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 the second largest

religion in New Zealand Religion in New Zealand encompasses a wide range of groups and beliefs. Almost half (48.6 percent) of New Zealanders stated they had no religion in the 2018 census and 6.7 percent made no declaration. However, Christianity remains the most co ...

. It is also one of the fastest-growing religions in New Zealand. According to the 2018 census, Hindus form 2.65% of the population of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. There are about 123,534 Hindus in New Zealand. Hindus from all over India continue to immigrate today, with the largest Indian ethnic subgroup being Gujaratis. A later wave of immigrants also includes Hindu immigrants who were of Indian descent from nations that were historically under European colonial rule, such as Fiji. Today there are Hindu temples in all major New Zealand cities.

History

Early settlement

In 1836 the missionary William Colenso saw Māori women near Whangarei using a broken bronze bell to boil potatoes. The inscription is in very old Tamil script. This discovery has led to speculation that Tamil-speaking Hindus may have visited New Zealand hundreds of years ago. However, the first noted settlement of Hindus in New Zealand dates back to the arrival of sepoys (Indian soldiers) in the 19th century, with the first communities from the Punjab and Gujarat arriving in the 1890s. Until the 1980s almost all Hindu migrants came from Gujarat. Later they arrived from all over India and from elsewhere, including Sri Lanka, Malaysia and South Africa.

Easing of immigration policies and increased immigration: 1987-2001

In the 1991 Census, surging migration as a result of the Immigration Act 1987 made the number of Hindus surpass 17,000. India's Economic Liberalisation occurred in the same year, increasing the standard of living and allowing more immigrants to come in the future. The 1996 New Zealand Census showed the eased immigration laws resulted in the number of Hindus growing from 18,000 in 1991 to surpassing 25,000 for the first time. This was largely due to the continued success of the Immigration Act 1987.

Fast growth and slowdown: 2001-2012

In the 2001 Census, the population of Hindus was at almost 40 000, meaning that the number of Hindus tripled in the 10 years since the 1991 census. The 2006 census showed the number of Hindus to be 64,557, an increase of nearly 62% from the previous census in 2001. The growth of the number of Hindus in New Zealand then slowed in the years between the 2006 Census and the 2013 Census because of a mixture of events. The heightened violence against Indian Australians(2007-2010) and the

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

were the main reasons why growth of Hindus declined. The latter was also the main reason why the Census year was moved from 2011 to 2013. The slowdown in long term migration was partially offset by soaring numbers of Indian Students and Skilled Migrants, whose numbers increased rapidly during the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

partly due to costs being cheaper and a better economic outlook. The recently conducted 2013 Census showed the Hindu population made up slightly over 2% of the population, with 90,018 adherents. This increased Hinduism's share of the total New Zealand population by 0.5% despite immigration slowing as a result of the events mentioned earlier.

Demographics

Hindus in percentage by years

Religion data by years

Classification and ethnicity

According to the 2018 census: *121,644 identified as Hindu (not further defined) *645

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna may refer to: * International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a group commonly known as "Hare Krishnas" or the "Hare Krishna movement" * Hare Krishna (mantra) The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the (" ...

s *327

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...

*36 Arya Samaj *882 Hindu (not elsewhere classified).

Ethnicity

Majority of the Hindus in New Zealand are Asians, followed by Europeans and Pacific Islanders. There are 3,567 European and 1,857 Pacific peoples following Hinduism. Hinduism also has a small following among Māori. There are 858 Māori following Hinduism

Hindu organisations

The first Hindu organisation - the Hindu Council of New Zealand (HCNZ) was formed in the mid-1990s and is affiliated to the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a global Hindu organisation. HCNZ has hosted annual New Zealand Hindu conferences since 2007. It has also established the Hindu Heritage Centre, Hindu Social Service Foundation, Hindu Elders Foundation and Hindu Youth New Zealand, and runs youth and family camps. In 2010 HCNZ launched Hindu Organisations, Temples and Associations (HOTA), a representative body for Hindu groups in New Zealand. Other Hindu organisations include Ramakrishna Mission, Chinmaya Mission, Sathya Sai Organisation,

Art of Living Foundation The Art of Living Foundation is a volunteer-based, humanitarian and educational non-governmental organization (NGO). It was founded in 1981 by Ravi Shankar. The Art of Living Foundation has its centers in 180 countries. Art of Living offers s ...

, Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh, Sewa International and Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation.

Contemporary society

According to a survey done by the Victoria University Wellington in 2019,it was found that New Zealanders believe that Hindus are more trustworthy than

atheists Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

, Protestants,

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, Catholics and Evangelicals. About 28.3 percent of New Zealanders have complete or much trust in Hindus, while 19.9 percent have little or no trust. Jews and Hindus hold the highest education level in New Zealand.

Relation with Māori

There are similarities between Hindu and

Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several c ...

customs and languages. There are at least 185 Sanskrit and other Indian language words similar to the Māori language. Some Hindu communities also have similar buildings to marae, where people hold meetings and sleep over. Māori also bless new buildings before they open, usually before sunrise, as Hindus do.

Temples

The following is a list of Hindu temples in major New Zealand cities. Cities are ordered by the number of Hindu Temples. The name of the Mandir is in bold and the location is in italics.

