Hinduism in Sindh

Hindus in Sindh
Devotee at Karachi's Panchmukhi Hanuman Temple
Total population
Increase 4,901,407 (2023)
Increase 8.81% of the Sindh population
Scriptures
Bhagavad Gita, Vedas
Languages
Sanskrit (sacred)
Sindhi, Dhatki (majority)
Urdu and other languages (minority)

Hinduism is the second-largest religion in Sindh, numbering 4.9 million people and comprising 8.8 percent of the province's population in the 2023 Pakistani census. Sindh has the largest population and the highest percentage of Hindus in Pakistan.[1] Sindh has the Shri Ramapir Temple, whose annual festival is the country's second-largest Hindu festival[2] (after the Hinglaj Yatra).[3]

History

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The region and its rulers play an important role in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata.[4][5] Hinduism and Buddhism were the predominant religions in Sindh before the arrival of Islam,[6] when a number of Hindu castes and communities occupied the region. Many ancient Hindu temples still exist; many Hindu dynasties,[7] including the Gupta, Pala, Kushan and Hindu Shahis, ruled the region before Muhammad ibn Qasim led the Umayyad army in the Islamic conquest of Sindh.[8] The region still had a Hindu majority, but repeated campaigns and persecution by the Delhi Sultanate led to a gradual decrease in the Hindu population and an increased number of Muslims. Hindus were a minority in the region at the time of the Mughal Empire.[9] After the formation of Pakistan, most Hindus migrated to India.[6]

Demographics

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Colonial era

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Hindus in the administrative divisions that compose the contemporary Sindh region (1901–1941)
District or Princely State 1901[10] 1911[11] 1921[12] 1931[13] 1941[14]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Hyderabad District 242,692 24.54% 246,008 23.72% 160,211 27.94% 198,684 29.97% 245,849 32.4%
Shikarpur District 218,829 21.49% — — — — — — — —
Tharparkar District 151,726 41.7% 196,793 43.08% 176,026 44.41% 218,850 46.76% 247,496 42.6%
Karachi District 115,240 18.96% 111,748 21.42% 138,485 25.55% 162,111 24.93% 222,597 31.18%
Khairpur State 36,431 18.28% 39,426 17.62% 35,362 18.31% 39,894 17.56% 49,604 16.22%
Upper Sind Frontier District 22,765 9.81% 26,495 10.07% 23,855 9.91% 29,174 10% 28,664 9.43%
Sukkur District — — 155,156 27.03% 148,188 29.04% 177,467 28.45% 195,458 28.22%
Larkana District — — 101,687 15.39% 97,154 16.25% 113,040 16.29% 91,062 17.81%
Nawabshah District — — — — 97,348 23.25% 115,899 23.34% 140,428 24.04%
Dadu District — — — — — — — — 58,372 14.99%
Total Hindus 787,683 23.1% 877,313 23.47% 876,629 25.24% 1,055,119 25.65% 1,279,530 26.43%
Total Population 3,410,223 100% 3,737,223 100% 3,472,508 100% 4,114,253 100% 4,840,795 100%

Modern era

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In the 2023 census, Sindh's 4.9 million Hindus were 8.8 percent of the province's population; this included 1,325,559 (2.38 percent) scheduled-caste Hindus.[1] However, the proportion of scheduled caste Hindus is actually higher as they categorize themselves as Hindus in the census rather than as Scheduled Caste Hindu.[15] According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, voters who said that they were Hindu were 49 percent of the total in Umerkot and 46 percent in Tharparkar.[16][17] According to voter estimates, Hindus have a population of 50,000 or more in 11 districts. All are in Sindh, except for Punjab's Rahim Yar Khan District.[18]

Sindh also has Pakistan's highest percentage of Hindus overall, accounting for 8.8% of the population, roughly around 4.9 million people, and 13.3% of the province's rural population as per 2023 Pakistani census report. These numbers also include the scheduled caste population, which stands at 1.7% of the total in Sindh (or 3.1% in rural areas), and is believed to have been under-reported, with some community members instead counted under the main Hindu category. Although, Pakistan Hindu Council claimed that there are 6,842,526 Hindus living in Sindh Province covering around 14.29% of the region's population.

