Indo-Surinamese
Indo-Surinamese, Indian-Surinamese or Hindustani Surinamese are nationals of Suriname of Indian origin, who trace their ancestry to India and the wider subcontinent. Their ancestors were indentured workers from (the former) British Raj brought by the Dutch and the British to the (then) Dutch colony of Suriname during the mid-19th to the early 20th century.[4] Per the 2012 Census of Suriname, 148,443 citizens of Suriname are of Indo-Surinamese origin, constituting 27.4% of the total population, making them the largest ethnic group in Suriname on an individual level.
Etymology[edit]
Indo-Surinamese are also known locally by the Dutch term Hindoestanen (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌɦɪnduˈstaːnə(n)]), derived from the word Hindustani, lit., "someone from Hindustan".[5] Hence, when Indians migrated to Suriname they were referred to as Hindustanis, people of Indian origin. Since 1947 the official name for the ethnic group in Suriname has been Hindostanen (“Hindostanis”). As the term Hindoestanen was mostly associated with followers of Hinduism, Hindostanen also includes the Muslim and Christian followers among the Indian immigrants in Suriname.[6][7] Nowadays the term Hindoestanen and Hindostanen are interchangeably used in common Dutch language, and with that the meaning of Hindoestanen came to be more inclusive. They were also known as kantraki or girmityas, terms referring to the agreements that the labourers had to sign regarding the work and the period of stay, and meaning "Someone with an Agreement."[8][9]
Religion[edit]
The majority religion among the Indo-Surinamese is Hinduism, practiced by 78% of the people, followed by Islam (13%), Christianity (7%), and Jainism. Among the Hindus about 63% follow orthodox, traditional Hinduism that they call Sanātanī to differentiate themselves from the 15% who belong to the reform movement Arya Samaj, started by Dayananda Saraswati.[13] Among the Indo-Surinamese Muslims, 75% follow Sunni Islam while 25% identify as Ahmadiyya, of either the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community community.