Meet The Hindus In Myanmar
Meet The Hinduism of Myanmar
SPECIAL FEATURE (Jan/Feb/March 2016)
How Hindus—brought here by the British from all over India in the 19th century—have adjusted to life in this strongly Buddhist nation
MYANMAR’S 2.9 MILLION HINDUS struggle to maintain their identity amidst the country’s historically dominant Buddhists. Indians have been present in Myanmar for 2,000 years, but most came in the mid-19th century, when the country’s British rulers brought a million people from various parts of India to take up posts in the government and the army, build roads and railroads or engage in commerce and farming.
During World War II, Myanmar (then Burma) was a major battleground between Japanese and Allied forces, with huge loss of life on all sides. After the war, the newly independent government considered most Indians “resident aliens,” not citizens, regardless of how many generations they had lived in the country.
In the 1960s, the military regime nationalized almost every business in the country. They seized the property of hundreds of thousands of Indians and forced them to leave the country. Those left behind were—and remain—deeply traumatized. They continue to occupy a much-diminished niche in both politics and business. Only after 1982 did the government establish a path to full citizenship for Indians, with the right to vote, own land and attend government institutions of higher education.
Now just two percent of the population, Myanmar’s Hindus are an unassuming and apolitical community focused on their farms, trade and small businesses, rejoicing in the freedom they have to practice their religion. To convey their little-known story to the world, HINDUISM TODAY sent reporter Rajiv Malik and photographer Thomas Kelly on a two-week tour of the country. This is their account.
Text by Rajeev Malik
Read More: http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=5647
Read MoreSPECIAL FEATURE (Jan/Feb/March 2016)
How Hindus—brought here by the British from all over India in the 19th century—have adjusted to life in this strongly Buddhist nation
MYANMAR’S 2.9 MILLION HINDUS struggle to maintain their identity amidst the country’s historically dominant Buddhists. Indians have been present in Myanmar for 2,000 years, but most came in the mid-19th century, when the country’s British rulers brought a million people from various parts of India to take up posts in the government and the army, build roads and railroads or engage in commerce and farming.
During World War II, Myanmar (then Burma) was a major battleground between Japanese and Allied forces, with huge loss of life on all sides. After the war, the newly independent government considered most Indians “resident aliens,” not citizens, regardless of how many generations they had lived in the country.
In the 1960s, the military regime nationalized almost every business in the country. They seized the property of hundreds of thousands of Indians and forced them to leave the country. Those left behind were—and remain—deeply traumatized. They continue to occupy a much-diminished niche in both politics and business. Only after 1982 did the government establish a path to full citizenship for Indians, with the right to vote, own land and attend government institutions of higher education.
Now just two percent of the population, Myanmar’s Hindus are an unassuming and apolitical community focused on their farms, trade and small businesses, rejoicing in the freedom they have to practice their religion. To convey their little-known story to the world, HINDUISM TODAY sent reporter Rajiv Malik and photographer Thomas Kelly on a two-week tour of the country. This is their account.
Text by Rajeev Malik
Read More: http://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=5647