Umerkot District (52.15 percent), in Sindh, is Pakistan's only Hindu-majority district. The province's Tharparkar District has the highest district Hindu population. Four Sindh districts (Umerkot, Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas and Sanghar) account for more than half of the country's Hindu population.[19]

Hindu population by district

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The percentage of Hindu population by district as per the 2023 census is shown below:[20]

District %
Umerkot 54.66
Tharparkar 45.64
Mirpurkhas 41.48
Tando Allahyar 36.59
Badin 25.11
Tando Muhammad Khan 23.98
Sanghar 24.47
Matiari 18.03
Hyderabad 8.32
Ghotki 6.35
Karachi South District 4.24
Jomshoro 4.75
Shaheed Benazirabad 4.49
Sukkur 3.63
Kashmore 3.21
Thatta 2.92
Sujawal 2.65
Khairpur 2.9
Jacobabad 1.89
Malir 1.66
Naushahro Feroze 1.63
Larkana 1.44
Shikarpur 1.5
Karachi East 1.57
Qambar Shahdadkot 0.65
Dadu 0.64
Keamari 0.49
Korangi 0.44
Nazimabad 0.32
Orangi 0.29

Community life

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A festively-dressed couple sits cross-legged on the floor
A Sindhi Hindu wedding

Many Hindus – especially in Sindh's rural areas – follow the teachings of 14th-century Ramdevji, whose main temple (Shri Ramdev Pir temple) is in Tando Allahyar. A growing number of urban Hindu youth in Pakistan associate themselves with ISKCON.[21] Other communities worship mother goddesses, their clan (or family) patrons.[22][23][24] Many Hindus in Sindh revere Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, along with the Hindu gods. A large percentage of Sindhi Hindus consider themselves Nanakpanthi.[25]

Sindhi Hindus who cannot afford travel to India to release their loved ones' remains into the Ganges go to Churrio Jabal Durga Mata Temple in Nagarparkar.[26] According to a study, most scheduled-caste Hindus (91.5 percent) in the province's Tharparkar and Umerkot Districts faced discrimination and believed that its political parties are ignoring them.[27] Forced conversion of Hindu girls is a major problem faced by Hindus in Sindh, with an increased number of cases in the southern districts of Tharparkar, Umerkot and Mirpur Khas.[28] Sindh is Pakistan's only province with a separate law governing Hindu marriages.[29]

Ten seats are reserved for minorities in the provincial assembly.[30] In 2018, the Sindhi Krishna Kumari Kohli was the first Hindu to win a women's reserved seat in the Senate.[31] In the 2018 general election, Mahesh Kumar Malani (representing Tharparkar-II) was the first Hindu candidate to win a general seat in the National Assembly of Pakistan.[32] In the 2018 provincial assembly election, Hari Ram Kishori Lal and Giyan Chand Essrani were the first non-Muslims to win a general seat (non-reserved) in a provincial-assembly election.[33]

