Hinduism in Réunion

Hindus in Réunion constitute a small part of the island's population. The island of Réunion is said to be host to approximately 250,000 Indian descendants.cite journal | title =Reunion Hindus Try For a Revival | journal =Hinduism Today | last=Himalayan Academy | date =November 1991 | url =http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1991/11/1991-11-02.shtml | accessdate =2007-03-21] Yet, uncertainty as to the exact number of Hindus in the country results from the fact that many of the members of the Indian population cross-identify with Roman Catholic, Muslim and Hindu faiths.

History

The history of Hinduism in Réunion stretches back to the mid- and late-nineteenth century. Many early Indian arrivals took on Christian names and had their children baptized in the Catholic Church at the insistence of their employers, owners or the government administration. Even so, they did not abandon Hinduism in the process.

With the exception of the Muslims who came to the island from Gujarat, all Indians were routinely reassigned as Catholics, more or less by force.cite conference | first =L. M | last =Singhvi | authorlink =Laxmi Mall Singhvi | coauthors =R. L. Bhatia, J. R. Hiremath, Baleshwar Agarwal | booktitle =High Level Committee on Indian Diaspora | title=Réunion | pages =Chapter 6 | publisher =Non Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin Division, Ministry of External Affairs | date =18 August 2000 | url =http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter6.pdf | accessdate =2007-03-21] Many of them appear to have been converted to that faith during the period of indenture.

Hinduism today

In recent years, there has been a revival of Hinduism among members of the Tamil community. This has led to the establishment of many temples and ashrams. An interesting feature, likely peculiar to Réunion, is the simultaneous observance by some ethnic Indians of both Catholic and Hindu rites, a practice that has earned them the sobriquet of being "socially Catholic and privately Hindu." A perhaps generous local explanation of this phenomenon is that "it is a manifestation of the Hindu religion, which is tolerant of other religions and has the capacity to co-exist with them."

The island's nascent Hindu revival is presently dealing with very basic matters. The first is how much the thoroughly integrated, educated, and prosperous French-speaking Indians of the Réunion Indians really want to assert their Hindu identity. As it is, the Hindus do not stand out as a distinct group, even though they represent approximately one half of the island's population.

References and notes

External links

* [http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/SSEAL/SouthAsia/tamil.html Indentured immigration and social accommodation in La Réunion] by Christian Ghasarian, University of California-Berkeley