Hinduism in Pakistan

Hinduism In Pakistan

Hinduism is the indigenous religious tradition of the South Asia, including Pakistan. However since the independence of Pakistan in 1947 as a Muslim majority nation, Hindus have had a much smaller numerical presence there. 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 ancient India. The Sindhu is one of the holy rivers of Hinduism. Thus, in many ways, the land which is today's predominantly Muslim was an important part in the origin of Hindustan. In terms of population, Pakistan now has the fifth largest population of Hindus.

After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslims refugees from India settled down in the Pakistan. Approximately 6 million Hindus and Sikhs moved to India while nearly equal number of Muslim settled in Pakistan. Only 26 out of the 428 Hindu temples are functional now due to migration of Hindus to India after independence in 1947. Still, Pakistan is ranked as the world's fifth largest Hindu population in the world. While the 1998 Census of Pakistan recorded less than 2.5 million Hindus, the census did not allegedly cover the 1-2 million Dalit Hindus that live in the Thar regions of Sindh bordering Rajasthan (such as Tharparkar District). Likewise, the Pakistan Hindu Council estimates that Pakistan has nearly 5 million Hindus while other estimates put the number closer to 4 million Pakistani Hindus that are mostly concentrated in the Sindh province.

In 1951, Hindus constituted 22 percent of the Pakistani population and the Hindu population was concentrated in East Pakistan which later became Bangladesh, while Hindu population in West Pakistan was less than 2%. Today, the share of Hindus is down to 1.7 percent in Pakistan, and 9.2 percent in Bangladesh