Indo-Aryan migrations brought the
Indo-Aryans to
South Asia,[26] where they compiled and composed the Vedic corpus during the
Vedic period (ca. 1500-500 BCE) across present-day
Northern India,
Pakistan and
Afghanistan.[27] The subsequent period, between 800 BCE and 250 BCE, was "a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions", and a formative period for Hinduism,
Jainism and
Buddhism. The Epic and Early Puranic period, from
c. 250 BCE and 500 CE, saw the onset of the
Hindu synthesis, followed by the classical "Golden Age" of India (
c. 350 - 650 CE), which coincides with the
Gupta Empire. [28]
The Vedic period, named after the Vedic religion of the
Indo-Aryans, lasted from
c. 1900 BCE-500 BCE. The Indo-Aryans were pastoralists who migrated into north-western India after the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization. Linguistic and archaeological data show a cultural change in the subcontinent after 1500 BCE, with the linguistic and religious data clearly showing links with Indo-European languages and religion. By about 1500 BCE, the Vedic culture and agrarian lifestyle were established in the northwest and northern Gangetic plain of South Asia. Rudimentary state-forms appeared, of which the
Kuru-Pañcāla union was the most influential. The first recorded
state-level society in South Asia existed around 1000 BCE. In this period, states Samuel emerged the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of Vedic texts, which merged into the earliest
Upanishads. These texts began to ask the meaning of a ritual, adding increasing levels of philosophical and metaphysical speculation, or "
Hindu synthesis".
In recent years, there has been a rising movement of
Hindu nationalism and feeling of
Hindutva or Hindu identity among the Hindus of India.[30] This has been observed especially after the formation of the
BJP government in India in 2014.[31] In India, several
Hindu nationalist political parties exist, out of which the BJP is the biggest among them.[32] Alongside the BJP, the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has also been accused of being a chief organisation in the Hindu nationalist cause.[33][34]
Similarly, Nepal has also experienced the same rise in Hindu nationalism, mainly after 2015 after demonstrators protested for the re-declaration of Hinduism as the
state religion of Nepal along with the restoration of the
monarchy in the country. Nepal has seen an increase in violence against
Christians.[45]
Hinduism is the majority religion in
Nepal and
India, with 81.34% and 79.8% of the countries' respective populations practicing Hinduism.[B] Hinduism is the second largest religious group in
Bangladesh,
Pakistan,
Sri Lanka and
Bhutan and there is a very minute Hindu minority in
Afghanistan.[21] There are also no Hindus in the
Maldives, as per its constitution.[C]
^"The Mohammedan conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precarious thing, whose delicate complex of order and liberty, culture and peace may at any time be overthrown by barbarians invading from without or multiplying within. The Hindus had allowed their strength to be wasted in internal division and war; they had adopted religions like Buddhism and Jainism, which unnerved them for the tasks of life; they had failed to organize their forces for the protection of their frontiers and their capitals."[29]
^Sunni Islam is the
state religion of the
Maldives and as per the 2008 Constitution, only
Sunni Muslims are capable of holding Maldivian citizenship and the government mandates that all citizens practice Sunni Islam, effectively making its population 100% Muslim.[49]
^
ab2022 national population estimates by the World Factbook result in a South Asian population of 1,891,670,539.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
^
abHindus comprise 79.8% (1,148,930,682) of India's total population of 1,389,637,446 per 2022 estimate by the World Factbook.[1]
^
abHindus comprise 81.3% (24,931,944) of Nepal's total population of 30,666,598 per 2022 estimate by the World Factbook.[2]
^
abHindus comprise 2.14% (5,198,570) of Pakistan's total population of 242,923,845. Hindu percentage is derived from the
2017 Pakistan Census while the total population is a 2022 estimate by the World Factbook.[4][16]
^
abHindus comprise 12.6% (2,921,627) of Sri Lanka's total population of 23,187,516 per 2022 estimate by the World Factbook.[5]
^
abHindus comprise 22.1% (191,778) of Bhutan's total population of 867,775 per 2022 estimate by the World Factbook.[6]
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Eaton, Richard M. (2006). "Introduction". In Chatterjee, Indrani; Eaton, Richard M. (eds.). Slavery and South Asian History. Indiana University Press 0-2533.
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Paul, Pran Gopal; Paul, Debjani (1989). "Brahmanical Imagery in the Kuṣāṇa Art of Mathurā: Tradition and Innovations". East and West. 39 (1/4): 111–143.
ISSN0012-8376.
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Kitagawa, Joseph (5 September 2013). The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture. Routledge.
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