tamil, English in the media and there is a wide coverage of such events over national radio. The Arulmigu Navasakti Vinayagar Temple is the first and the only Hindu temple in Seychelles, has Ganesha as the presiding deity. Apart from the deity, icons of Murugan, Nadarajah, Durga, Sreenivasa Perumal, Bhairawa. Prayers are performed for the different deities on special occasions, Taippoosam Kavadi Festival, which started in 1993 in Seychelles in the inner courtyard of the temple, is now conducted in the outer courtyard and a chariot kavadi is also taken out in procession. This festival has gained popularity as a national festival so much so that as from 1998 the Government has declared it a holiday for Hindus, Hinduism in Africa Indian Community in Seychelles Tamil Hindus in Seychelles
7.
Hinduism in South Africa
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Hinduism is found in various provinces of South Africa, but primarily in KwaZulu-Natal. Approximately 1. 22% or 551,669 of the South African population professed to be Hindu and this is the largest concentration of Hindus in Africa after Mauritius. It is unclear when the first Hindus settled in parts of South Africa, many came from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and some from other states of India. Early Hindu settlements in South Africa suffered discrimination, abuse and persecution, Hindu Indians were among the people who were referred to as coolies, racially segregated as colored people, and their discrimination continued through the Apartheid era until 1994. The first Hindu temples were in operation in the 1870s, some South African local governments banned temple building and property ownership by Hindus in 1910s. Modern South Africa has many Hindu temples, and its Hindu community observes major festivals of Hinduism such as Deepavali, there is an ongoing controversy about the first arrival of Hindus in modern South Africa. One school of scholars state that Indians first arrived in modern South Africa during colonial era as indentured servants for the British Empire, the second school states Indians arrived between 500-900 AD about the same time as Islamic traders arrived. The third school states that Hindus very likely arrived by 1st millennium BC, a number of ancient Indian texts describe shipping and trade. Wilfred Schoffs work provides evidence of a chain of trading ports along east and west Indian coasts by 1st century BC. Hromnik states that the path was arrival in Mozambique, followed by a land route inland into gold mining areas belonging to Shona people in Zimbabwe to South Africa. Regardless of the era when Hindus first arrived in South Africa, their numbers were small, large numbers of Hindus began arriving into South Africa in the 19th century colonial era, mostly as indentured labor and some on their own as free immigrants. The available local labour became difficult to retain for low salary, harsh work, the British Empire invented and enforced an indentured labor system which essentially retained all elements of slavery. The new system, also called the system, was extensively used to bring Hindus to South Africa. The system enticed extremely poor people in India to sign a contract wherein they would be promised paid travel, any indentured laborer who left before the contract ended was considered a criminal and subject to a prison term. However, in late 1880s South Africa, new laws were passed that required that the newly freed indentured laborer pay a hefty tax, or sign a new indentured labor contract, about 25% of Hindus returned to India, once their first contract was over. But for most indentured Hindu laborers, they had lost all contact with their country of origin, chose to stay and it is this system that brought large number of Hindus into South Africa. The first ships carrying indentured Hindu labourers for plantations in British Empire left India in 1836, today, the Kwa-Zulu Natal province of South Africa has the largest Hindu population in Africa. In the early decades of the migrations, indentured Indians were treated as inhumanely as the enslaved Africans had been and they were confined to their estates and paid a pitiful salary
8.
Hinduism in Tanzania
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The earliest evidence of Hinduism in Tanzania is from the 1st millennium AD when there was trade between East Africa and Indian subcontinent. Most of these came from Gujarat, Deccan and Tamil Chola empire. Archaeological evidence of small Hindu settlements have found in Zanzibar and parts of Swahili coast, Zimbabwe. Pew Research Center estimates there were about 50,000 Hindus in Tanzania in 2010, a mention of ancient trade between Hindus of India and Africa is from the time of Nabonidus, when Babylon was one of the hubs of global trade. In ancient times, the Hindus would trade, never interfere in political system, small settlements of Hindus began in 1st century AD, mostly on islands east of Africa, along its coast and in few cases inland. Ancient Indian texts refer to Wanyamwezi, or the men of the moon - a term still in use to identify the Nyamwezi people in Tanzania. Every major explorer who visited eastern side of Africa has mentioned the presence of Hindu traders and merchants, in Zanzibar, Kilwa, Mombasa, Malindi, vasco da Gama won over and convinced one such Africa-settled Gujarati Hindu to help pilot his maiden voyage from Africa to India. The Hindus were known to be vegetarians and non-violent, never imposing their religion or culture in Africa. The first major change came to Tanzania with the arrival of Shia Islam, when Muslims and Omani Arabs began to compete with Indian Hindus, the second major change came with in 16th century with the arrival of colonial empires and Christianity. During the colonial era, after European officials, Hindus were the most economically successful ethnic group in Tanzania, when British colonial era ended, Indian Hindus became a targeted, persecuted group and many emigrated from Tanzania to Europe and India. One of the highest active volcanoes and mountain near Arusha, Tanzania is named Mount Meru after the mountain in Hindu mythology. Hinduism is a minority religion in Tanzania, practiced by some 30,000 people in the mainland, most practitioners are of Indo-Tanzanian ancestry. There were about 50,000 Hindus in Tanzania in 2010, among the various traditions within Hinduism, Swaminarayan from Gujarat is an active bhakti school of Hinduism in Tanzania and Kenya. It was well established by 1950, because of its social, cultural, Hindu temples have been established in Dar-es-Salaam, most of them located at the City Centre, the street name where the Hindu temples are located has been renamed to Pramukh Swami street. Swaminarayan temples have also built in cities other than Dar-es-Salaam, such as Zanzibar, Arusha. Other Hindu schools with presence in Tanzania include Yoga and Vedanta, followers of Brahma Kumari, Satya Sai Baba and Hare Krishna also have a presence amongst the Hindus in Tanzania. Dipawali and other Hindu festivals are observed by the Hindus of Tanzania, Tanzania has Hindu temples in several cities and a Hindu council to help organize social and cultural activities
9.
