| Group: | Surinamese Hindus |
| Pop: | 129,440 (2015) constituting 23.15% of the population. |
| Regions: | SurinameNetherlandsGuyana Dutch CaribbeanUnited StatesCanada |
| Rels: | Hinduism (Sanātana Dharma) Majority sect Sanātanī (80.58%) Minority sects Arya Samaj (13.81%)Kabir PanthSathya Sai Baba movementCaribbean Shaktism (Kali Mai Dharam/Madrasi Hinduism) Hindu atheismOthers |
| Scriptures: | VedasPuranasUpanishads Ramayana (incl. Ramcharitmanas version)Mahabharata (incl. Bhagavad Gita)other Hindu texts |
| Related-C: | Guyanese HindusTrinidadian and Tobagonian HindusJamaican Hindusother Caribbean Hindus |
| Langs: | SanskritTamil (liturgical language) Sarnami HindustaniSurinamese DutchEnglishSranan Tongo |
Hinduism in Suriname is the second-largest religion. According to ARDA, there are 129,440 Hindus in Suriname as of 2015, constituting 23.15% of the population.[1] [2] Suriname has the second largest percentage of Hindus in the Western Hemisphere, after Guyana (24.8%).
The story of Hindus in Suriname is broadly parallel to that in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago. Indian indentured labourers were sent to colonial Dutch Guiana by special arrangement between the Dutch and British.[3] The difference is that the Netherlands' more liberal policy toward Hinduism allowed a stronger culture to develop. Example is the almost universal reading of the Bhagavad Gita, the Ramcharitmanas, and the Ramayana.[4] [5]
According to ARDA, there are 129,440 Hindus in Suriname as of 2015, constituting 23.15% of the population.[6] [7]
| Year | Percent of Hindus | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 16.4% | - | |
| 1916 | 19.8% | +3.4% | |
| 1936 | 21.8% | +2.0% | |
| 1946 | 19.5% | -2.3% | |
| 1964 | 27% | +7.5% | |
| 1971 | 29.5% | +2.5% | |
| 1980 | 27.4% | -2.1% | |
| 2004 | 19.9% | -7.4% | |
| 2012 | 22.3% | +2.4% | |
| 2015 | 23.1% | +0.8% |
| District | Percent of Hindus | |
|---|---|---|
| 44.6% | ||
| 43.2% | ||
| 39.9% | ||
| 24.5% | ||
| 13.8% | ||
| 4.9% | ||
| 2.2% | ||
| 0.9% | ||
| 0.4% | ||
| 0.3% |
See also: Arya Samaj in Suriname. According to the 2012 census, 18% of Surinamese are Sanatani Hindus, 3.1% are Arya Samaj, and the remaining 1.2% followed other forms of Hinduism.
ISKCON also have a presence in Suriname. The first Hare Krishna devotees to visit Suriname were devotees from Guyana way back in the early 1980s. The first Center was established about two decades ago, and now there is a vibrant preaching center in the country’s second city, New Nickerie.[9]
Communities of Indo-Caribbeans in Suriname also practice Madras Hinduism, a syncretic largely based on Tamil Hinduism
Majority of the Hindus in Suriname are East Indians, both in absolute terms and in percentage. Hinduism has a considerable following among Mixed ethnic people (3,210 people) and Javanese Surinamese (915 people). Hinduism is also practised among Chinese Surinamese (157 people), Creole (142 people), Maroon (84 people), Indigenous people (83 people) and Afro-Surinamese (59 people).
| Ethnic group | Percent of Ethnic group practising Hinduism | |
|---|---|---|
| 78% | ||
| Mixed | 2.4% | |
| 1% | ||
| 0.5% | ||
| 1.2% | ||
| 0.04% | ||
| Creole | 0.017% | |
| 0.007% |
In contrast to the neighbouring Guyanese Hindus who speak English, most of the Surinamese Hindus speak Sarnami Hindustani, a dialect of Bhojpuri. This is largely due to the fact that the Dutch did not force the Indo-Caribbean population to abandon their native languages, unlike in British colonies like Trinidad and Guyana, where English was imposed as a means of attempting to erase cultural and religious traditions.[10]
Deepavali and Holi are national holidays in Suriname.[11]