Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
is practised by 1.7% of the population of Myanmar. Hinduism is practised by about 890,000 people in
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, and has been influenced by elements of
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
, with many Hindu temples in Myanmar housing statues of the
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...
. There are also a large population of
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
in which the
Myanmar Tamils
Myanmar Tamils or Burmese Tamils are people of ethnic Tamil ancestry who reside in Myanmar. Tamils form majority among Indians in Myanmar (Burma).
Tamils had the earliest contact with Myanmar during the first-second century CE.Historical D ...
and minority
Bengali Hindus
Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Beng ...
having the biggest population share.
History
Hinduism, along with Buddhism, arrived in Burma during ancient times. Both names of the country are rooted in Hinduism; Burma is the British colonial officials' phonetic equivalent for the first half of ''Brahma Desha'', the ancient name of the region.
[Toʻ Cinʻ Khu, , pp. iv-v] Brahma
Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...
is part of Hindu trinity, a deity with four heads. The name ''Myanmar'' is the regional language transliteration of ''Brahma'', where ''b'' and ''m'' are interchangeable.
[
]Arakan
Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...
(Rakhine) Yoma is a significant natural mountainous barrier between Burma and India, and the migration of Hinduism and Buddhism into Burma occurred slowly through Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...
and by South Asian seaborne traders. Hinduism greatly influenced the royal court of Burmese kings in pre-colonial times, as seen in the architecture of cities such as Bagan. Likewise, the Burmese language
Burmese ( my, မြန်မာဘာသာ, MLCTS: ''mranmabhasa'', IPA: ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in Myanmar (also known as Burma), where it is an official language, lingua franca, and the native language of the Burmans, the coun ...
adopted many words from Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...
, many of which relate to religion.
While ancient and medieval arrival of ideas and culture fusion transformed Burma over time, it is in 19th and 20th century that over a million Hindu workers were brought in by British colonial government to serve in plantations and mines. The British also felt that surrounding the European residential centre with Indian immigrants provided a buffer and a degree of security from tribal theft and raids. According to 1931 census, 55% of Rangoon's (Yangon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
) population were Indian migrants, mostly Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
.
After independence from Britain, ten years was under the Democratic government led by various leaders and fought for the stronghold of the power. While the country was still suffering from post-war economic downfall and constant attacks from insurgent groups supported by external influences, the power struggle between the two leading parties reached its peak. It resulted in the Prime Minister U Nu
Nu ( my, ဦးနု; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as U Nu also known by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a leading Burmese statesman and nationalist politician. He was the first Prime Minister of Burma under the pr ...
handing over the power to General Ne Win as the leader of the caretaker government in 1960. The situation was not improved as more resistance from the different parties and demands, General Ne Win formed the Resistance Council
A Local Council (LC) is a form of local elected government within the districts of Uganda.
Background
Uganda has been holding elections consistently for more than 30 years now, at the different levels including Presidential, Parliamentary, D ...
and lead the country since 1962. Later it changed the name of the party to Burma Socialist Programme Party
The Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), ; abbreviated , was Burma's ruling party from 1962 to 1988 and sole legal party from 1964 to 1988. Party chairman Ne Win overthrew the country's democratically elected government in a coup d'ét ...
. The government allowed all nationalities to register to become citizens since 1948 under The Union of citizenship Act 1948
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
and those who wanted to remain as foreigners are required to register under the Registration of foreigners rules 1948
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
. Many of those who applied to become a naturalized citizen or registered as foreigners according to the acts but many were ignored to those requirements to remain in the country. When General Ne Win
Ne Win ( my, နေဝင်း ; 10 July 1910, or 14 or 24 May 1911 – 5 December 2002) was a Burmese politician and military commander who served as Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974, and also President of Burma f ...
came into power he strongly implemented those acts. As a result about 300,000 Indian ethnic people along with 100,000 Chinese left Burma between 1963 and 1967. There was no such thing against Indian ethnicity based on any political interest as claimed by some, but the policies were in place since before independence, and it was implemented when needed. The claim made against Burmese government support of left-leaning rebel groups in the northeastern state of India was also questionable as the left-leaning rebel groups were established before their independence and heavily supported by others Timeline of the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency in India
A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events.
Timelines can use any suitable scale represent ...
.
Demography
The Burmese census data only reports individuals who stated Hinduism. Pew Research estimated a range of 820,000 to 840,000 Hindus in 2010.
