Hinduism in Pakistan

Following the creation of Pakistan, and the subsequent mass migrations, Hindus are today are a much smaller numerical presence. Nonetheless Hindus have played a major role in the history, culture and politics of the country.

The term Hindu is etymologically derived from the Sindhu (Indus River) of Pakistan. The Sindhu is one of the holy rivers of Hinduism. Thus, in many ways, the land which is today's predominantly Muslim Pakistan has played an important part in the origin of Hinduism. In terms of population, Pakistan has the fifth largest population of Hindus.

History of Hinduism in Pakistan

"See Also": History of Hinduism, Indus Valley Civilization, Vedic civilization, Hindu and Buddhist heritage of Pakistan

Hinduism, once the main religion in present day Pakistan, has endured many invasions, migrations, conquests and settlement of many tribes and ethnic groups.

Ancient Ages

What is today Pakistan is where the ancient Mehrgarh and Indus Valley Civilization thrived. Various archaeological finds such as what appears to be like a "Pasupati" image that was found on the seals of the people of Mohenjo-daro, in Sindh, point to early influences that may have shaped Hinduism. A group of people known as Aryans migrated from regions like Iran or Eastern Europe, crossed the river Sindhu, and mingled with the Dravidians, the indigenous people. The religious beliefs and folklore of the Indus valley people have become a major 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, the son of Rama of the Ramayana. The Gandhara kingdom of the northwest, and the legendary Gandhara peoples are also a major part of Hindu literature such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

Buddhism

During the reign of Ashoka, Buddhism grew and thrived in the area, especially under the later rule of Kanishka, king of the Kushan Empire. With the ascent of the Gupta Dynasty, many Buddhists were returned to the Hindu fold in IndiaFact|date=September 2008, as Hindus adopted many of the teachings of the Buddha such as non-violence and vegetarianism. A substantial Buddhist community that rivalled the Hindus would remain in Pakistan until the Islamic conquests.

Some scholars believe that Vedic Hinduism was never very strong in Pakistan, but records left by scholars like Alberuni, seem to disprove thisFact|date=July 2007. In addition, a large Buddhist population remained in the Punjab and Sindh as Arab attest to having encountered many 'Buddh' statues of gold throughout the region. Due to the nature of the region as a borderland on the edge of South Asia and many people more open and receptive to radically different ideologies like Islam and other Semitic faiths.

Under Islamic and British Rule

People in this region were exposed to Islamic teachings through the sufis and later when the regions came under the control of various Muslim rulers. Alberuni states in his book, that some Hindus who were forced to become Muslims, were not accepted back into their community, when they escaped to places like Varanasi. He in fact laments, that due to Islamic conquests, many great Hindu scholars left this region. In over one thousand years of Muslim rule in the Punjab and Sindh, the population of Muslims outpaced the growth of Hinduism (Buddhism had virtually disappeared), although relationships between people were peaceful and much more friendly than in modern times.

Demography

In August 1947, at the end of British Raj, the population percentage of Hindus in what is today in Pakistan was perhaps as high as 15-20%, but would drop to its current total of less than 2% in the years since independence. According to the 1998 Pakistan Census, caste Hindus constitute about 1.6 percent of the total population of Pakistan and about 6.6% in province of Sindh. The Pakistan Census separates Schedule Castes from the main body of Hindus who make up a further 0.25% of national population [http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statistics/other_tables/pop_by_religion.pdf]

Hinduism and Partition

When Pakistan gained independence in August 1947, over 7 million Hindus and Sikhs from what was East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and Pakistan's Punjab, Sindh and North-West Frontier Province provinces were forced to leave this new state for India, and a similar number of Muslims were forced the other way. The reasons for this incredible exodus was the heavily charged communal atmosphere in British India, deep distrust of each other, the brutality of violent mobs and the antagonism between the religious communities. The fact that over 1 million people lost their lives in the bloody violence of 1947, should attest to the fear and hate that filled the hearts of millions of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs who had to leave ancestral homes during hastily arranged partition.

