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Hinduism: Peoples
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The word ‘Hinduism’ encompasses numerous independent religions of Indian origin. Hinduism is derived from the word Hindu, which is a Persian name for those people who live near and beyond the river Indus or Sindhu, who didn’t practice Islam or Christianity or Judaism and meant as such irreligious. The alternate word used for Hindu by Muslims was “kafir or non-believer.” The European word for Hindu is Indu or Indi or Indian, which ultimately gained popularity because of the British colonization. Even though the origin is same for both words Hindu and Indian, the former refers to religion and the later refers to citizenship.
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The practice of Hinduism consists of rites and ceremonies centering on the main socioreligious occasions of birth, marriage, and death. There are many Hindu temples, which are dwelling places of the deities and to which people bring offerings. There are ... places of pilgrimage, the chief one being Benares on the Ganges, most sacred among the rivers in India.
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In order to fully appreciate and understand Hinduism, it is ... important to understand the philosophies of the people who contributed to the refinement of the movement to its present form. The following biographies are meant to highlight several important social reformers, and do not comprise an exhaustive listing. These sources also provide bibliographies which outline other important sources on the topic.
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The word "Hindu" occurs nowhere in the classical scriptures of Hinduism. The ancestors of the present day Hindus did not identify themselves as Hindus. The word "Hindu" originated with Persians. They used the word "Hindu" to refer to the people who lived on the other side of the river Sindhu. But they pronounced the letter "s" as "h" - and that is how the people who lived on the bank of the river Sindhu became known as Hindus. When the British colonized the territory, the "h" disappeared, the river became "Indus", and the people became "Indians".
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Hinduism refers to itself as "Sanatana Dharma" or The Eternal Religion. However in the last few hundred years, people who practice Sanatan Dharma have come to be called "Hindus".The term is originally of Persian origin and refers to people who live on the other side (from a Persian point of view) of the Sind, that is, the Indus river.
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According to the census of 1901, the total population of India is a little more than 294,000,000 souls, of which 207,000,000 are adherents of Hinduism. The provinces in which they are most numerous are Assam, Bengal, Bombay, Berrar, Madras, Agra, and Oudh, and the Central Provinces. Of foreign religions, Mohammedanism has, by dint of long domination, made the deepest impression on the natives, numbering in India today nearly 62,500,000 adherents. Christianity, considering the length of time it has been operative in India, has converted but an insignificant fraction of the people from Hinduism. The Christians of all sects, foreign officials included, number but 2,664,000, nearly one-half being Catholics.
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