Hinduism in Sindh Province

Overview of Hinduism in the Sindh province of Pakistan

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Hindus in Sindh

Devotee at Panchmukhi Hanuman Temple in Karachi

Total population
4,176,986 (2017)
8.73% of total Sindh
Scriptures
Bhagavad Gita, and Vedas

Languages
Sanskrit (sacred)
Sindhi, Dhatki, Parkari Koli (majority)
Urdu and other languages (minority)

Hinduism is the second largest religion in Sindh, comprising 8.73% of its population. Sindh has the largest population and the highest percentage of Hindus in Pakistan.[1] The Sindh hosts the Shri Ramapir Temple whose annual festival is the second largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan,[2] after the Hinglaj Yatra (the largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan).[3]

## History[edit]

The Sindh region and its rulers play an important role in the Hindu epic of Mahabharata.[4][5] Hinduism along with Buddhism was the predominant religion in Sindh before the Arab Islamic conquest.[6] At that time multiple Hindu castes and communities resided in the Sindh. Many ancient Hindu temples exist today from ancient era and many Hindu dynasties,[7] including Gupta, Pala, Kushan and Hindu Shahis ruled the region before the conquest of Muhammad ibn Qasim, who led the Umayyad army for Islamic conquest of Sindh.[8] The region had still then a Hindu-majority, but the repeated campaign and persecution by Delhi Sultanate lead to gradual decrease in Hindus and growth of Muslims, and Hindus became minority in the region at the time of Mughal Empire.[9]

After the formation of Pakistan, the majority of the Hindus migrated to India,[10] still the biggest population of Hindus is in Sindh.

## Demographics[edit]

According to the 2017 Census, there are 4.18 million Hindus in Sindh constituting 8.73% of its population including 83,000 (1.74%) 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.[11] According to the Pakistan Hindu Council estimates that there are 6.8 million Hindus in Sindh.[12]

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan, Hindu voters were 49% of the total in Umerkot and 46% in Tharparkar.[13][14] According to the voter estimation, the Hindus have a population of 50,000 or more in 11 districts. All of these are in Sindh except the Rahim Yar Khan District in Punjab.[15]

Umerkot district (52.15%) in Sindh is the only Hindu majority district in Pakistan. Tharparkar district of Sindh has the highest population of Hindus in terms of absolute terms in a district. The four districts of Umerkot, Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas and Sanghar in Sindh hosts more than half of the Hindu population in Pakistan.[16]

All districts in Sindh with a Hindu population greater than 1%, according to the 2017 census is given below. In other districts the population of Hindus is less than 1%.[16]

Districts of Sindh | Percentage of Hindus

|

Umerkot | 52.15%
Tharparkar | 43.4%
Mirpurkhas | 38.74%
Tando Allahyar | 34.17%
Badin | 23.61%
Tando Muhammad Khan | 22.25%
Sanghar | 21.79%
Matiari | 16.66%
Hyderabad | 8.22%
Ghotki | 6.19%
Karachi South District | 4.01%
Jomshoro | 3.87%
Shaheed Benazirabad | 3.86%
Sukkur | 3.55%
Kashmore | 3.22%
Thatta | 3%
Sujawal | 2.91%
Khairpur | 2.76%
Jacobabad | 2.16%
Malir | 1.77%
Naushahro Feroze | 1.64%
Larkana | 1.45%
Shikarpur | 1.4%
Karachi East | 1.38%

## Community life[edit]

A Sindhi Hindu marriage in Pakistan

Many Hindus, especially in the rural areas of Sindh, follow the teachings of the 14th-century saint Ramdevji, whose main temple Shri Ramdev Pir temple is located in Tando Allahyar. A growing number of urban Hindu youth in Pakistan associate themselves with ISKCON society.[17] Other communities worship manifold "Mother Goddesses" as their clan or family patrons.[18][19][20] Many Hindus in Sindh revere Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism along with Hindu gods. A large fraction of Sindhi Hindus consider themselves Nanakpanthi.[21]

Pakistani Hindus who can't afford the trip to India to release their loved ones' remains into the Ganges, go to Churrio Jabal Durga Mata temple in Nagarparkar.[22] According to a study, the majority of the scheduled caste Hindus (91.5% ) in Tharparkar and Umerkot districts of Sindh faced discrimination and believed that political parties are not giving importance to them.[23] Forced conversion of Hindu girls are a major problem faced by Hindus in Sindh and such cases are being reported increasingly in the Southern Sindh districts of Tharparkar, Umerkot and Mirpur Khas.[24] Sindh is also the only province in Pakistan to have a separate law for governing Hindu marriages.[25]

