India 3,810,000 Indonesia 10,000 Hong Kong 7,500 | Pakistan c. 2,500,000 Singapore 8,800 | |
 | ||
Sindhi Hindus are Sindhi people that follow the Hindu religion and traditions, and originate from the Sindh region of the Indian Subcontinent.
Contents
Hinduism in Sindh
Hinduism, as in other areas of the Indian Subcontinent, was the earliest religion predominantly practiced in the Sindh region in modern-day Pakistan. The region of Sindh has historically been, and still is, home to the largest community of Hindus in Pakistan. Following the Arab Muslim conquest in the 8th century, Islam spread throughout the region and over the period of time Islam became the faith practiced by the majority of Sindhi people. The Islamic religion, coupled with traditional influences and exposure to and interaction with Hinduism, has shaped the diverse Sindhi culture. Starting with Muhammad bin Qasim and Habbari dynasty, the Delhi Sultanate and later the Mughal Empire ruled the region. After the partition of India in 1947, majority of the Sindhi Hindus migrated to India, and settled primarily in neighboring Gujarat and the city of Mumbai, where their population is estimated to be 3 million. There are also sizable Sindhi Hindu communities elsewhere in the world, sometimes termed, the 'Sindhi diaspora'.
Partition of India
Following the partition of India, a significant number of Sindhi Hindus left Sindh following religious-based persecution against Hindus in the province. Many initially settled in Rajasthan and in the neighbouring Kutch district of Gujarat, which bears linguistic and cultural similarities to Sindh.
Naming conventions
Most Sindhi Hindu family names are a modified form of a patronymic and typically end with the suffix "-ani", which is used to denote descent from a common male ancestor. One explanation states that the -ani suffix is a Sindhi variant of 'anshi', derived from the Sanskrit word 'ansh', which means 'descended from' (see: Devanshi). The first part of a Sindhi Hindu surname is usually derived from the name or location of an ancestor. In northern Sindh, surnames ending in 'ja' (meaning 'of') are also common. A person's surname would consist of the name of his or her native village, followed by 'ja'. Sindhi Hindus generally add the suffix ‘-ani’ to the name of a great grandfather and adopt the name as a family name.