India’s Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros, Abhay Kumar, yesterday inaugurated a grand Hindu temple in Madagascar’s capital city Antananarivo. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the statues of the deities were unveiled amidst hymns and devotional songs. The temple, the first of its kind in the city, is built by the Hindu Samaj.
Speaking on the occasion President of the Hindu Samaj, Sanjeev Hematlal, expressed pride at the opening of the temple. He said that this was a matter of pride for the entire Hindu community in the country.
Madagascar is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of East Africa. It is the world’s second-largest country consisting primarily of islands, after Indonesia. The country has a population of more than 29.16 million. People of varied ethnicities and religions have settled down in the country for ages.
As such, there is a huge community of people of Indian origin in Madagascar, mostly from the state of Gujarat. Many of them are followers of the Hindu religion. Besides the temple in Antananarivo, Hindu temples are present in major cities of such as Mahajunga and Antsiranana.
