Hinduism in South Asia

"Hinduism in the Indian subcontinent" redirects here. For Hinduism in the Indian Republic, see Hinduism in India.

Hindus of South Asia

The Hindu Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram was built by Narasimhavarman II.
Total population
c. 1.20 billion (61.1% of the total South Asian population)
Regions with significant populations
India	1,148,930,682 (2022)
Nepal	24,931,944 (2022)
Bangladesh	13,130,109 (2022)
Pakistan	5,198,570 (2022)
Sri Lanka	2,921,627 (2022)
Bhutan	191,778 (2022)
Afghanistan	50 (2021)
Religions
Hinduism Tribal religions (including Sarnaism, Nanakpanthi, Kalasha and others) (minority)
Scriptures
Bhagavad Gita and Vedas also see other Hindu texts
Languages
Predominant spoken language Hindi Recognized regional languages Bengali Marathi Telugu Tamil Gujarati Kannada Odia Malayalam Nepali Punjabi and other Languages of South Asia Sacred language Sanskrit (Sacred)

Hinduism is the largest religion in South Asia with about 1.2 billion Hindus, forming just under two-thirds of South Asia's population. South Asia has the largest population of Hindus in the world, with about 99% of all global Hindus being from South Asia. Hinduism is the dominant religion in India and Nepal and is the second-largest religion in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.

Indo-Aryan migrations brought the Indo-Aryans to South Asia, where they compiled and composed the Vedic corpus during the Vedic period (ca. 1500-500 BCE) across present-day Northern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The subsequent period, between 800 BCE and 250 BCE, was "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions", and a formative period for Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. The Epic and Early Puranic period, from c. 250 BCE and 500 CE, saw the onset of the Hindu synthesis, followed by the classical "Golden Age" of India (c. 350 - 650 CE), which coincides with the Gupta Empire.

Following the conquest of Islamic rulers in the Indian subcontinent and spread of Islam in South Asia, an era featuring persecution of Hindus began and continued until the end of Mughal Empire. The Vijayanagara and Maratha Empire significantly protected and revived Hinduism in the Indian subcontinent, while the Jaffna Kingdom and Gorkha dynasty have significantly protected Hinduism in Sri Lanka and Nepal respectively.

History

Main article: History of Hinduism

Origins

The Vedic period, named after the Vedic religion of the Indo-Aryans, lasted from c. 1900 BCE-500 BCE. The Indo-Aryans were pastoralists who migrated into north-western India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization. Linguistic and archaeological data show a cultural change in the subcontinent after 1500 BCE, with the linguistic and religious data clearly showing links with Indo-European languages and religion. By about 1500 BCE, the Vedic culture and agrarian lifestyle were established in the northwest and northern Gangetic plain of South Asia. Rudimentary state-forms appeared, of which the Kuru-Pañcāla union was the most influential. The first recorded state-level society in South Asia existed around 1000 BCE. In this period, states Samuel emerged the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of Vedic texts, which merged into the earliest Upanishads. These texts began to ask the meaning of a ritual, adding increasing levels of philosophical and metaphysical speculation, or "Hindu synthesis".

Rise of Hindu Nationalism

Main article: Hindu nationalism

In recent years, there has been a rising movement of Hindu nationalism and feeling of Hindutva or Hindu identity among the Hindus of India. This has been observed especially after the formation of the BJP government in India in 2014. In India, several Hindu nationalist political parties exist, out of which the BJP is the biggest among them. Alongside the BJP, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has also been accused of being a chief organisation in the Hindu nationalist cause.

The rise of Hindu nationalism and Hindutva is seen as a threat to the secular laws of India. It was also seen that the with rise of the Hindu nationalism, there has been an increase in persecutions of religious minorities, mainly Muslims and Christians. The government of Narendra Modi has also been blamed for the increase in violence. Other hardline Hindutva groups, such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal (which are designated as paramilitary groups by many nations such as Australia, Canada and United States) have also contributed a major role to the enhancement of Hindu nationalism and are also blamed for increasing Islamophobia in India and attacks on Christians.

Similarly, Nepal has also experienced the same rise in Hindu nationalism, mainly after 2015 after demonstrators protested for the re-declaration of Hinduism as the state religion of Nepal along with the restoration of the monarchy in the country. Nepal has seen an increase in violence against Christians.

