Hinduism in Pakistan


is the second largest religion in Pakistan after Islam. Pakistani Hindus are mainly concentrated in the eastern Sindh province with the Umerkot District having the highest percentage of Hindu residents in the country at 54.7%, while Tharparkar District has the most Hindus in absolute numbers at around 810,000. Hindus are also found in smaller numbers in Balochistan, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Though Hinduism was the dominant faith in the region a few centuries back, its adherents accounted for just 2.17% of Pakistan's population according to the 2023 Pakistani census. Prior to the partition of India, according to the 1941 census, Hindus constituted 14.6% of the population in West Pakistan and 28% of the population in East Pakistan. After Pakistan gained independence from the British Raj, 5 million of West Pakistan's Hindus and Sikhs moved to India as refugees. And in the first census afterward, Hindus made up 1.6% of the total population of West Pakistan, and 22% of East Pakistan.
Hindus in Pakistan are primarily concentrated in Sindh, where the majority of Hindu enclaves are found. They speak a variety of languages such as Sindhi, Seraiki, Aer, Dhatki, Gera, Goaria, Gurgula, Jandavra, Kabutra, Koli, Loarki, Marwari, Vaghri, and Gujarati. Many Hindus, especially in the rural areas, follow the teachings of local Sufi pīrs or adhere to 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. Other communities worship manifold "Mother Goddesses" as their clan or family patrons. A different branch, the Nanakpanth, follows the teachings of the Guru Granth Sahib, also known as the holy book of the Sikhs. This diversity, especially in rural Sindh, often thwarts classical definitions between Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam. Despite being a predominantly Muslim nation, Pakistan's Sindh province boasts a remarkable Hindu heritage and cultural legacy. However, discrimination is increasingly prevalent throughout Pakistan, including in Sindh. Nevertheless, the profound Hindu influence continues to shape the landscape and identity of Sindh.
Though the Constitution of Pakistan provides equal rights to all citizens and is not supposed to discriminate between anyone on the basis of caste, creed or religion, Islam remains the state religion, often meaning Muslims are afforded more privileges than Hindus or other religious minorities. There have been numerous cases of violence and discrimination against Hindus, along with other minorities. There have also been cases of violence and ill-treatment of Hindus, due to strict blasphemy laws.
One of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Pakistan is the shrine of Shri Hinglaj Mata temple in Balochistan. The annual Hinglaj Yatra is the largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan.

History

Though Hinduism was the dominant faith in the region a few centuries ago, its adherents presently accounted for 2.17% of Pakistan's population according to the 2023 Pakistani census, primarily due to large-scale migration and displacement of Hindus during the 1947 partition and, to a lesser extent, following the 1971 war, the liberation war of Bangladesh. Prior to the partition of India, according to the 1941 census, Hindus constituted 14.6% of the population in West Pakistan and 28% of the population in East Pakistan. After British India gained independence from the British Raj, 5 million of West Pakistan's Hindus and Sikhs moved to India as refugees during the Partition. And in the first census afterward, Hindus made up 1.6% of the total population of West Pakistan, and 22% of East Pakistan.

Prior to the 1947 Partition of India

Origins

Pakistan was the fulcrum of Indus Valley Civilization, one of the oldest civilizations in the world. It is assumed that the Pashupati image of Mohenjo-daro evolved to be worshipped as Shiva and the Mother Goddess as Shakti. Various archaeological finds such as the Swastika symbol and Yogic postures from Indus Valley Civilization also point to early influences that may have shaped Hinduism. 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.
Later, during the Vedic period, the Rig Veda, the oldest Hindu text, is believed to have been composed in the Punjab region of modern-day Pakistan on the banks of the Indus River around 1500 BCE.
The Sindh kingdom and its rulers play an important role in the Indian epic story of the Mahabharata. In addition, a Hindu legend states that the Pakistani city of Lahore was first founded by Lava, while Kasur was founded by his twin Kusha, both of whom were the sons of Lord Rama of the Ramayana. The Gandhara kingdom of the northwest, and the legendary Gandhara people, are also a major part of Hindu literature such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Many Pakistani city names have Sanskrit roots.

Pre-Islamic period

The Vedic period was characterised by an Indo-Aryan culture; during this period the Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed, and this culture later became well established in the region. Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, now Taxila in the Punjab, which was founded around 1000 BCE. Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled the region: the Persian Achaemenid Empire, Alexander's empire in 326 BCE and the Maurya Empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya and extended by Ashoka the Great, until 185 BCE. The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander, prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of higher education in the world, which was established during the late Vedic period in 6th century BCE. The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where the religious instruction was provided on an individualistic basis. The ancient university was documented by the invading forces of Alexander the Great and was also recorded by Chinese pilgrims in the 4th or 5th century CE.
At its zenith, the Rai dynasty of Sindh ruled this region and the surrounding territories. The Pala dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharmapala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan.

