1.
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
2.
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
3.
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
4.
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
5.
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
6.
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
7.
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
8.
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
9.
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/
10.
Hinduism in Pakistan
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Pakistani Hindus are Hindus of full or partial Pakistani descent, constituting approximately 2% of Pakistans population. Hinduism is the second largest religion in Pakistan after Islam, according to the 1998 Census, as of 2010, Pakistan had the fifth largest Hindu population in the world and PEW predicts that by 2050 Pakistan will have the fourth largest Hindu population in the world. After Pakistan gained independence from Britain on 14 August 1947,4.7 million of West Pakistans Hindus, in the 1998 Census the Hindu population was found to be 2,111,271 while the Hindu numbered an additional 332,343. Hindus are found in all provinces of Pakistan but are concentrated in Sindh. They speak a variety of such as Sindhi, Seraiki, Aer, Dhatki, Gera, Goaria, Gurgula, Jandavra, Kabutra, Koli, Loarki, Marwari, Sansi, Vaghri. The Rig Veda, the oldest Hindu text, was believed to have composed in the Punjab region of modern-day Pakistan on the banks of the Indus River around 1500 BCE. The religious beliefs and folklore of the Indus valley people have become a part of the Hindu faith that evolved in this part of the South Asia. The Sindh kingdom and its rulers play an important role in the Indian epic story of the Mahabharata. In addition, there is the legend that the Pakistani city of Lahore was first founded by Lava, while Kasur was founded by his twin Kusha, both of whom were the sons of Rama of the Ramayana. The Gandhara kingdom of the northwest, and the legendary Gandhara peoples, are also a part of Hindu literature such as the Ramayana. Most Pakistani city names can be traced back to Sanskrit roots, after Pakistan gained independence from Britain on 14 August 1947,4.7 million of the countrys Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India, while 6.5 million Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan. The 1998 census of Pakistan recorded less than 2.5 million Hindus, the overwhelming majority of Hindus in Pakistan are concentrated in Sindh province. In 1951, Hindus constituted 12. 9% of the Pakistani population, in the 1951 census, West Pakistan had 1. 6% Hindu population, while East Pakistan had 22. 05%. By 1997, the percentage of Hindus remained stable at 1. 6% in Pakistan, according to the 1998 Pakistan Census, caste Hindus constitute about 1.6 percent of the total population of Pakistan and about 6. 6% in the Sindh province. The Pakistan Census separates Schedule Castes from the body of Hindus who make up a further 0. 25% of the national population. Based on the 1998 Census as well as stabilization of Pakistans Hindu population since then, Pakistan would, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan, there are 1.49 million Hindu voters in the country. They are mostly concentrated in Sindh where their number comes to over 1.39 million, at the time of Pakistans creation the hostage theory had been espoused. According to this theory the Hindu minority in Pakistan was to be given a deal in Pakistan in order to ensure the protection of the Muslim minority in India
11.
Hinduism in Singapore
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Hindu religion and culture in Singapore can be traced back to the 7th century AD, when Temasek was a trading post of Hindu-Buddhist Srivijaya empire. A millennium later, a wave of immigrants from southern India were brought to Singapore, mostly as coolies and indentured labourers by the British East India Company, there are currently about thirty main Hindu temples in Singapore, dedicated to various gods and goddesses. There were an estimated 260,000 Hindus in Singapore in 2010, Hindus are a minority, constituting about 5. 1% of adult Singapore citizens and permanent residents in 2010. Almost all Hindus in Singapore are ethnic Indians, with some who have married into Hindu families, hinduism peaked at 5. 5% of the total population in 1931. In Singapore, the Hindu festival of Deepavali is recognised as a public holiday. Some non-Indians, usually Buddhist Chinese, participate in various Hindu activities, unlike various states of Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore places no restrictions on religious freedoms of Hindus. Hindu religion and culture in Singapore can be traced back to the 7th century Hindu Srivijaya empire when Temasek was a trading post. By the 10th century, Tamil Chola influence arrived, with Islams expansion in the region from 14th through 17th century, the Hindu-Buddhist influence, in and around Singapore, faded. The colonial era brought major changes in the seats of power, the early 19th century saw a wave of Hindu immigrants to Singapore from southern India, mostly