आगमे विश्वासटिप्पन्यः

Although the vast majority of Hindus
live in their traditional homeland of
South Asia, particularly in India and
Nepal, there is also a long history of
Hindus settling in other lands. By about
the fourth century C.E., Hindu traders
had spread Indian influence throughout
Southeast Asia, where the monuments
at the Angkor temple complex and the
culture of Bali bear witness to its presence. In the past century, poverty and
overcrowding in certain parts of India
(especially Bihar) led many of these
traders to sign up as agricultural contract laborers in Fiji, South Africa, East
Africa, the West Indies, Mauritius, and
even Sri Lanka. All of these places have
substantial Hindu communities,
although their local status differs. In
some of these places Indians are considered equal citizens with the indigenous
peoples, and in others, such as Fiji, they
suffer legal obstacles. Aside from agricultural labor, another possibility for
mobility and advancement came
through serving in the British army or
196
Dhupa
civil service in other parts of the British
Empire, such as Singapore or Hong
Kong. Finally, the liberalization of immigration and nationalization laws since
the end of World War II has led to the formation of a substantial Hindu community in North America, both in Canada
and the United States.