Early Muslim conquests and invasion of Sindh

After the conquest of Sindh by Muhammad bin Qasim and the loss of Raja Dahir, Islamization in Pakistan started and the population of Hindus started declining. After that many other Islamic conquests in Indian subcontinent entered through the Pakistan's region, including that of Ghaznavids, Ghurids and Delhi Sultanate, due to which the Buddhists and Hindus were converted to Islam. In the era of Mughal Empire, the land of Pakistan became a Muslim-majority area.

Post-independence period (1947–present)

At the time of Pakistan’s creation, the “hostage theory” had been espoused. According to this theory the Hindu minority in Pakistan was to be given a fair deal in Pakistan in order to ensure the protection of the Muslim minority in India. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, stated in an address to the constituent assembly of Pakistan, "You will find that in course of time Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as the citizens of the State." However, Khawaja Nazimuddin, the 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan stated:
After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, over more than 5 million Hindus and Sikhs from West Pakistan left for India, and 6.5 million Muslims chose to migrate to Pakistan. The reasons for this exodus were the heavily charged communal atmosphere in British Raj, deep distrust of each other, the brutality of violent mobs and the antagonism between the religious communities. 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 Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs who left ancestral homes hastily after independence.

Demographics

Decadal censuses taken in British India revealed the religious composition of all administrative divisions that would ultimately compose regions situated in contemporary Pakistan. The 1901 Census in British India taken in administrative divisions that would ultimately compose regions situated in contemporary Pakistan indicated that Hindus numbered approximately 3,009,842 persons and comprised roughly 17.1 percent of the total population, followed by a decline to around 2,766,581 persons or to 14.7 percent in 1911. The Hindu population would rise to approximately 2,957,680 persons in 1921 with the share of the total population rising to 15.3 percent, prior to declining back to 14.7 percent in 1931, despite the total Hindu population growing to roughly 3,298,570 persons.
In the final census taken prior to partition in 1941, Hindus constituted 14.6% of the population in West Pakistan and 28% of the population in East Pakistan. After Pakistan gained independence from Britain on 14August 1947, 4.7 million of the country's Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India.
In the 1951 census, West Pakistan had 1.58% Hindu population, while East Pakistan had 22.03%. During the same census, Hindus constituted approximately 12.9% of the total population of Pakistan which represented the second-largest Hindu-population country after India.
In 1956, the government of Pakistan declared 32 castes and tribes, the majority of them Hindus, to be Scheduled Caste, including Kohlis, Meghawars, and Bheels. After 1971, Bangladesh separated from Pakistan and the population of Hindus and other Non-Muslims declined in Pakistan as Bangladesh population was no longer part of the census conducted in Pakistan.
The 1998 census of Pakistan recorded 2,443,614 Hindus, which, which constitutes to 1.85 percentage of the total population of Pakistan. and about 7.5% in the Sindh province.
The 2017 census recorded 4,444,870 Hindus which constituting 2.14% of the total population of Pakistan.
The Pakistan census separates the members of scheduled castes from Hindus and has assessed that they form 0.41% of the national population in 2017 census.
However, the actual population of Scheduled Caste Hindus is expected to be much higher, as the Scheduled Caste Hindus categorise themselves as Hindus in the census rather than as Scheduled Caste. Also the Scheduled Caste may not include all Hindu scheduled castes, like Jogi community which are not formally listed as Scheduled Caste in Pakistan.
As per the data from the Election Commission of Pakistan, as of 2018 there were a total of 1.77 million Hindu voters. Hindu voters were 49% of the total in Umerkot and 46% in Tharparkar. According to estimates in religious minorities in Pakistan's elections, 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.
YearNumberPercentIncreaseGrowthSource
19013,009,84217.07%--
19112,766,58114.71%-2.36%-8.08%
19212,957,68015.25%+0.54%+6.9%
19313,298,57014.65%-0.6%+11.52%
19413,981,56514.6%-0.05%+20.7%
1951531,1311.58%-13.2%-86.66%
1961621,8051.45%-0.13%+17.7%
1972900,2061.44%-0.01%+44.77%
19811,276,1161.51%+0.07%+41.75%
19982,443,6141.85%+0.34%+91.48%
20174,444,8702.14%+0.29%+81.89%
20235,217,2162.17%+0.03%+17.37%