Hinduism in Uganda
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Hinduism in Uganda arrived when the colonial British Empire brought Hindus along with other Indian workers to its East African colonies in late 19th and early 20th centuries. The largest departure of Hindus from Uganda occurred when General Idi Amin expelled them, the British invited Indian laborers as local skilled labor was unavailable. At the peak of the projects in Uganda-Kenya,32,000 people were brought in from India. Nearly 2,500 workers died because of difficult and unsafe working conditions during these projects, after the project ended, nearly 70% of the workers returned to India, while some 6,000 were absorbed in railway and other British operations such as retail and administration. Those who remained included Hindus, Muslims, Jains and Sikhs, many from this ethnic group became financially successful. After colonialism ended, Hindus were discriminated against in East Africa including Uganda, the Hindus, along with Jains, Sikhs, Jews and other religious groups, were affected during this period of xenophobic targeting of Asians and Europeans by African leaders. When General Idi Amin came to power by overthrowing a government in Uganda, he adopted a policy of religious. Himself a Muslim, he announced that he had a dream, in 1972, he selectively expelled the Hindus along with other Asians from Uganda, and seized their properties. Most of those expelled were second or third generation Hindus, many with dual Ugandan, while he expelled Hindus and people of other religions with origins in India, Idi Amin did not expel Christians of British or French origins living in Uganda. According to Kim Knott, professor of Religious and Secular Studies at Lancaster University, there were 65,000 Hindus in Uganda in 1970, but all were expelled by Idi Amin. The expelled Hindus mass migrated to other countries during this period, particularly the United Kingdom, India, Canada, Uganda faced a shortage of skilled professionals such as doctors, bankers, nurses and teachers. It triggered a crisis and a collapse of businesses, including cement and sugar production. Twenty years after the Idi Amin expulsion, Uganda reversed its laws selectively targeting Hindus, Hindus are a tiny minority in the total Ugandan population of about 27 million. The official demographics lists Christians and Muslims separately, but includes Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, approximately 65% of the South Asians living in Uganda are Hindus. There is a Swaminarayan temple in Kampala, where Silence Rules, The Suppression of Dissent in Malawi
10.
Hinduism in Western Sahara
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There are many Hindus in Arab states, many due to the migration of Indians and Nepalese workers to the oil-rich states around the Persian Gulf. Hindu temples have been built in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, millions of Indian diaspora, of different religions, reside and work in the Arab countries. It is not known whether any Hindu temples exist in these countries, Indian settlers came in Oman making settlements for practising Hinduism. Arab sailors were using the southwest monsoon winds to trade with western Indian ports before the first century CE, an Arab army conquered Sindh in 711 and Arab traders settled in Kerala in the 8th century. In the opposite direction, medieval Gujaratis and other Indians traded extensively with Arab and Somali ports, including Ormuz, Socotra, Mogadishu, Merca, Barawa, Hobyo and Aden. Arab merchants were the dominant carriers of Indian Ocean trade until the Portuguese forcibly supplanted them at the end of the 15th century, indo-Arabian links were renewed under the British Empire, when many Indians serving in the army or civil service were stationed in Arab lands such as Sudan. The current wave of Indian immigration to the Arab states of the Persian Gulf dates roughly to the 1960s, Hinduism is also one of the fastest growing religions in the Middle East. Mainly by immigration from the Indian Subcontinent, South Asians in the United Arab Emirates constitute the largest ethnic group in the country. Over 2 million Indian migrants are estimated to be living in the UAE, a majority of Indians live in the three largest cities of the UAE — Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. In the 2 million migrants,1 million are from Kerala and 450,000 from Tamil Nadu, by 1999, the population of Indian migrants in the UAE, which stood at 170,000 in 1975, was at 750,000. The estimated population of Indians in the UAE as of 2009 is near 2 million, Indians constitute 42% of the total UAE population. A majority of Indians in the UAE are from the South Indian state of Kerala, the majority of Indians are Muslim, followed by Christian and Hindu. Estimates suggest Hindu population in UAE to be anywhere from 6-10% There are three Hindu temples operating in rented buildings in Dubai, one of which is used by Sikhs as well. Sikhs and Hindus living in Abu Dhabi also practice their religion in private homes, There are two operating cremation facilities and associated cemeteries for the Hindu community, one in Abu Dhabi and one in Dubai. Oman has an immigrant Hindu minority, the number of Hindus has declined in the 20th century although it is now stable. Hinduism first came to Muscat in 1507 from Sindh, the original Hindus spoke Kutchi language. By early 19th century there were at least 4,000 Hindus in Oman, by 1900, there numbers had plummeted to 300. In 1895 the Hindu colony in Muscat came under attack by the Ibadhis, by the time of independence, only a few dozen Hindus remained in Oman
11.