Many Hindus who attained great success in the public eye in India, like the filmstars Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, and Sunil Dutt trace their birthplaces and ancestral homes to the towns of Pakistan. Independent India's first Test cricket captain, Lala Amarnath hailed from Lahore, and former home Minister Lal Krishna Advani was born in Karachi. Nearly all of these individuals left their homes due to the violence and turmoil of independence.

"For more information about Hindus in East Pakistan - Bangladesh, see Hinduism in Bangladesh."

Post-1970s

Since Pakistan declared itself an Islamic nation and pursued a decidedly Islamic course in its political and social life since the 1980s, Hindus as a minority in Pakistan have had considerably fewer privileges, rights and protections in comparison to minorities in India, which constitutionally avows itself secular and giving of equal rights to its religious minorities including the Muslim, Christian and Sikh communitiesFact|date=September 2008. Cultural marginalization, discrimination, economic hardships and religious persecution have resulted in many Hindus converting to other religions (Islam, Christianity), and today Hindus constitute barely 1.2% of Pakistan's populationFact|date=February 2007. Because Hindus are not "People of the Book" like Christians, they have generally been given fewer rights informally ("de facto") by the Muslim majority than the country's Christians (see Dhimmi), even if "de jure" Hindus have equal rights under the law.

Religious, social and political institutions

The Indus river is a holy river to many Hindus, and the Pakistan government periodically allows small groups of Hindus from Pakistan and India to make pilgrimage, though most Hindus are forced to do this along the banks of the river that flows through a small part of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

The communal violence of the 1940s and the subsequent persecutions have resulted in the destruction of thousands of Hindu temples in Pakistan, although the Hindu community and the Pakistani government have preserved and protected many prominent ones. The "Hindu Gymkhana" in Karachi has tried to promote social development for Hindus in the city. One of the few temples remaining in Karachi today is the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Karachi.

Hindus are allotted separate electorates to vote by, but their political importance is virtually nilFact|date=February 2007. The Pakistan Hindu Panchayat and the "Pakistani Hindu Welfare Association" are the primary civic organizations that represent and organize Hindu communities on social, economic, religious and political issues. There are minority commissions and for a while, a Ministry of Minority Affairs in the Government of Pakistan looked after specific issues concerning Pakistani religious minorities.

Community life

The intense religious conservatism and politically charged environment in Pakistani Punjab offers limited freedoms for Hindus. Outside such an environment, Karachi's city culture allows for a secular environment that gives much needed opportunities to minorities like Hindus. Though Islamisation, cultural and political has swept the country since the 1980s, the secular institutions established in British times allow Hindus to take advantage of education, sports, cultural activities, government services and participate in mainstream Pakistani life. Prominent Pakistani Hindus include Karachi's Danish Kaneria, who has recently become Pakistan's premier leg spin bowler in cricket, fashion designer Deepak Perwani, and Justice Rana Bhagwandas of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The future for Pakistani Hindus

The increasing Islamisation of Pakistan and antagonism against a majority Hindu India has forced many Hindus to leave Hinduism and convert to other faiths such as Buddhism, Christianity, and IslamFact|date=September 2008. Such Islamisation include the blasphemy laws, which make it dangerous for religious minorities to express themselves freely and engage freely in religious and cultural activities. The promulgation of Sharia, Quranic law has also increased the marginalization of Hindus and other minorities. Following the destruction in 1992 of the Babri Mosque in India, riots and persecution of Hindus in retaliation has only increased; Hindus in Pakistan are routinely affected by communal incidents in India and violent developments on the Kashmir conflict between the two nations. It remains the hope of many that a permanent peace between the two nations will go a long way in making life better for the roughly 3 million Hindus living in Pakistan. The 1998 census recorded 2,443,614 Hindus in Pakistan.

ee also

*Persecution of Hindus in Pakistan
*Hinduism, Hindu, World Hinduism
*Pakistan Hindu Panchayat, Demographics of Pakistan
*Partition of India, Hinduism in Bangladesh
*List of Hindu temples all over the world
*Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947

References

External links

* [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=200612