Language And Cultural Identity Of Hindu Diaspora

Abstract

The research article aims to reflect the language and the cultural identity of the Hindu Diaspora. Language forms a significant part of the cultural identity. The word “diaspora” is generally not used for religions but the case of Hinduism is unique. The population of Hindus living outside the Indian subcontinent has never formed a large fraction of the total Hindu population. Even today more than 95% of Hindus live in the Indian subcontinent. The percentage of converted Hindus is much smaller as compared to the other major religions of the world. Hindus are a heterogeneous community which has expanded all over the world and speaks several languages. The Hindu Diaspora is a kind of an ecotone, which is between the traditional Hindu culture and the culture of its resident country. It consists of people of Indian origin and non resident Indians. The research paper classifies the Hindu diaspora into various spoken languages and culture further it also tries to present its spatial dimension. There have been various stages of emigration of the Hindus from the subcontinent. The research article presents the migration of Hindu Diaspora in terms of its spatial and temporal dimension. The research article also demonstrates two small case studies regarding the Hindu Diaspora in Reunion Island and the Hindu Diaspora of South American countries of Guyana and Suriname. The research article also presents the impact of Indian languages and culture in the various pockets of the world. The author has compared the dominance of Indian languages vis-a-vis each other over the Hindu Diaspora. In the light of the massive data required, the author uses secondary data. The reports of various International institutions, governments, newspaper articles and journals have been used as a source of the data. The various Hindu customs, foods and festivals are celebrated with full vigour in the continent, which were unheard of a few decades ago. The author finds that the Hindu Diaspora is evolving socially, economically and culturally. It is now an integral part of many nations and it has the potential to function as a bridge between their resident country and India.