Hinduism in Afghanistan
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Hinduism in Afghanistan is practiced by a tiny minority of Afghans, believed to be about 1,000 individuals who live mostly in Kabul and other major cities of the country. Before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan, the Afghan people were multi-religious, the majority were followers of Hinduism and Buddhism. Most Hindu temples were destroyed or converted into mosques by the 11th century, at the same time, most historians maintain that Afghanistan was inhabited by ancient Arians tribes followed by the Achaemenid before the arrival of Alexander the Great and his Greek army in 330 BC. It became part of the Seleucid Empire after the departure of Alexander three years later, in 305 BCE, the Greeks gave up control of the territory south of the Hindu Kush to the Indian Maurya Empire as part of an alliance treaty. They stated that Buddhism was practiced in different parts between the Amu Darya in the north and the Indus River. However, they did not mention much about Hinduism although Song Yun did state that the Hephthalite rulers did not recognize Buddhism but preached pseudo gods, the Chinese monks were followers of Buddhism, it is possible that they had no interest in writing about other religions. In addition, traveling in the Afghanistan region was too risky due to warlords, before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan, the territory was a religious sediment of Zoroastrianism, Paganism, Buddhism, Hinduism and others. It was inhabited by peoples, including Persians, Khalaj, Turks. South of the Hindu Kush was ruled by the Zunbils, offspring of the southern-Hephthalite, the east was controlled by the Kabul Shahis. The Zunbil and Kabul Shahis were connected by culture with the rest of the Indian subcontinent, the Zunbil kings worshipped a sun god by the name of Zun from which they derived their name. Some contemporary historians wrongly assume that everyone who worshipped idols in South Asia were Hindus, for example, André Wink writes that the cult of Zun was primarily Hindu, not Buddhist or Zoroastrian. Not all idol worship is considered part of Hinduism, idol worship existed all over the world, including in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The General of the Arab army broke of a hand of the idol, the Kabul Shahi ruled north of the Zunbil territory, which included Kabulistan and Gandahara. The Arabs reached Kabul with the message of Islam but were not able to rule for long, the Kabul Shahis decided to build a giant wall around the city to prevent more Arab invasions, this wall is still visible today. Willem Vogelsang in his 2002 book writes, During the eighth and ninth centuries AD the eastern parts of modern Afghanistan were still in the hands of non-Muslim rulers. The Muslims tended to them as Indians, although many of the local rulers were apparently of Hunnic or Turkic descent. Yet, the Muslims were right in so far as the non Muslim population of Eastern Afghanistan was, most of them were either Hindus or Buddhists. In 870 AD the Saffarids from Zaranj conquered most of Afghanistan and it is reported that Muslims and non-Muslims still lived side by side before the arrival of the Ghaznavids in the 10th century
12.
Hinduism in Bangladesh
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Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in Bangladesh, covering about 8. 2% of the population, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics for 2011 Bangladesh census. In terms of population, Bangladesh is the third largest Hindu state in the world after India, according to other estimates, Hindus account for 12% of the total population. The vast majority of Hindus in Bangladesh are Bengali Hindus, the Goddess – usually venerated as Durga or Kali – is widely revered, often alongside her consort Shiva. The worship of Shiva has generally found adherents among the higher castes in Bangladesh, worship of Vishnu more explicitly cuts across caste lines by teaching the fundamental oneness of humankind in spirit. Vishnu worship in Bengal expresses the union of the male and female principles in a tradition of love and this form of Hindu belief and the Sufi tradition of Islam have influenced and interacted with each other in Bengal. Both were popular mystical movements emphasizing the relationship of religious leader. As in Bengali Islamic practice, worship of Vishnu frequently occurs in a devotional society. Both use the language of love to express communion with the divine. In both traditions, the Bengali language is the vehicle of a corpus of mystical literature of great beauty. In Bangladeshi Hinduism ritual bathing, vows, and pilgrimages to sacred rivers, mountains, an ordinary Hindu will worship at the shrines of Muslim pirs, without being concerned with the religion to which that place is supposed to be affiliated. Hindus revere many holy men and ascetics conspicuous for their bodily mortifications, some believe that they attain spiritual benefit merely by looking at a great holy man. Durga Puja, held in September–October, is the most important festival of Bangladeshi Hindus, thousands of pandals are set up in various cities, towns and villages to mark the festival. Other festivals are Kali Puja, Janmashtami, Holi, Saraswati Puja, Shivratri and Rathayatra, the principle of ahimsa is expressed in almost universally observed rules against eating beef. By no means are all Bangladeshi Hindus vegetarians, but abstinence from all kinds of meat is regarded as a higher virtue, brahmin or Upper-caste Bangladeshi Hindus, unlike their counterparts elsewhere in South Asia, ordinarily eat fish and chicken. This is similar to the Indian state of West Bengal which has a similar climate to that of Bangladesh, according to the 2001 census there are 11,379,000 Hindus in Bangladesh. However, some estimates show there are about 12 million Hindus in Bangladesh. In the capital city of Dhaka, Hindus are the second-largest religious community after the Muslims, the contributions of Hindus in arts, education, literature and sports are far in excess of their numerical strength. In politics, they have supported the liberal and secular ideology of the Awami League and other left wing parties such as Communist Party of Bangladesh
13.
Hinduism in Burma
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Hinduism in Myanmar is practised by about 840,000 people. Because a reliable census has not been taken in Burma since colonial times, estimates are approximate, most Hindus in Myanmar are Burmese Indians. Hinduism, along with Buddhism, arrived in Burma during ancient times, both names of the country are rooted in Hinduism, Burma is the British colonial officials phonetic equivalent for the first half of Brahma Desha the ancient name of the region. Brahma is part of Hindu trinity, a deity with four heads, the name Myanmar is regional language transliteration of Brahma, where b and m are interchangeable. Hinduism greatly influenced the court of Burmese kings in pre-colonial times. Likewise, the Burmese language adopted many words from Sanskrit and Pali, the British also felt that surrounding the European residential centre with Indian immigrants provided a buffer and a degree of security from tribal theft and raids. According to 1931 census, 55% of Rangoons population were Indian migrants, since the 1990s, the opening of Burma and its greater economic engagement has led to general improvement in the acceptance of Hindus and other minority religions in Myanmar. Aspects of Hinduism continue in Burma today, even in the majority Buddhist culture, for example, Thagyamin is worshipped whose origins are in the Hindu god Indra. Burmese literature has also been enriched by Hinduism, including the Burmese adaptation of the Ramayana, many of these ideas are part of thirty seven Nat or deities found in Burmese culture. In modern Myanmar, most Hindus are found in the centres of Yangon. Ancient Hindu temples are present in parts of Burma, such as the 11th century Nathlaung Kyaung Temple dedicated to Vishnu in Bagan
14.
