Hinduism in Bangladesh in the context of "Bangladeshi diaspora"

Hinduism is the third-largest religion in Indonesia, based on civil registration data in 2023 from Ministry of Home Affairs, is practised by about 1.68% of the total population, and almost 87% of the population in Bali. Hinduism was the dominant religion in the country before the arrival of Islam and is one of the six official religions of Indonesia today. Hinduism came to Indonesia in the 1st century CE through Indian traders, sailors, scholars and priests. A syncretic fusion of pre-existing Javanese folk religion, culture and Hindu ideas, that from the 6th-century also synthesized Buddhist ideas as well, evolved as the Indonesian version of Hinduism. These ideas continued to develop during the Srivijaya and Majapahit empires. About 1400 CE, these kingdoms were introduced to Islam from coast-based Muslim traders, and thereafter Hinduism, which was previously the dominant religion in the region, mostly vanished from many of the islands of Indonesia.

Indonesia has the fifth-largest population of Hindus in the world, after India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Though being a minority religion, the Hindu culture has influenced the way of life and day-to-day activities in Indonesia. Outside of Bali, many adherents of traditional indigenous religions identify as Hindus in order to gain official recognition.

Following the resignation of Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, on 5 August 2024, which had come after the Hasina's government's mass killings of protesters, known as the July massacre, a wave of violent conflict took place, between protesters and opposition activists on one side, and Awami League supporters, government and security officials on the other. On the day of Hasina's resignation, 25 police officers were killed. According to the Daily Sun, at least 119, including both the students and Awami League activists, were killed that day. According to Prothom Alo, 1,494 sculptures and monuments were vandalized across Bangladesh after the resignation of Sheikh Hasina.

The violence also affected the religious minority communities. According to the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, there have been over 2,010 attacks on Hindus or their properties spread over 45 districts and 5 Hindus have been killed in these attacks, 2 have been confirmed as Awami League members. Ahmadiyyas in Bangladesh were also attacked by groups damaging mosques and homes. The minority ethnic groups were also attacked. Mobs attacked and vandalized five to nine private television channels.

Hinduism has approximately 1.17 billion adherents worldwide (14.9% of the world's population). Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world, behind Christianity (32.8%) and Islam (23.3%). Pew Research Center data shows the global Hindu population grew steadily from 2010 to 2020 and is expected to keep rising. This increase is driven largely by higher fertility rates in India and Nepal and by growing Hindu populations in regions receiving more migrants.

The two Hindu-majority countries are India and Nepal and together account for more than 95% of the Hindu population worldwide. The past two centuries have seen large-scale migration of Hindus from Southeast Asia, to around the world. Countries with more than 500,000 Hindu residents and citizens are (in decreasing order) India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Myanmar, Australia, Mauritius, South Africa, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates. Global data shows Hinduism is still concentrated in South Asia, but significant communities also exist in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and Oceania. WorldData.info reports that India holds most of the world’s Hindus, with notable populations in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.