Why didn‘t Hinduism Spread to Other Continent.docx

Why didnt Hinduism spread to any other part of the world, outside of the Indian subcontinent?32 Answers/Ritwik-BanerjeeRitwik Banerjee,?Geopolitics is the history of our future8.8k ViewsHinduism did, indeed, spread. Far beyond the Indian subcontinent. So, this is not so much an answer to an ill-informed question as it is an explanation of where, why and how it spread.Among those who know about the spread of Hinduism beyond the Indian subcontinent, the knowledge of its influence in South East Asia is relatively common. Relative being the key word there. I am going to bypass that portion of the story since the answers given by?Balaji Viswanathan and?Usman Qazialready illustrate this. However, before looking at the details of where else Hinduism had spread, one must understand how and why this was possible.How did Hinduism spread?Not by the sword. Never, ever by the sword. Any two cultures, when they come into contact with each other, undergo changes triggered by mutual influence. Given how wealthy ancient India (i.e.,?Bhaarata-varsa) was, both in material and spiritual dimensions, this influence was emanated very strongly in three ways:Natural boundary of ancient Hindu societiesTrade routesMilitary expansion by Hindu rulersNatural boundariesThis was the normal day-to-day interactions that take place if two cultures are geographically adjacent. That is how the influence of Hindu (and, later, Buddhist) philosophy spread to regions like Tibet, Afghanistan, Myanmar, etc.Trade RoutesAncient trade was not the trade we know today. It took many months to finish a trade journey (e.g., from Kolkata or Chennai to Hoi An in Vietnam), and the socio-cultural interactions between the local community and the traders lasted much longer, often for years, before the trader returned home. The propagation of Hindu thought can, quite literally, be traced throughout South-East Asia if one follows the ancient trade routes.Military expansionEven though forced religious conversion did not happ