Hinduism in Cambodia
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The civilisation of India influenced the languages, scripts, calendars, and artistic aspects of these peoples and nations. Indian scholars wrote about the Dwipantara or Jawa Dwipa Hindu kingdom in Java, Yawadvipa is mentioned in Indias earliest epic, the Ramayana. Sugriva, the chief of Ramas army dispatched his men to Yawadvipa and it was hence referred to in Indian by the Sanskrit name yāvaka dvīpa. Southeast Asia was frequented by traders from eastern India, particularly Kalinga, the Indianised Tarumanagara kingdom was established in West Java around 400s, produced among the earliest inscriptions in Indonesian history. There was a marked Buddhist influence starting about 425 in the region and these Southeast Asian seafaring peoples engaged in extensive trade with India and China. Which attracted the attention of the Mongols, Chinese and Japanese, as well as Islamic traders, some scholars have pointed out that the legends of Ikshvaku and Sumati may have their origin in the Southeast-Asian myth of the birth of humanity from a bitter gourd. The legend of Sumati, the wife of King Sagar, tells that she produced offspring with the aid of a bitter gourd. One notably Southeast Asian aspect of Tamil Hinduism is the festival of Thaipusam, in Thailand and Cambodia, Thai and Khmer people practised Hindu rituals and traditions along with their Buddhist faith, and Hindu gods such as Brahma are still widely revered. Similarly, Hinduism is also found among the Cham minority in Southern Vietnam and Cambodia, just like the Javanese, the resurgence of Hinduism in Indonesia is occurring in all parts of the country. Many recent converts to Hinduism had been members of the families of Sukarnos PNI and this return to the religion of Majapahit is a matter of nationalist pride. The new Hindu communities in Java tend to be concentrated around recently built temples or around archaeological sites which are being reclaimed as places of Hindu worship. An important new Hindu temple in eastern Java is Pura Mandaragiri Sumeru Agung, located on the slope of Mt. Semeru, Javas highest mountain. Another site is the new Pura Pucak Raung in East Java, an example of resurgence around major archaeological remains of ancient Hindu temple sites was observed in Trowulan near Mojokerto, the capital of the legendary Hindu empire Majapahit. A local Hindu movement is struggling to control of a newly excavated temple building which they wish to see restored as a site of active Hindu worship. The temple is to be dedicated to Gajah Mada, the man attributed with transforming the small Hindu kingdom of Majapahit into an empire. Although there has been a more pronounced history of resistance to Islamization in East Java, the current estimates of Hinduism in Indonesia range from 4 to 8 percent Hinduism in Burma is practised by about 840,000 people. Because a reliable census has not been taken in Burma since colonial times, estimates are approximate, most Hindus in Myanmar are Burmese Indians. Cambodia was first influenced by Hinduism during the beginning of the Kingdom of Funan, Hinduism was one of the Khmer Empires official religions
15.
Hinduism in China
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Hinduism is practiced by a minority of residents of China. The religion itself has a limited presence in modern mainland China. Hindu influences were absorbed in the country through the spread of Buddhism over its history. Practices originating in the Vedic tradition of ancient India such as yoga, a small community of Hindu immigrant workers exists in Hong Kong. Some examples of influence by Hinduism on ancient Chinese religion included the belief of six schools or six doctrines as well as use of Yoga, however, in China, Hinduism has never gained much popularity, unlike the beliefs of Buddhism and Confucianism. There were exceptions, such as in parts of Tibet, there was a small Hindu community in China, mostly situated in southeastern China. A late thirteenth-century bilingual Tamil and Chinese-language inscription has been associated with the remains of a Siva temple of Quanzhou. This was one of two south Indian-style Hindu temples that must have been built in the southeastern sector of the old port. The Four Heavenly Kings originated from the Lokapālas, hanuman is believed by some scholars to be a source for the Chinese mythological character Sun Wukong. The Yaksha originally from Hindu history, are a class of nature ghosts or demons, many legends and stories in Chinese folk religion, such as Nezha, have been traced to Hindu mythology, such as through the 10th century translations of Tianxizai. During this influence and synthesis of ideas, some terms were mapped into pre-existing concepts - raksasas as luocha, kamrup route through Myanmar into south Chinese province of Yunnan as well as other southwestern regions of modern China. This is attested by the discovery of linga and yoni in Jianchuan caves and Hindu idols, tsung-Ling route was the route that helped monks and travelers from China bring Buddhism into China, along with Buddhist texts, many ancient Hindu texts and ideas were also carried into China. These have been dated to be from 4th to 6th century AD, nepal route which brought ideas from tantric school of Nepalese Hinduism and Buddhism to Tibetan region. The Chinese texts from the 2nd through the 12th centuries AD suggest some 150 scholars focused on translating various Hindu Sanskrit texts into Chinese, vedas were referred to as ming-lun or zhi-lun. Ancient Chinese scholars also translated various other Samhitas and Shastras, some Sanskrit texts whose original and all translations have been lost in India, have been located in China - for example, Jin Qi Shi Lun is a surviving translation of Sankhya-Karika. Yijing translated few Harivamsa hymns meant for goddess Durga, but associated them with goddess Sarasvati, ancient Hindu Sanskrit inscriptions, a language typically not used to spread Buddhism in China, have also been found in Yunnan province. These inscriptions are at least from medieval era, however, it unclear how. Even so, the government is very suspicious of other religious activities
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Religion in East Timor