Auckland

* Shri Ram Mandir is located at 11 Brick Street, Henderson, Auckland. Ref www.shrirammandir.org.nz * Thiru Subramaniyar Aalayam is located in 69, Tidal Road, Mangere, Auckland. It is a temple with South Indian style granite deities. * Bhartiya Mandir is the oldest and the largest Hindu Temple in New Zealand * Thirumurugan Temple in Otahuhu. * Sri Ganesh Temple located in Papakura. * Radha-Krishna Temple in Eden Terrace * Ram Krishna Temple in Papatoetoe * Swaminarayan Temple in Auckland, situated in Papatoetoe and run by The International Swaminarayan Satsang Organisation * BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Avondale, Auckland.

Wellington

* Kurinchi Kumaran Temple, located in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

in Newlands. It was the first South Indian style Hindu temple to be established in New Zealand, and it features ancient temple architecture. It is located in 3 Batchelor Street Newlands Wellington. * The Wellington Indian Association run a North Indian style Temple. * Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple of Wellington is located in Wainuiomata. Sanatana Dharma Paripalana Seva Trust of New Zealand, registered charity in New Zealand established the temple in 2018 with community support and operational from Nov 2019 at 25, Waiu Street, Wainuiomata, Wellington. * BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, 83A Eastern Hutt Road, Taita, Lower Hutt

Tauranga

* Sanatan Dharam Mandir, built by the members of the Tauranga Hindu community. The trust bought roughly 2150 square meters of land in the suburb of Tauriko for around $400,000. Despite being inaugurated in 2012, work on the actual Hindu Temple did not commence until early 2015. Stage One of the temple was completed by mid-late 2015. The temple is located at 108 Whiore Ave, Tauriko, Tauranga.

Christchurch

* Christchurch's and the South Island's only Hindu temple is the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Christchurch, located in 19 Frank Street in the suburb of Papanui. The mandir was inaugurated on 2011, after a "Mahapuja". The temple was inaugurated after 12 months of renovations, which the 2011 Christchurch earthquake temporarily halted.

Rotorua

* The BAPS Sri Swaminarayan Temple, Rotorua's first Hindu Temple, opened in 2012 making it the fourth "BAPS" temple in New Zealand. It the only Hindu Temple in the central north island.

Hamilton

* The Sri Balaji Temple was opened in March 2015, six years after the founding of the Sri Balaji Temple Charitable Trust * BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, 10 Tawn Place, Pukete, Hamilton 3200

Other locations

* The

International Society for Krishna Consciousness 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 ...

also has a presence in New Zealand, running temples in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch. The Auckland temple is located out of the city, and is built in the Vedic style with a tower over the main shrine.

Attack on Hindu Community

A West Auckland Hindu temple was the target of an arson attack over Labour weekend. The incident occurred at Shri Ram Mandir on Brick St in Auckland's Henderson on October 21, 2022 about 11.30pm. Temple spokesperson Pravin Kumar said, "It could have been disastrous because, on the premises, we also have a priest's quarters where the family of the priest were present - it's attached to the same building, and people could have died."

Notable Hindus

Sport

* Jeetan Patel, former spin bowler for the New Zealand

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

team, the

Black Caps The New Zealand national cricket team represents New Zealand in men's international cricket. Named the Black Caps, they played their first Test in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. From 1930 ...

Roy Krishna Roy Krishna (born 30 August 1987) is a Fijian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru FC and the Fiji national team. Club career Early career Krishna joined the New Zealand Football Championship ...

, Fijian football player playing for Wellington Phoenix FC as a striker in the A-league * Dipak Narshibhai Patel, cricket player Tests and one-day internationals for New Zealand * Jeet Raval, current batsman for the Black Caps Test match team * Roneel Hira, New Zealand cricketer *

Tarun Nethula Tarun Sai Nethula (born 8 May 1983) is an Indian-born cricketer who has played for the New Zealand national cricket team. He started his cricket training at St. Johns Cricket Academy in Hyderabad, Telangana and moved to New Zealand at the age of ...

, New Zealand cricketer *

Rachin Ravindra Rachin Ravindra (born 18 November 1999) is a New Zealand international cricketer. He made his international debut for the New Zealand cricket team in September 2021. In December 2023, Rachin was signed by the Chennai Super Kings in the player ...

, current New Zealand cricketer

Entertainment

* Aaradhna Patel, Half Samoan and half Indian R&B artist * Shailesh Prajapati, New Zealand actor, known for his role as Ernie in ''Power Rangers MegaForce''

Media

*Rohit Kumar Happy, editor of ''Bharat-Darshan'', Hindi literary magazine * Vanita Prasad, chief reporter, ''Western Leader'' * Rebecca Singh, openly gay news anchor on the New Zealand television station TV3

Politics

* Mahesh Bindra, Hindu Member of Parliament * Priyanca Radhakrishnan, first Hindu woman Member of Parliament since 2017 * Rajen Prasad, former Race Relations Commissioner and Families Commissioner, first Hindu Member of Parliament serving from 2008-2014 *

Anand Satyanand Sir Anand Satyanand, (born 22 July 1944) is a former lawyer, judge and ombudsman who served as the 19th Governor-General of New Zealand from 2006 to 2011. Satyanand was chair of the Commonwealth Foundation for two 2-year terms, ending in De ...

, former Governor-General of New Zealand, appointed on 23 August 2006

References

External links

Hindu scholar finds similarities with Maori cultureDirectory of Hindu Temples in New Zealand
{{Hinduism in Oceania