A Hindu, as per modern definition is an adherent of philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, the predominant religious, philosophical and cultural system of the Indian subcontinent and the island of Bali. Most of the Hindus today live in India. Another popular name for India is Hindustan, meaning the land of Hindus.

According to this link there were about 900 million Hindus in the world in 2005. The 2001 Census of India estimates the number of Hindus in India to be about 827 million, or 80% of India's total population. Although such a large fraction of India's population practices Hinduism, India is officially a secular republic. More than 80% of population in Nepal follows Hinduism. Large Hindu communities, mostly expatriates from India, live in South East Asia, North America, the West Indies, Western Europe, the Middle East, East Africa and South Africa. The Hindus of Bali, and in other parts of Indonesia are indigenous Indonesian Hindus.

Origins of the word Hindu

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Hindustan Times News Feeds 'India'

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