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Hindu devotees sing hymns inside Kashi Vishwanath Temple compound in Varanasi, India
Image: Pawan Kumar/REUTERS

Hinduism

Hinduism is the oldest of the six major world religions. It has nearly 1.2 billion followers around the globe, making it the third-largest faith after Christianity and Islam.

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All Content on this topic

A man looks into the camera with red figment drawn across his forehead

India: Hindu nationalists force religious conversions

Right-wing Hindus are pressuring Christians in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh state to convert.
ReligionAugust 11, 202504:04 min
A devotee returns after taking a holy dip at sangam, confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythological Saraswati rivers on January 13, 2025

India: Inside a Kumbh Mela Hindu pilgrimage to Ganges River

DW follows one couple as they embark on their spiritual journey in India's densely crowded Maha Kumbh Mela.
ReligionJanuary 13, 202503:51 min
Delhi, India | Hindu-Muslim conflict

How India's Hindu-Muslim conflict plays out in mosques

In India, historic mosques are becoming flashpoints for religious tensions between Hindus and Muslims.
PoliticsDecember 16, 202403:50 min
A portrait of an artist dressed as the Hindu goddess Mahakali performing during a procession of the Bonalu festival in Hyderabad. His face is colourfully painted, and he sticks out his red-painted tongue.

Bonalu: A colorful festival for a Hindu goddess

The festival celebrates the goddess Mahakali and symbolizes the cultural unity of the Indian state of Telangana.
ReligionAugust 3, 20247 images
A pink statue of the Hindu god Ganesh in Thailand

Why is the Hindu god Ganesh so popular in Buddhist Thailand?

Despite Thai society being mostly Buddhist, statues of Hindu deities can be found all over the country.
SocietyMarch 29, 202402:40 min
A Hindu caretaker, who has long white hair and a long white beard, sits in his room

India: Mosque caretaker a symbol of Hindu-Muslim harmony

A Hindu caretaker who has spent decades tending a mosque talks about how Hindus and Muslims live peacefully in Varanasi.
SocietyOctober 11, 202301:33 min
The soon-to-be-opened Hindu temple on Hasenheide in Berlin

Germany's largest Hindu temple set to open in Berlin

The complex is 20 years in the making, and about to be completed thanks to the generosity of Berlin's Indian community.
ReligionSeptember 3, 2023
Videostill Sendung Reporter | Zeremonie in Bangladesch

Fear among Hindus as religious festival starts

In Bangladesh, the minority Hindus are preparing for an important religious festival, Durga Puja.
SocietySeptember 25, 202212:35 min
Buchcover The Ramayana, As Told by Aubrey Menen

Teaching of Hindu books in Indian madrasas sparks anger

Muslim clerics have slammed mandatory teaching of Hindu epics in educational institutions as a move to "Hinduize" India.
PoliticsMarch 10, 2021
Neu Delhi Proteste von Christen

Hindu groups target Christmas in India

Right-wing Hindu groups are warning India’s minority Christians against celebrating Christmas this year.
PoliticsDecember 22, 2017
Indien - Proteste gegen Gewalt gegen Muslime

Indians protest attacks on Muslims

Fear has gripped Indian Muslims in the wake of violent attacks by Hindu fanatics. Murali Krishnan reports.
SocietyJune 29, 2017
Indien Feuerritual Splitterpartei Hindu Sena unterstützt Trump

Trump - a hero in India

Trump is being hailed as a "hero" for taking a tough line against radical Islam and Muslim immigrants in the US.
PoliticsNovember 11, 2016
AP Iconic Images Mutter Theresa 1978

Fueling religious tensions

Protests have erupted in India after controversial remarks about Mother Teresa by a Hindu leader.
February 26, 2015
Activists of Hindu group Sri Ram Sena burn cards during a protest against Valentine's Day in Jammu, India, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012 (Photo: AP Photo/Channi Anand)

Celebration of hatred

While the world celebrated love, Hindu fanatics used Valentine's Day to show their hatred.
February 14, 2014
Thousand of temples Varanasi. (Photo: DW/Murali Krishnan)

A place to die

Hindus flock to Varanasi, or Kashi, to die and exit the torturous cycle of reincarnation.
August 23, 2013
(Photo: AP/Biswaranjan Rout)

Pain means worship

Devotees in Orissa, India perform penance rituals to appease Lord Shiva, the god of destruction.
April 4, 20136 images
A migrant worker takes bath near an open sewer at a slum in Mumbai, India (Photo: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

The untouchables

Can a 'holy dip' in the Ganges remove social stigma from the lives of India's manual scavengers.
February 15, 2013

Violence Spreads through Gujarat, India

Thousands of soldiers have been deployed across India's northwestern state of Gujarat in a bid to quell unrest between Hindus and minority Moslems. Germany joins international community in condemning the violence.
March 2, 2002

Communal Violence Raises its Head Again in India

The western Indian state of Gujarat is on a state of high alert after the worst outbreak of Hindu-Muslim bloodshed in a decade.
March 2, 2002