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The majority of the population of East Timor is Catholic, and the Catholic Church is the dominant religious institution. There are also small Protestant and Sunni Muslim communities, according to a 2005 World Bank report,98 percent of the population is Catholic,1 percent Protestant, and less than 1 percent Muslim. Most citizens also retain vestiges of animistic beliefs and practices. East Timorese animist belief systems did not fit with Indonesias constitutional monotheism, Portuguese clergy were replaced with Indonesian priests and Latin and Portuguese mass was replaced by Indonesian mass. Before the invasion, only 20 percent of East Timorese were Roman Catholics, with over 90 percent Catholic population, East Timor is currently one of the most densely Catholic countries in the world. The Indonesian military forces stationed in the country included a significant number of Protestants. Fewer than half of those congregations existed after September 1999, the Assemblies of God is the largest and most active of the Protestant denominations. The country had a significant Muslim population during the Indonesian occupation, there were also a few ethnic East Timorese converts to Islam, as well as a small number descended from Arab Muslims living in the country while it was under Portuguese authority. The latter group was integrated into society, but ethnic Malay Muslims at times were not. Only a small number of ethnic Malay Muslims remained, domestic and foreign missionary groups operated freely. The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice, societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice occur, but they are relatively infrequent. The Roman Catholic Church in East Timor is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, there are over 900,000 Catholics in East Timor, a legacy of its status as a former Portuguese colony. Since its independence from Indonesia, East Timor became only the second predominantly Catholic country in Asia - approximately 96% of the population is Roman Catholic, the country is divided into three dioceses, Dili, Maliana and Baucau, all of which are immediately subject to the Holy See. The Apostolic Nuncio to East Timor is concurrently the nuncio to Malaysia, the current nuncio is the US archbishop Joseph Salvador Marino, and the nunciature is located in Kuala Lumpur. In the early 16th century, Portuguese and Dutch traders made contact with East Timor, missionaries maintained a sporadic contact until 1642 when Portugal took over and maintained control until 1974, with a brief occupation by Japan during World War II. Pope John Paul II visited East Timor in October 1989, Pope John Paul II had spoken out against violence in East Timor, and called for both sides to show restraint, imploring the East Timorese to love and pray for their enemies. Retired bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo is a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize along with José Ramos-Horta in 1996 for their attempts to free East Timor from Indonesia and they have also endorsed the new Prime Minister in his efforts to promote national reconciliation. In June 2006 Catholic Relief Services received aid from the United States to help victims of months of unrest in the country, Islam is a minority religion in East Timor
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Hinduism in India
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The vast majority of Hindus in India belong to Shaivite and Vaishnavite denominations. India is one of the three countries in the world where Hinduism is the majority, the Vedic culture originated in India between 1800 BC and 500 BC. As a consequence, Hinduism, considered to be the successor of Vedic religion, has had a impact on Indias history, culture. The name India itself is derived from Greek Ἰνδία for Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, from Sanskrit Sindhu, another popular alternative name of India is Hindustān, meaning the land of Hindus. The Marathas of India have been famed in history as champions of Hinduism, religious leaders like Swami Vivekananda, Dayanand Saraswati, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Sri Aurobindo and political leaders like Gandhi called for reform and complete turnover of the social structuring. One example of reform is when the Hindu body began in 1915. This led to a launch of the shuddhi and sangathan on a scale in 1923. This is when one of the movements of reform began when the militant Muslim population poised to wipe out the Hindus. At this time, the Hindu population was the creation of urban, educated, thus, the sense of religious caste and community identity was far more widespread than ever. As northern India was becoming more colonial, the British image of masculinity was projected throughout the different Indian communities. Hinduism was in between what it once was and what others were trying to transform it to be, the new Hindu image was intended to portray a man who could add strength to the community. The Shuddhi and Sangathan programs were launched in 1923 by Arya Samaj and the Hindu Mahasabha, there were many fights between the Hindus and Muslims as well as abuse toward the Hindu women. These are some of the drivers of the Hindu campaign to reclaim the victims and protect the faithful. With this new system, the Muslims who were to be converted to Hindus would be put in the caste system as before with no way of moving up. This movement grew quickly for it emphasised the ideal of Hindu masculinity, through this campaign, the Hindu people were feared and respected and no longer seen as cowardly or helpless. Shuddhi and Sangathan represented the idea that masculinity was restored, and Hinduism would thrive with Shuddhi practices, although the Hindu males were gaining more power, they were also illustrating more negative male violence. In 1923, multiple Hindu-Muslim riots broke out to gain the province of India, after the riots broke out, Hindu organizations attained a new importance and conversions were then challenged in an organised manner. Tulsidas, Sant Kabeer Das, Raidas, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu etc. were pioneer of the movement for the social reformation
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Hinduism in Indonesia
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Hinduism in Indonesia is practised by 1. 7% of the total population, and by 83. 5% of the population in Bali as of the 2010 census. Hinduism is one of the six official religions of Indonesia, in 2010, there were an estimated total of over 4 million Hindus in Indonesia according to Indonesian census. The Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia disputed the methodology, and estimated 18 million Hindus lived in Indonesia in 2005. The natives of Indonesian Archipelago practiced indigenous animism and dynamism, beliefs common to the Austronesian people, native Indonesians venerated and revered ancestral spirit, they also believed that some spirits may inhabit certain places such as large trees, stones, forests, mountains, or any sacred place. This unseen spiritual entity that has supernatural power is identified by ancient Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese as hyang that can mean either divine or ancestral, in modern Indonesian, hyang tends to be associated with God. Hindu influences reached the Indonesian Archipelago as early as the first century, historical evidence is unclear about the diffusion process of cultural and spiritual ideas from India. Java legends refer to Saka-era, traced to 78 AD, stories from the Mahabharata Epic have been traced in Indonesian