Hinduism in Malta

Hinduism is a minor religion in Malta. Hinduism is not recognized as a religion in Malta although Maltese Catholics are in India since 1924. Unlike the rest of the EU and the world, Hinduism and other religions of Indian origin are labelled as cults in Catholic Malta.[1] The number of Sindhi Hindu families in Malta is estimated at 100. [2]

Community life

Following the recent arrival of skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled workers from India, Hindus are likely to number in the thousands now. India's Streamcast Technologies Inc. commenced the development of a €75 million data centre in Marsa and a handful of Hindus run Misom Labs at the state-of-the-art pharmaceutical testing laboratories in San Gwann. Malta has a history of religious discrimination. The Hindus in Malta don't have Hindu temples. The Hindu deceased were buried using Catholic burial rites after the British left, rather than being cremated as required by their religion.[3] Under British rule of Malta, cremation took place at the Lazaretto cemetery in Manoel Island. A first floor flat is used as a temporary Hindu meeting point that is known as Maltese-Indian Community Centre, with address Sukh Sagar, 25 Triq Bella Vista, San Gwann SGN 2690.[4]

Hindus in Malta privately celebrate Diwali, Holi,[5] Onam,[6] and other Hindu festivals.

Status

Hinduism, along with other Indian religions (Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism) and Judaism are not recognised in Malta and are treated as cults. In 2010, Hindu and Jewish groups urged Pope Benedict XVI to intervene to ensure that Malta treats all religions equally before the law,[1] but the Pope did not intervene.

See also

References
  1. "Hindus seek Pope's intervention to bring equality of religions in Malta". Timesofmalta.com. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  2. "The changing map of world religions".
  3. "Malta does not have any crematoriums for Hindus, forcing them to bury their dead". Retrieved 2022-04-14.
  4. "Religious Communities To Join If You've Just Moved To Malta". lovinmalta.com. 16 February 2018.
  5. "Malta's Indian community heralds spring with colour". Timesofmalta.com. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
  6. "WATCH: Kerala Indians in Malta celebrate Onam Festival in a big way - TVM News". Tvm.com.mt. Retrieved 13 September 2018.


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