In Sindh provincial assembly, 10 seats reserved for minorities.[26] In 2018, Krishna Kumari Kohli, a Hindu woman from Sindh became the first non-Muslim woman to win a women's reserved seat in Senate of Pakistan.[27] In 2018, Pakistan general election Mahesh Kumar Malani became the first Hindu candidate who won a general seat in Pakistan National Assembly 2018. He won the seat from Tharparkar-II and thus became the first non-Muslim to win a general seat (non-reserved) in Pakistan national assembly.[28] In the Sindh provincial assembly election which took place along with the Pakistan National Assembly election 2018, Hari Ram Kishori Lal and Giyan Chand Essrani were elected from the Sindh provincial assembly seats. They became the first non-Muslims to win a general seat (non-reserved) in a provincial assembly election.[29]

## Temples[edit]

* Ramapir Temple, Tando Allahyar\- whose annual pilgrimage is the second largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan

* Umarkot Shiv Mandir-famous for its annual Shivrathri festival, which is one of the biggest religious festivals in Pakistan.[30]

* Guru Balpuri Ashram in Thana Bulla Khan

* Sant Nenuram Ashram

## See also[edit]

* Hinduism in Balochistan
* Hinduism in Punjab, Pakistan
* Sindhi Hindus
* Hinduism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

## References[edit]

### Citations[edit]

1. ^ a b "SALIENT FEATURES OF FINAL RESULTS CENSUS-2017" (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. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
4. ^ Gordon 2014, p. 7. sfn error: no target: CITEREFGordon2014 (help)
5. ^ Roy 2008l, p. 52.
6. ^ 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. ^ Markovits, Claude (2000). The Global World of Indian Merchants, 1750–1947. Cambridge University Press. p. 278. ISBN 0-521-62285-9.
11. ^ "Scheduled castes have a separate box for them, but only if anybody knew". Retrieved 30 May 2021.
12. ^ "Hindu Population (PK) – Pakistan Hindu Council". Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2021.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
13. ^ Khan, Iftikhar A. (28 May 2018), "Number of non-Muslim voters in Pakistan shows rise of over 30pc", Dawn, retrieved 30 May 2021
14. ^ "Pakistan General Election: Non-Muslim voters increase by 30 percent in 5 years, Hindus most numerically significant minority", Firstpost, 22 July 2018
15. ^ Aqeel, Asif (1 July 2018), "Problems with the electoral representation of non-Muslims", Herald (Pakistan), retrieved 30 May 2021
16. ^ a b "District wise census". Retrieved 5 August 2021.
17. ^ Latief, Samiya (July 18, 2020). "Explained: Pakistan's Krishna Temple and the controversy over its construction". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
18. ^ Avari 2013, pp. 219–220 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAvari2013 (help)
19. ^ Abbasi, Muhammad Yusuf (1992). Pakistani Culture. Oxford University: HarperCollins. pp. 16. ISBN 9-789-694-15023-9. OCLC 218233296.
20. ^ Ispahani 2017, pp. 56–61 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFIspahani2017 (help)
21. ^ Guriro, Amar (18 October 2016), "Struggling to revive Gurmukhi", Daily Times (Pakistan)
22. ^ Iqbal, Aisha; Bajeer, Sajid (10 March 2011), "Contractor blasting through Tharparkar temple in search of granite", The Express Tribune, retrieved 30 May 2021
23. ^ 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
24. ^ Quratulain, Fatima (19 September 2017), "Forced conversions of Pakistani Hindu girls", Daily Times (Pakistan), retrieved 30 May 2021
25. ^ Shahid Jatoi (8 June 2017). "Sindh Hindu Marriage Act—relief or restraint?". Express Tribune. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
26. ^ Aqeel, Asif (1 July 2018), "Problems with the electoral representation of non-Muslims", Herald (Pakistan), retrieved 30 May 2021
27. ^ "Hindu woman elected to Pakistan's senate in historic first: Report", Times of India, 4 March 2018, retrieved 30 May 2021
28. ^ Fazili, Sana (29 July 2018), "Meet Pakistan's First Hindu Candidate Mahesh Kumar Malani to Win on General Seat", Network18 Group
29. ^ "Pakistan election: Muslim-majority areas elect 3 Hindu candidates in Sindh". Business Standard India. 31 July 2018.
30. ^ "The thriving Shiva festival in Umarkot is a reminder of Sindh's Hindu heritage". 27 February 2018.

### Bibliography[edit]

* MacLean, Derryl N. (1989). Religion and Society in Arab Sind. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-08551-0.
* Kothari, Rita (2018j). Unbordered Memories: Sindhi Stories of Partition. India: Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-93-5305-345-1.
* Bhavnani, Nandita (2014). The Making of Exile: Sindhi Hindus and the Partition of India. Tranquebar Press. ISBN 978-93-84030-33-9.
* Abbasi, Reema (2014). Historic Temples in Pakistan: A Call to Conscience. Niyogi Books. ISBN 978-93-83098-49-1.
* Gordon, A. D. D.; Gordon, Sandy (2014). India's Rise as an Asian Power: Nation, Neighborhood, and Region. Georgetown University Press. ISBN 978-1-62616-074-3.
* Roy, Kumkum (2008l). Historical Dictionary of Ancient India. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1-4616-5917-4.

## External links[edit]

* "History of Hinduism in Sindh from ancient times". The Times of India. 13 March 2019.

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