Hinduism in India in the context of Demographics of India

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.

India and Pakistan have a complex and largely hostile relationship that is rooted in a multitude of historical and political events, most notably the partition of British India in August 1947.

Two years after World War II, the United Kingdom formally dissolved British India, dividing it into two new sovereign nations: the Union of India and Pakistan. The partitioning of the former British colony resulted in the displacement of up to 15 million people, with the death toll estimated to have reached between several hundred thousand and one million people as Hindus and Muslims migrated in opposite directions across the Radcliffe Line to reach India and Pakistan, respectively. In 1950, India emerged as a secular republic with a Hindu-majority population. Shortly afterwards, in 1956, Pakistan emerged as an Islamic republic with a Muslim-majority population.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, lit. 'National Volunteer Union' or 'National Volunteer Corps') is an Indian right-wing Hindutva volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of Hindutva organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family"), which has developed a presence in all facets of Indian society and includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling political party under Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India. Mohan Bhagwat currently serves as the Sarsanghchalak (lit. 'Chief') of the RSS, with Dattatreya Hosabale serving as the Sarkaryavah (lit. 'General Secretary').

Founded on 27 September 1925, the initial impetus of the organisation was to provide character training and instil "Hindu discipline" in order to unite the Hindu community and establish a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation). The organisation aims to spread the ideology of Hindutva to "strengthen" the Hindu community and promotes an ideal of upholding an Indian culture and its "civilisational values". On the other hand, the RSS has been described as being "founded on the premise of Hindu supremacy". The RSS has been accused of an intolerance of minorities, particularly Muslims.

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.