islands to the 1st century, however, the versions mirror those found in southeast Indian peninsular region. Indonesian islands adopted both Hindu and Buddhist ideas, fusing them with pre-existing native folk religion and Animist beliefs. In the 4th century, the kingdom of Kutai in East Kalimantan, Tarumanagara in West Java, excavations between 1950 and 2005, particularly at the Cibuaya and Batujaya sites, suggests that Tarumanagara revered deity Wisnu of Hinduism. Ancient Hindu kingdoms of Java built many temples, named rivers on the island as Gomati and Ganges. Hinduism along with Buddhism spread across the archipelago, numerous sastras and sutras of Hinduism were translated into the Javanese language, and expressed in art form. The Hindu-Buddhist ideas reached the peak of their influence in the 14th century, the last and largest among the Hindu-Buddhist Javanese empires, Majapahit, influenced the Indonesian archipelago. Sunni Muslim traders of the Shafii fiqh, as well as Sufi Muslim traders from India, Oman and Yemen brought Islam to Indonesia. The earliest known mention of a small Islamic community midst the Hindus of Indonesia is credited to Marco Polo, about 1297 AD, four diverse and contentious Islamic Sultanates emerged in north Sumatra, south Sumatra, west and central Java, and in southern Borneo. These Sultanates declared Islam as their religion and pursued war against each other as well as the Hindus. For example, Jizya was imposed on unbelievers of Islam in Sumatra, in some regions, Indonesian people continued their old beliefs and adopted a syncretic version of Islam. In other cases, Hindus and Buddhists left and concentrated as communities in islands that they could defend, Hindus of western Java, for example, moved to Bali and neighboring small islands. While this era of conflict and inter-Sultanate warfare was unfolding
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Hinduism in Japan
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Hinduism, unlike the closely related Buddhism, is a minority religion in Japan. Even so, Hinduism has played a significant role in Japanese culture. There is a small number of Hindus found throughout Japan. However, this rising Indian immigration ceased in the 1980s when competing cheap labor from third-world countries caused the industry to decline in Japan. Though Hinduism is a religion in Japan, it has still had a significant. This is mostly because many Buddhist beliefs and traditions spread to Japan from China via Korean peninsula in the 6th Century, one indication of this is the Japanese Seven Gods of Fortune, of which four originated as Hindu deities, Benzaitensama, Bishamon, Daikokuten, and Kichijōten. Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the 6th through 8th centuries, mainly via the Chinese translations of the Sutra of Golden Light and she is also mentioned in the Lotus Sutra. In Japan, the take the Buddhist form of the Four Heavenly Kings. The Hindu god of death, Yama, is known in his Buddhist form as Enma, garuda, the mount of Vishnu, is known as the Karura, an enormous, fire-breathing creature in Japan. It has the body of a human and the face or beak of an eagle, the Hindu Ganesha is displayed more than Buddha in a temple in Futako Tamagawa, Tokyo. Other examples of Hindu influence on Japan include the belief of six schools or six doctrines as well as use of Yoga, many of the facets of Hindu culture which have influenced Japan have also influenced Chinese culture. People have written books on the worship of Hindu gods in Japan, even today, it is claimed Japan encourages a deeper study of Hindu gods
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Hinduism in Kazakhstan
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Hindus in Kazakhstan are mainly of the ISKCON sect and by expatriate Hindus from India. The Indian community in Central Asia, which comprises Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, recently, the decision of the Kazakh government to raze the Hindu temple created a big controversy. The Indian community in Central Asia consists mainly of students, businessmen, workers, there is a respectable presence of managers, entrepreneurs and traders. Out of the diaspora of 2732,1127 persons are stationed in Kazakhstan. About 127 workers/managers are employed by Ispat International, a Soviet era steel plant which was taken over by the NRI businessman Shri L. N, the plant, now called Ispat Karmet under Indian management, is a major success story. Indians also play an important role in commercial activities and sectors such as pharmaceuticals. Besides Ispat Karmet, the following Indian companies have representatives in Kazakhstan – Ajanta Pharma Ltd, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Ranbaxy, Core, Lupin, IPCA, in addition, a project for setting up a mobile heating unit in Kazakhstan has been commissioned with ITEC funding. The Indian Cultural Centre in Almaty is active in projecting Indian culture, several Indian cultural festivals have been held in Kazakhstan. The Committee feels that the Indian community in Central Asia is bound to grow in view of its strategic and economic importance, the recommendations of the Committee would also apply, mutatis mutandis, to this region. Kazakhstan recognised Hare Krishna—a form of Hinduism—as an official religious movement in 2002 Worldwide Religious News, Hare Krishna community, has only two of their 10 currently registered communities – in Astana and in the commercial capital Almaty - more than 50 members. Thirty Hare Krishna families, most of them Kazakh citizens, lived in about 60 summer huts in Almaty, on April 25,2006, local officials went to the commune to evict the followers. Hare Krishna followers peacefully resisted and local authorities did not escalate the situation through force, the Hare Krishnas claimed that the local government targeted the commune because they were a nontraditional religious community. Independent religious observers, however, believed that the cases are motivated primarily by a financial interest in the land, human rights advocates and international observers brought the issue to the attention of national officials. At the end of the period, the Government had not evicted the residents from the commune. Hindu’s Problem in Kazakhstan Video of demolition International Religious Freedom Report 2006 Kazakhstan
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Hinduism in Southeast Asia