Tamils, brought in to work as coolies and labourers by the British East India Company in Singapore. These immigrants brought along their religion and culture and their arrival saw the building of temples throughout the island in the Dravidian form of architecture, and the beginnings of a vibrant Hindu culture. The temples also served to hold the community together, being a source of comfort to those far away in a foreign land and he first erected a wooden, thatched hut on this site that he had purchased in 1823. The present temple was completed by 1863, the Hindu temples of Singapore are built in the Dravidian style, mainly the Tamil style found in Tamil Nadu, India. This style is known for its imposing gopurams or entrance towers, complex friezes, intricate carvings and paintings or murals done on the walls, there are currently about thirty main temples in Singapore, dedicated to various gods and goddesses from the Hindu pantheon. Today, two government bodies deal with all Hindu affairs — The Hindu Endowments Board and The Hindu Advisory Board, Hindus make up a minority, comprising about 5. 1% of adult Singapore citizens and permanent residents. Among 15 years or older population, there were about 158,000 Hindus according to Singapores 2010 Census, 37% of all Hindus in Singapore speak Tamil at home, vast majority of Hindus in Singapore are ethnic South Indians. The small numbers of non-Indian Hindus are mainly Chinese women who were adopted by or married into Hindu families, Singapore celebrates Hindu festival of Deepavali as a national public holiday, alongside the religious holidays of other communities. Two Hindu temples have been gazetted as National Monuments of Singapore and these are the Sri Mariamman Temple and the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple. Like many Hindu temples in Singapore, these were built in the South Indian Dravidian style, different communities have also established their own temples in Singapore
12.
Hinduism in Sri Lanka
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Hinduism has a long tradition in Sri Lanka. In the 1915 census they made up almost 25% of the population, due to assimilation, emigration, today they are a smaller and still dwindling minority. Hinduism is dominant in the Northeastern province, where there is a significant number of Tamil people, Hinduism is also practised in the central regions as well as in the capital, Colombo. According to the government census of 2012, there are 2,554,606 Hindus in Sri Lanka, during the Sri Lankan Civil War, many Tamils fled to other countries. There are Hindu temples abroad which were built by the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora to maintain their religion, the majority of Sri Lankan Hindus follow the teaching of Shaiva Siddhanta. Sri Lanka is home to the five abodes of Shiva, which are known as Pancha Ishwarams, murugan is one of the most popular Hindu deity in Sri Lanka. He is not only venerated by the Hindu Tamils but also by Buddhist Sinhalese, according to legend, Sri Lanka was formed when sage Narada persuaded the God of Wind and Air, Vayu, to humble his close friend, Mount Meru. Vayu then spent the next year blowing strong winds at the mountain, which was shielded by Garuda, when Garuda took respite for a while, Vayu caused part of the apex of the mountain to fall into the sea, forming the island of Sri Lanka. The first major Hindu reference to Sri Lanka is found in the great Hindu epic, the Ramayana tells that Sri Lanka was ruled by Yaksha king Kubera. The throne of Lanka was usurped by his half-brother Ravana, Ravana was the main villain in the Ramayana and was killed by Rama the avatar of Vishnu. The Ramayana also mentions a bridge between India and Sri Lanka, known as Ramas Bridge, constructed with rocks by Rama with the help of Hanuman, many believers view the sand bar islands connecting Sri Lanka to India as the remains of the bridge as seen in satellite images. Archeological evidence is found to support worship of Lord Siva in parts of Sri Lanka, from pre-historic times. Even Ravana was a follower of Lord Siva. Evidence states the earliest inhabitants of the island were the Nagas and Yakkas, the Nagas practiced an early form of Hinduism that worshipped Lord Shiva and serpents. This form of animistic Shaivism is common in Tamil Nadu and other parts of India, the Nagas who inhabited the Jaffna Peninsula were probably the ancestors of Sri Lankan Tamils. The Nagas started in the 3th century BCE to assimilate to Tamil language and culture, the Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple in Nainativu is believed to be one of the prominent 64 Shakti Peethams. Hinduism was probably the dominant religion in Sri Lanka before the arrival of Buddhism in the 3rd century BC, Buddhism was introduced into Sri Lanka by Mahinda, the son of the Emperor Ashoka, during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa. The Sinhalese embraced the Buddhism and Tamils remain Hindus in Sri Lanka, however it was activity from across the Palk Strait that truly set the scene for Hinduisms survival in Sri Lanka
Bago
Mon
Yangon
Kayin
Rakhine
Kachin State
Tanintharyi
Mandalay
Kayah
Magway
Sagaing
Ayeyarwady Region
