Hindoestanen

Infobox Ethnic group
group=Hindoestanen
poptime= 300,000
popplace=Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Wanica, Paramaribo, Nickerie, Commewijne
rels= Hinduism, Islam, Christian
langs= Hindi, Bhojpuri, Dutch, and various other languages
related=

The Hindoestanen are an ethnic group of South Asian origin in the Netherlands and Suriname. The Hindoestanen began migrating to Suriname in 1873 from what was then British India as indentured labourers, many from the modern-day Indian state of Bihar and its surrounding regions. Just before and just after the independence of Suriname on 25 November, 1975 many Hindoestanen emigrated to the Netherlands. As of 2007, about 123,000 of the total of 300,000 live in the Netherlands. In contrast to what the name suggest, they do not necessarily follow the Hindu religion: a significant minority is Muslim. [Knippenberg, Hans "The Changing Religious Landscape of Europe" edited by Knippenberg published by Het Spinhuis, Amsterdam 2005 ISBN 9055892483, page 94 " [..] among the Surinamese people of Javanese or Hindustan background there are many Muslims."]

Etymology

Hindoestanen is a Dutch word derived from "Hindustani", a Persian word for someone from Hindustan (India). Hence, when Indians migrated to Suriname they were referred to as Hindoestanen, people from Indian origin.

During the heyday of the British Raj/Empire, many people from India were sent to other British colonies for work. Indian migrants have taken Hinduism and Hindu culture to Surinam, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, Fiji, Mauritius and other countries in and around the Indian Ocean, and in the nations of the West Indies and the Caribbean.

Religion

The majority religion among the community is Hinduism, practiced by (65%) of the people, followed by Islam at (25%). Among the Hindu Hindoestanen about 60% follow traditional Hinduism that they call "Sanatan Dharm" to differentiate themselves from the 25% who belong to the reform movement Arya Samaj, started by Swami Dayananda Saraswati.

Language

Sarnami Hindustani a dialect of Hindi, Bhojpuri. Spoken by ca. 550.000 people from Indian origin in the Caribbean and the Netherlands.

Notable Hindoestanen in The Netherlands

* Anil Ramdas, Dutch reporter
* Tara Singh Varma, Dutch GreenLeft politician

References

See also

* Hinduism in the Netherlands
* [http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter11.pdf Indian Diaspora in Netherlands]
* [http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter18.pdf Indian Diaspora in Suriname]