Crypto-Hinduism is the secret adherence to Hinduism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Hindus". Crypto-Hinduism was observed during a period of forced religious conversions in South Asia, as well as suspected against Hindus who voluntarily converted to the religion of the invaders or colonizers. Many crypto-Hindus were arrested for practicing Hinduism after professing to have converted to Christianity, some sentenced to death for being a crypto-Hindu such as in colonial Portuguese Goa.
Islamic sultanates
Some Hindus who joined official positions in Delhi Sultanate were accused of following Hinduism in secret. For example, states Bardwell Smith, Khusru Khan, a convert from Hinduism to Islam and an army commander who led plunder raids against Deccan kingdoms, was towards the end of his life "accused by Turkish nobles of harboring crypto-Hindu tendencies, a false charge but one which reflected genuine factional divisions and prejudices within the Muslim ruling class". According to Aziz Ahmad, Arabic Islamic scholars have considered the form of Islam followed in Bengal to have elements of crypto-Hinduism and have attempted to reform it to more strict adherence to the version found in the Arabian peninsula.
Crypto-Hinduism was a criminal offence in early Portuguese Goa. People were accused, arrested and tried for being crypto-Hindus. Dozens were executed by the Catholic ChristianPortuguese government in Goa. Hindus were predominantly targeted, though some of those arrested included Indian followers of Buddhism, Judaism and Islam. According to Hannah Chapelle Wojciehowski, the Goa inquisition terrorized its formerly-Hindu, new Christian population. Over 16,000 cases were tried over a 200-year period from 1560 when the Portuguese established their rule. When crypto-Hinduism trials were banned in 1812, the Portuguese destroyed the individual case files. Nearly 70% of those found guilty of Crypto Hinduism were executed. In some cases where the accused had already died before the sentence was pronounced, the Goan Christian government held mock-execution where an effigy of the convicted person was publicly burnt.
Pakistan
During the partition of India, many Punjabi Hindus and Mazhabi Sikhs converted to Christianity in order to escape anti-Hindu and Sikh violence. These communities still maintain many of their original religious beliefs and practices despite the change in religion. Despite partition, religious syncretism remains present in the country, with some Muslim devotees continuing to visit shrines dedicated to Hindu and Sikh saints. According to a report, the practice of Hindus hiding their religion by having an Islamic name to be used in public and a Hindu name to be used privately is practiced in Islamabad. During his stay in Pakistan, Ajit Doval recollected his encounter with a Hindu who was publicly living the life of a maulvi.
Indonesia
Many followers of Kejawèn, a syncretic tradition which contains animistic, Buddhist, Hindu and Sufi traditions had officially identified as followers of Islam on government issuedID cards prior to the recognition of the faith in 2018. The faith maintains characteristic Vedic traditions.