Population by State/Region
Population of Hindus by State/Region, according to the 2014 census.
Ethnicity
Predominantly, Burmese Indians make up Myanmar's population of Hindus. The practice of Hinduism among Burmese Indians is also influenced by Buddhism. In addition to Hindu deities, the Buddha is also worshiped and many Hindu temples in Myanmar house statues of the Buddha. The Burmese Indians include Myanmar Tamils
Myanmar Tamils or Burmese Tamils are people of ethnic Tamil ancestry who reside in Myanmar. Tamils form majority among Indians in Myanmar (Burma).
Tamils had the earliest contact with Myanmar during the first-second century CE.Historical D ...
, Bengalis
Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of ...
, Odias
The Odia (), formerly spelled Oriya, is an Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to the Indian state of Odisha who speak Odia language. They constitute a majority in the eastern coastal state, with significant minority populations in neighboring An ...
etc.
The majority of the Meitei (or Manipuri) in Myanmar practice Hinduism. They are descendants of forced labourers taken from Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...
during the Manipuri–Burmese war from 1819 to 1825. Manipuris are concentrated in about 13 villages in the Mandalay, Sagaing
Sagaing (, ) is the former capital of the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located in the Irrawaddy River, to the south-west of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river. Sagaing with numerous Buddhist monasteries is an important religious and m ...
and Amarapura areas. Manipuri settlements are also found along the Ningthi ,
, image = Homalin aerial.jpg
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Chindwin at Homalin. The smaller, meandering Uyu River can be seen joining the Chindwin.
, map = Irrawaddyrivermap.jpg
, map_size =
, map_alt =
, map_caption ...
river, and the areas sandwiched between the river and the boundary of Manipur.
Many Nepali-speaking Burmese Gurkha
Burmese Gurkhas ( my, ဂေါ်ရခါးလူမျိုးများ; ne, गोरखाली) are a group of Nepali language speaking Burmese people of Khas/ Gurkha ethnic group living in Myanmar (formerly Burma). While the Gurkhas ...
in Myanmar also practice Hinduism. Burmese Gurkha came along with British Army during colonial period. There are approximately 250 Hindu Temples build by Burmese Gurkha in and across country which of 30 temples are in Mandalay Region of Mogok City alone. Apparent there are three to five temples which are over 100 years old.
A small minority of Bengali Hindus
Bengali Hindus ( bn, বাঙ্গালী হিন্দু/বাঙালি হিন্দু, translit=Bāṅgālī Hindu/Bāṅāli Hindu) are an ethnoreligious population who make up the majority in the Indian states of West Beng ...
also practice Hinduism.
Ethnic data was last collected in Myanmar for the 1983 Census, and the census department didn't published stats related to ethnicity after that. Back in 1983, there were 428,428 Indians, 42,140 Pakistanis, 567,985 Rohingya and 28,506 Nepalis. Due to the mutual overlap in religious traditions, it is possible that some of the Hindus among these ethnicities reported as Buddhist during the 1983 Census. This may explain the low number of Hindus reported in 1983 (177,215).
As per the 1983 Census report, among the ethnic Indians 27.10% reported themselves as Buddhist, 33.64% as Hindu, 32.71% as Muslim, 4.44% as Christian and 2.10% as Others. Among the ethnic Burmese, the census reported three thousand Hindus. Out of the 174,401 Hindus reported in 1983, the ethnicity was as follows: Indian - 143,545, Chinese - 43, Mixed race - 4,882, Pakistani - 567, Bangladeshi - 865, Nepalese - 17,410, Other foreigners - 679, Kachin -48, Kayah - 3, Karen - 55, Chin - 155, Burmese - 2,988, Mon - 27, Rakhine - 99, Shan - 69 and other indigenous - 2,966.
Contemporary status
Aspects of Hinduism continue in Burma today, even in the majority Buddhist culture. For example, Thagyamin
Thagyamin ( my, သိကြားမင်း, ; from Sanskrit ''Śakra'') is the highest-ranking nat (deity) in traditional Burmese Buddhist belief. Considered as the king of Heaven, he is the Burmese adaptation of the Hindu deity Indra.
...
is worshipped whose origins are in the Hindu god Indra. Burmese literature has also been enriched by Hinduism, including the Burmese adaptation of the Ramayana, called Yama Zatdaw
Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...