Temples

Main article: Hindu temple architecture

Further information: List of Hindu temples in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka

• 
  Shore Temple of Mamallapuram (Pallava dynasty, 700–728 CE).
• 
  Vishvanatha Temple, part of the Khajuraho group of monuments.
• 
  Jal Mahal, one of the masterpiece of Rajput rule in Rajputana.
• 
  The rock-cut Shore Temple of the temples in Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, 700–728.
• 
  Katas Raj Temples of Pakistan are known to be historical temples to be built in c. 7th century CE.
• 
  Dhakeshwari Temple in Bangladesh.
• 
  Front entrance of Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman temple.

Organisations

Main article: List of Hindu organisations

Most Hindu organisations in South Asia are based in India and Nepal, although there are other organizations based elsewhere in South Asia.

Political

• Bharatiya Janata Party ()
• Hindu Mahasabha ()
• Rastriya Prajatantra Party ()
• Pakistan Hindu Party ()

Social

• Banga Sena ()
• Hindu Dharma Samudaya ()
• Siva Senai ()
• Hindu Prajatantrik Party ()

Demographics

Percentage of Hindus by country
Country			Percentage
Nepal			81.34%
India			80%
Sri Lanka			13.40%
Bhutan			22.50%
Bangladesh			7.95%
Pakistan			2.20%
Afghanistan			0.001%
Maldives			0%

Hinduism is the majority religion in South Asia, and most of the world's Hindus are home to the region. 5 of the 10 nations with the biggest Hindu populations are in South Asia, namely India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. India is home to more than 1.2 billion Hindus, 94% of the world's global Hindu population.

Hinduism is the majority religion in Nepal and India, with 81.34% and 79.8% of the countries' respective populations practicing Hinduism. Hinduism is the second largest religious group in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan and there is a very minute Hindu minority in Afghanistan. There are also no Hindus in the Maldives, as per its constitution.

In recent years, Hindu populations have decreased in non-Hindu majority countries in South Asia, especially Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. This is due to a number of reasons, such as persecution, forced conversion and low-fertility rates. Civil war in Afghanistan and Sri Lanka have also caused Hindus to flee these countries.

See also

• Hinduism in Asia
  • Hinduism in India
  • Hinduism in Nepal
  • Hinduism in Bangladesh
  • Hinduism in Pakistan
  • Hinduism in Sri Lanka
  • Hinduism in Bhutan
  • Hinduism in Afghanistan
  • Hinduism in the Maldives

References

Sources

• Thapar, Romila (1966). A History of India. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0140138351.
• Michaels, Axel (2004). Hinduism. Past and present. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691089539.
• Doniger, Wendy (2010). The Hindus: An Alternative History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-959334-7.
• Flood, Gavin D. (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge University Press.
• Michell, George (1977). The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to Its Meaning and Forms. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-53230-1.
• Avari, Burjor (2013). Islamic Civilization in South Asia: A history of Muslim power and presence in the Indian subcontinent. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-58061-8.
• Doniger, Wendy (1999). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
• Eaton, Richard M. (1993). The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760. University of California Press.
• Eaton, Richard M. (2006). "Introduction". In Chatterjee, Indrani; Eaton, Richard M. (eds.). Slavery and South Asian History. Indiana University Press 0-2533. ISBN 978-0-253-34810-4.
• Durant, Will (1976). The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage. Simon & Schuster. p. 459. ISBN 978-0671548001.
• Paul, Pran Gopal; Paul, Debjani (1989). "Brahmanical Imagery in the Kuṣāṇa Art of Mathurā: Tradition and Innovations". East and West. 39 (1/4): 111–143. ISSN 0012-8376. JSTOR 29756891.
• Kitagawa, Joseph (5 September 2013). The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-87590-8.
• Witzel, Michael (1995). "Early Sanskritization: Origin and Development of the Kuru state" (PDF). Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies. 1 (4): 1–26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2007.
• Shamshad, Rizwana (2017). "Bengaliness, Hindu nationalism and Bangladeshi migrants in India". Asian Ethnicity. 18 (4): 433–451. doi:10.1080/14631369.2016.1175918. ISSN 1463-1369. S2CID 147606595.
• Honour, Hugh; Fleming, John (2005). A World History of Art. Laurence King Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85669-451-3.
• Acharya, Prasanna Kumar (1946). An encyclopaedia of Hindu architecture. Robarts - University of Toronto. London : Oxford University Press.
• Chatterji, Angana P.; Hansen, Thomas Blom; Jaffrelot, Christophe (2019h). Majoritarian State: How Hindu Nationalism Is Changing India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-007817-1.

External links

• Religion of South Asia
• South Asia