Temples

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See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b "TABLE 9 : POPULATION BY SEX, RELIGION AND RURAL/URBAN, CENSUS - 2023" (PDF). Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Hindu's converge at Ramapir Mela near Karachi seeking divine help for their security - The Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  3. ^ "In a Muslim-majority country, a Hindu goddess lives on". Culture & History. 10 January 2019. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  4. ^ Gordon & Gordon 2014, p. 7.
  5. ^ Roy 2008l, p. 52.
  6. ^ a b Markovits, Claude (2000). The Global World of Indian Merchants, 1750–1947. Cambridge University Press. p. 278. ISBN 0-521-62285-9.
  7. ^ Abbasi 2014, pp. 102–106.
  8. ^ MacLean 1989, p. 16.
  9. ^ Kothari 2018j, pp. 78–93; MacLean 1989, pp. 34–35; TOI 2016, p. 1.
  10. ^ India Census Commissioner (1901). "Census of India 1901. Vols. 9-11, Bombay". JSTOR saoa.crl.25366895. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  11. ^ India Census Commissioner (1911). "Census of India 1911. Vol. 7, Bombay. Pt. 2, Imperial tables". JSTOR saoa.crl.25393770. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  12. ^ India Census Commissioner (1921). "Census of India 1921. Vol. 8, Bombay Presidency. Pt. 2, Tables : imperial and provincial". JSTOR saoa.crl.25394131. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  13. ^ India Census Commissioner (1931). "Census of India 1931. Vol. 8, Bombay. Pt. 2, Statistical tables". JSTOR saoa.crl.25797128. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  14. ^ India Census Commissioner (1941). "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 12, Sind". JSTOR saoa.crl.28215545. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  15. ^ "Scheduled castes have a separate box for them, but only if anybody knew". Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  16. ^ Khan, Iftikhar A. (28 May 2018), "Number of non-Muslim voters in Pakistan shows rise of over 30pc", Dawn, retrieved 30 May 2021
  17. ^ "Pakistan General Election: Non-Muslim voters increase by 30 percent in 5 years, Hindus most numerically significant minority", Firstpost, 22 July 2018
  18. ^ Aqeel, Asif (1 July 2018), "Problems with the electoral representation of non-Muslims", Herald (Pakistan), retrieved 30 May 2021
  19. ^ "District wise census". Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  20. ^ "7th Population and Housing Census". www.pbs.gov.pk. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
  21. ^ Latief, Samiya (July 18, 2020). "Explained: Pakistan's Krishna Temple and the controversy over its construction". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  22. ^ Avari 2013, pp. 219–220
  23. ^ Abbasi, Muhammad Yusuf (1992). Pakistani Culture. Oxford University: HarperCollins. pp. 16. ISBN 9-789-694-15023-9. OCLC 218233296.
  24. ^ Ispahani 2017, pp. 56–61
  25. ^ Guriro, Amar (18 October 2016), "Struggling to revive Gurmukhi", Daily Times (Pakistan)
  26. ^ Iqbal, Aisha; Bajeer, Sajid (10 March 2011), "Contractor blasting through Tharparkar temple in search of granite", The Express Tribune, retrieved 30 May 2021
  27. ^ Shah, Zulfiqar (December 2007), Information on Caste Based Discrimination in South Asia, Long Behind Schedule, a Study on the Plight of Scheduled Caste Hindus in Pakistan (PDF), Indian Institute of Dalit Studies (IIDS) and International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN), retrieved 30 May 2021
  28. ^ Quratulain, Fatima (19 September 2017), "Forced conversions of Pakistani Hindu girls", Daily Times (Pakistan), retrieved 30 May 2021
  29. ^ Shahid Jatoi (8 June 2017). "Sindh Hindu Marriage Act—relief or restraint?". Express Tribune. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  30. ^ Aqeel, Asif (1 July 2018), "Problems with the electoral representation of non-Muslims", Herald (Pakistan), retrieved 30 May 2021
  31. ^ "Hindu woman elected to Pakistan's senate in historic first: Report", Times of India, 4 March 2018, retrieved 30 May 2021
  32. ^ Fazili, Sana (29 July 2018), "Meet Pakistan's First Hindu Candidate Mahesh Kumar Malani to Win on General Seat", Network18 Group
  33. ^ "Pakistan election: Muslim-majority areas elect 3 Hindu candidates in Sindh". Business Standard India. 31 July 2018.
  34. ^ "The Shiva festival in Umarkot is a reminder of Sindh's Hindu heritage". 27 February 2018.

Bibliography

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