. Many Hindu gods are likewise worshipped by many Burmese people, such as Saraswati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...
(known as Thuyathadi in Burmese), the goddess of knowledge, who is often worshipped before examinations; Shiva is called ''Paramizwa''; Vishnu is called ''Withano'', and others. Many of these ideas are part of thirty seven Nat
Nat or NAT may refer to:
Computing
* Network address translation (NAT), in computer networking
Organizations
* National Actors Theatre, New York City, U.S.
* National AIDS trust, a British charity
* National Archives of Thailand
* National As ...
or deities found in Burmese culture.
In modern Myanmar, most Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
are found in the urban centres of Yangon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
and Mandalay. Ancient Hindu temples are present in other parts of Burma, such as the 11th century Nathlaung Kyaung Temple
The Nathlaung Kyaung Temple ( sa, नाथ्लौंग क्यौंग, my, နတ်လှောင်ကျောင်း ; literally "shrine confining the spirits") is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. The temple is located inside th ...
dedicated to Vishnu in Bagan.
ISKCON
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktiv ...
(Hare Krishna) has a presence in Myanmar. The largest Hare Krishna community is in Myitkyina which has about 400 followers.
Public holidays
Deepavali
Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali (IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is on ...
is a public holiday in Myanmar.
Persecution of Hindus
After independence from Britain, Burma Socialist Programme Party under Ne Win adopted xenophobic policies and expelled 300,000 Indian ethnic people (many of whom were Hindus and included Sikhs, Buddhists, and Muslims), along with 100,000 Chinese, from Burma between 1963 and 1967.
On 25 August 2017, the villages in a cluster known as Kha Maung Seik in northern Maungdaw District of Rakhine State in Myanmar were attacked by Rohingya Muslims of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army
The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), formerly known as Harakah al-Yaqin ( "faith movement" in English), is a Rohingya insurgent group active in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. According to a December 2016 report by the International Cri ...
(ARSA).This was called Kha Maung Seik massacre. Amnesty International said that about 99 Hindus were killed in that day.
These Rohingya Hindus identify themselves as Chittagonian due to fear from Anti-Rohingya sentiment formed by Rohingya terrorists.
Hindu organisations and temples
Myanmar Hindu Central Council and Sanatan Dharma Swayamsevak Sangh are the two largest Hindu organizations in Myanmar.
All Myanmar Gurkha Hindu Religious Association is another Hindu organisation representing Gurkha Hindus. ISKCON
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktiv ...
has 12 centres in Myanmar and a school in Zayyawadi which provides religious education to brahmacharis
Temples
*Nathlaung Kyaung Temple
The Nathlaung Kyaung Temple ( sa, नाथ्लौंग क्यौंग, my, နတ်လှောင်ကျောင်း ; literally "shrine confining the spirits") is a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu. The temple is located inside th ...
*Shri Kali Temple, Burma
Shri Kali Temple is a Hindu temple located in the undefined Little India in downtown Yangon, Burma. It was built by Tamil migrants in 1871, whilst Burma Province was part of British India. The temple is noted for its colorful architecture, espec ...
*Sri Varatha Raja Perumal Temple
*Shree Maha Lakshmi Temple
*Sri Kali Amman Temple
*Kartayri Temple
*Sri Radha Mandalayshwar Temple
*Shree Ram Temple
*Sri Ganesh Temple
See also
* Hinduism in Bangladesh
*Hinduism in India
Hinduism is the largest religion in India. According to the 2011 Census of India, 966.3 million people identify as Hindu, representing 79.8% of the country's population. India contains 94% of the global Hindu population. The Indian subconti ...
* Hinduism in West Bengal
*Hinduism in Vietnam
Hinduism in Vietnam is mainly observed by the ethnic Cham people. Balamon Cham is one of two surviving non-Indic indigenous Hindu peoples. Around 64,547 Hindus live in Vietnam today.
*Religion in Myanmar
Myanmar (Burma) is a Buddhist majority country with a significant minority population residing in the country. Section 361 of the Constitution states that "The Union recognizes the special position of Buddhism as the faith professed by the grea ...
* Burmese Indians
* Bengali Hindus in Myanmar
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hinduism in Myanmar
Religion in Myanmar
Hinduism in Southeast Asia
Hinduism in Asia