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The civilisation of India influenced the languages, scripts, calendars, and artistic aspects of these peoples and nations. Indian scholars wrote about the Dwipantara or Jawa Dwipa Hindu kingdom in Java, Yawadvipa is mentioned in Indias earliest epic, the Ramayana. Sugriva, the chief of Ramas army dispatched his men to Yawadvipa and it was hence referred to in Indian by the Sanskrit name yāvaka dvīpa. Southeast Asia was frequented by traders from eastern India, particularly Kalinga, the Indianised Tarumanagara kingdom was established in West Java around 400s, produced among the earliest inscriptions in Indonesian history. There was a marked Buddhist influence starting about 425 in the region and these Southeast Asian seafaring peoples engaged in extensive trade with India and China. Which attracted the attention of the Mongols, Chinese and Japanese, as well as Islamic traders, some scholars have pointed out that the legends of Ikshvaku and Sumati may have their origin in the Southeast-Asian myth of the birth of humanity from a bitter gourd. The legend of Sumati, the wife of King Sagar, tells that she produced offspring with the aid of a bitter gourd. One notably Southeast Asian aspect of Tamil Hinduism is the festival of Thaipusam, in Thailand and Cambodia, Thai and Khmer people practised Hindu rituals and traditions along with their Buddhist faith, and Hindu gods such as Brahma are still widely revered. Similarly, Hinduism is also found among the Cham minority in Southern Vietnam and Cambodia, just like the Javanese, the resurgence of Hinduism in Indonesia is occurring in all parts of the country. Many recent converts to Hinduism had been members of the families of Sukarnos PNI and this return to the religion of Majapahit is a matter of nationalist pride. The new Hindu communities in Java tend to be concentrated around recently built temples or around archaeological sites which are being reclaimed as places of Hindu worship. An important new Hindu temple in eastern Java is Pura Mandaragiri Sumeru Agung, located on the slope of Mt. Semeru, Javas highest mountain. Another site is the new Pura Pucak Raung in East Java, an example of resurgence around major archaeological remains of ancient Hindu temple sites was observed in Trowulan near Mojokerto, the capital of the legendary Hindu empire Majapahit. A local Hindu movement is struggling to control of a newly excavated temple building which they wish to see restored as a site of active Hindu worship. The temple is to be dedicated to Gajah Mada, the man attributed with transforming the small Hindu kingdom of Majapahit into an empire. Although there has been a more pronounced history of resistance to Islamization in East Java, the current estimates of Hinduism in Indonesia range from 4 to 8 percent Hinduism in Burma is practised by about 840,000 people. Because a reliable census has not been taken in Burma since colonial times, estimates are approximate, most Hindus in Myanmar are Burmese Indians. Cambodia was first influenced by Hinduism during the beginning of the Kingdom of Funan, Hinduism was one of the Khmer Empires official religions
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Hinduism in the Maldives
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There were certain Hindu traditions in ancient Maldives. Before conversion, the religion of Maldives was Vajrayana Buddhism which was influenced by Hinduism. There are archaeological remains from the 8th or 9th century CE portraying Hindu deities such as Shiva, Lakshmi, Maldivian folklore contains legends about the sage Vashishta, known locally as Oditan Kalēge, a mighty sorcerer. Oditan Kalēges wife is a woman called Dōgi Aihā who possesses a fiery temperament. Her name is derived from the Sanskrit word Yogini and it is not really known why the last Buddhist king of Maldives embraced Islam. The importance of the Arabs as traders in the Indian Ocean by the 12th century may explain why the last Buddhist king of Maldives took this decision. According to Merinid traveller Ibn Batuta, the responsible for this conversion was a Sunni Muslim visitor named Abu al Barakat hailing from Morocco. However, more reliable Maldivian tradition says that he was a Persian saint from Tabriz called Yusuf Shamsuddin and he is also referred to as Tabrizugefaanu. His venerated tomb now stands on the grounds of the Friday Mosque, or Hukuru miski, built in 1656, this is the oldest mosque in Maldives. Among the Maldivian folklore stories in which the spirit and sorcery theme are not essential and this story about two good-looking lovers is a much distorted Maldivian version of the Rāmāyana. Despite the apparent dissimilarities, the sequential structure linking the elements of the Maldivian story with the Indian epic is evident. This is hardly unexpected, for all South and Southeast Asian countries have local Rāmayāna variations, there are an estimated 9,000 non-resident Indians in the Maldives, according to the census figures computed in the year 2000. The Indian Diaspora in the Maldives is mainly composed of doctors, teachers, engineers, accountants, managers and they have helped the country in the development of its human resources in many sectors. There are also, in the Maldives, a number of Indian skilled and unskilled personnel, namely technicians, masons, tailors, plumbers. It is interesting to note there is only one Maldivian citizen of Indian origin in this country. There is a reason for this. Both historically and commercially, people from the southern coast of India, particularly from Kerala, had been in close, but these contacts did not metamorphose into a composite socio-cultural group, perhaps owing to the exclusive Islamic identity of the Maldives and its people. There are officially no Maldivian Hindus, for the religion is Sunni Islam
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Hinduism in Malaysia
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Hinduism is the fourth largest religion in Malaysia. About 1.78 million Malaysian residents are Hindus, according to 2010 Census of Malaysia, most Malaysian Hindus are settled in western parts of Peninsular Malaysia. The Malaysian state with highest percentage of population as Hindus, according to 2010 Census, is Negeri Sembilan, followed by Selangor, Perak. The state with least percentage of Hindu population is Sabah, Indians, along with other ethnic groups such as Chinese, began arriving in Malaysia in ancient and medieval era. In 2010, Malaysian Census reported there were 1.91 million citizens of Indian ethnic origin, about 1.64 million of Indian ethnic group Malaysians are Hindus. About 0.14 million non-Indian ethnic group Malaysian people also profess being Hindus, Malaysia gained its independence from British colonial empire in 1957, thereafter declared its official state religion as Islam, and adopted a constitution that is mixed. On one hand, it protects freedom of religion, but on the other hand Malaysian constitution also restricts religious freedom. In recent decades, there have been increasing reports of persecution of Hindus, along with other minority religions, by various state governments of Malaysia. Hindu temples built on property, and built long before Malaysian independence, have been demolished by Malaysian government officials in recent years. Similar to the Indonesian Archipelago, the native Malays practised an indigenous animism and dynamism beliefs before the arrival of Buddhism, Hinduism and it is unclear when