Hinduism Beyond South Asia and North America

Whether from legacies of indentured servitude or large-scale migrations, Hindu diasporas have taken root all over the world. Scholars have explored how Hindus living outside South Asia, particularly in North America, simultaneously maintain and adapt their traditions and practices through community formation and temple-building. But this balancing act of maintenance and adaptation looks different in varying geographic and historical contexts. This panel aims to explore the dynamic interactions with and explorations of Hinduism outside of South Asia and North America.

The presentations in this panel offer enriching contributions and a more serious investigation into the broader discourse of global Hindu diasporas beyond South Asia and North America, specifically those in Thailand, Mauritius, People’s Republic of China, and United Arab Emirates. The presentations explore questions surrounding engagement with and understandings of Hinduism in countries with historical Hindu influences or presence, the legacy of indentured servants and temple construction, and navigating socio-political contexts. In the first paper the author asks: what are the ways Bangkok residents, several identifying as Buddhist, engage with monuments, icons, and religious practices of Hindu figures? This paper explores the paradigm shift of understanding Thai Hindu traditions through ethnographic data collected at two suburban Bangkok temples –Wat Saman Rattanaram and Thewalai Khanetinsuan—though distinct both represent shared attitudes toward the public worship of Hindu figures like Ganesha. The second paper explores the intersection of Hindu studies and the study of religion in the People’s Republic of China through fieldwork conducted with Chinese members of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness. The author explores 1) how and why several Chinese citizens have embraced devotion to Krishna, and 2) how devotees maintain their faith while facing social and political challenges. The third paper maps the settlement of Murugan worship in indentured Tamil communities in the Mauritius in the early 20th century. The author explores the emergence of Murukan centered worship amidst a dominantly ritual economy of Māriyamman and Draupati worship, and ultimately argues that this establishment of and shift toward Murugan centers of worship marked a departure from a hierarchical economy toward a more fluid and horizontal patronage. The final paper examines the presence and emergence of Hindu communities and places of worship in the Middle East more broadly and the United Arab Emirates in particular. Drawing on historical and ethnographic research the author explores the emergence of religious inclusion policies that have facilitated the practice of Hinduism and temple construction in the United Arab Emirates, to highlight the evolving dynamics of Hindu-Muslim relations, religious pluralism, and cultural integration and exchanges.

By exploring the ways Hindus in varied diasporic contexts beyond North America continue to integrate, adapt, and thrive, this session in its entirety contributes to broadening the range of case studies explored under the wider categories of Hindu diaspora, Global Hinduism, or Transnational Hinduism.