Modern Hindu Diaspora(s)

Abstract

A key characteristic of modern Hinduism has been its interaction with forces of globalization. This interface has produced creative expressions of the religion globally. This chapter outlines the global movement of Indians (and Hindus) from the colonial period onwards and focuses on their everyday lives to reveal how Hindu religiosities have been reconfigured in new locales. Specifically, devotional Hinduism—seen in the persistence of domestic worship, growth of Hindu temples, and enactment of festivals and processions—has marked the life of overseas Hindu communities. In diasporic spaces, popular Hinduism is defined by religious syncretism and hybridity in a liberal approach to deities, symbols, philosophies, and ritual practices associated with non-Hindu religious traditions. An inclusive and plural notion of ‘Hindu diaspora’ needs to attend to more than ‘Indian’ variations of Hinduism abroad and to focus also, for example, on Sri Lanka and Nepalese diasporic Hindu experiences.