the first Indian voyages across the bay of Bengal occurred. Conservative estimates place the earliest arrivals to Malay shores at least 1,700 years ago, the growth of trade with India brought coastal people in much of the Malay world into contact with Hinduism. Thus, Hinduism, Indian cultural traditions and the Sanskrit language began to spread across the land, temples were built in the Indian style and local kings began referring to themselves as Raja and more desirable aspects of Indian government were adopted. Subsequently, small Hindu Malay states started to appear in the areas of Malay peninsular notably the Gangga Negara, Langkasuka. Colonial era Many Indian settlers came to Malaya from South India during the British colonial rule from early 19th through mid 20th century, Some English-educated Indians were appointed to more professional positions. Most were hired through British colonial labor offices in Nagapattinam or Madras, in early years, the retention rates of Hindus in Malaysia were low and with time, fewer Hindus volunteered to live in Malaysia. The family and friends peer pressure reduced labor turnover and increased permanent migration into Malaysia, the kangani system led to vast majority of Hindus coming from certain parts of South Indian Hindu community. A minority of Indian immigrants to Malaysia during this period came from Northern India, the Malaysian Hindu workers during the British era were among the most marginalised. They were forced to live in closed societies in frontier zones
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Hinduism in Nepal
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Hinduism is the major religion of Nepal. In the 2011 census, approximately 81, the national calendar of Nepal, Vikram Samvat, is a solar Hindu calendar essentially the same to that widespread in North India as a religious calendar, and is based on Hindu units of time. The geographical distribution of religious groups revealed a preponderance of Hindus, among Tibeto-Burman-speaking communities in Nepal, those most influenced by Hinduism are the Magars, Sunwar, and Rai peoples. He performed religious ceremonies at Teku, the confluence of the Bagmati and Bishnumati rivers, according to legend he selected a pious cowherd to be the first of the many kings of the Gopala Dynasty. These rulers are said to have ruled Nepal for over 500 years and he selected Bhuktaman to be the first king in the line of the Gopal Dynasty. The Silncan Gopal dynasty ruled for 621 years, yakshya Gupta was the last king of this dynasty. According to Skanda Purana, a rishi called Ne or Nemuni used to live in Himalaya, in the Pashupati Purana, he is mentioned as a saint and a protector. He is said to have practiced penance at the Bagmati and Kesavati rivers, the pennant is an important Hindu flag that is help atop Hindu temples. It is believed that Lord Vishnu had organized the Nepali people and given them their flag, with the sun and moon as emblems on it. In a Hindu Purana, it is written that it was Lord Shiva who handed the flag to Lord Vishnu, many of the people regarded as Hindus in the 1981 census could also in some senses be called Buddhists. Hindus long have worshipped at Buddhist temples and Buddhists at Hindu temples, there are many temples where both Hindus and Buddhists can enter and worship. The figures are based on the Census 2011 of Nepal, NEG denotes newly listed ethnic group, for which 2001 census figures are not available. As seen from the 2001 and 2011 Census data, the percentage of Hindus have went up by 0. 72%, however, the overall trend remains largely negative. All the major racial group except the Sino/Tibetans showed a decline in the percentage of Hindus, among the Sino/Tibetans, the percentage of Hindus went up by 2. 37%, from 49. 74% to 52. 11%. Janakpur 99. 95% This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http, //lcweb2. loc. gov/frd/cs/
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Hinduism in Oman
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There are many Hindus in Arab states, many due to the migration of Indians and Nepalese workers to the oil-rich states around the Persian Gulf. Hindu temples have been built in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, millions of Indian diaspora, of different religions, reside and work in the Arab countries. It is not known whether any Hindu temples exist in these countries, Indian settlers came in Oman making settlements for practising Hinduism. Arab sailors were using the southwest monsoon winds to trade with western Indian ports before the first century CE, an Arab army conquered Sindh in 711 and Arab traders settled in Kerala in the 8th century. In the opposite direction, medieval Gujaratis and other Indians traded extensively with Arab and Somali ports, including Ormuz, Socotra, Mogadishu, Merca, Barawa, Hobyo and Aden. Arab merchants were the dominant carriers of Indian Ocean trade until the Portuguese forcibly supplanted them at the end of the 15th century, indo-Arabian links were renewed under the British Empire, when many Indians serving in the army or civil service were stationed in Arab lands such as Sudan. The current wave of Indian immigration to the Arab states of the Persian Gulf dates roughly to the 1960s, Hinduism is also one of the fastest growing religions in the Middle East. Mainly by immigration from the Indian Subcontinent, South Asians in the United Arab Emirates constitute the largest ethnic group in the country. Over 2 million Indian migrants are estimated to be living in the UAE, a majority of Indians live in the three largest cities of the UAE — Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. In the 2 million migrants,1 million are from Kerala and 450,000 from Tamil Nadu, by 1999, the population of Indian migrants in the UAE, which stood at 170,000 in 1975, was at 750,000. The estimated population of Indians in the UAE as of 2009 is near 2 million, Indians constitute 42% of the total UAE population. A majority of Indians in the UAE are from the South Indian state of Kerala, the majority of Indians are Muslim, followed by Christian and Hindu. Estimates suggest Hindu population in UAE to be anywhere from 6-10% There are three Hindu temples operating in rented buildings in Dubai, one of which is used by Sikhs as well. Sikhs and Hindus living in Abu Dhabi also practice their religion in private homes, There are two operating cremation facilities and associated cemeteries for the Hindu community, one in Abu Dhabi and one in Dubai. Oman has an immigrant Hindu minority, the number of Hindus has declined in the 20th century although it is now stable. Hinduism first came to Muscat in 1507 from Sindh, the original Hindus spoke Kutchi language. By early 19th century there were at least 4,000 Hindus in Oman, by 1900, there numbers had plummeted to 300. In 1895 the Hindu colony in Muscat came under attack by the Ibadhis, by the time of independence, only a few dozen Hindus remained in Oman
