Famous Hindus in Australia, NZ and Europe 2026

Quick answer: The best-known Hindus in public life in Australia today include Senator Varun Ghosh of Western Australia, the first Australian senator sworn in on the Bhagavad Gita, and Daniel Mookhey, Treasurer of New South Wales, the first Australian MP and later the first Australian minister to take his oath on the Gita. In continental Europe, the Netherlands stands out with Hindu politicians of Surinamese heritage such as Kavish Partiman, now an alderman in The Hague, while in Germany Siva Sri Arumugam Paskarakurukkal built the Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple in Hamm. Roles below are as of 9 October 2026.

This is not a ranking. It is a people-first introduction to Hindus outside India and the UK who are in public life and whose faith is on the public record, through an oath on the Gita, a statement in their own words, or a reputable profile. Each entry gives the person's current role first, a few facts that explain why they are known, and a source you can check yourself.

How Hindus came to Australia, New Zealand and Europe

Hindu communities in these countries are, for the most part, young. Much of today's community in Australia and New Zealand arrived through later skilled and student migration from India, alongside families from Fiji, Sri Lanka and other parts of the older diaspora whose ancestors had first left India in the indentured era of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Our story of Fijian-Gujarati and other Hindu migrants looks at some of those journeys.

Europe has two very different stories. The Netherlands is home to a large Hindustani community whose families came from Suriname, where Indian indentured labourers began arriving in 1873; many moved to the Netherlands around and after Surinamese independence. Germany's best-known Hindu temples, by contrast, were largely built by Sri Lankan Tamils who arrived as refugees from the 1980s. That background explains why the European names below are Surinamese-Dutch politicians and a Tamil priest, rather than recent tech migrants, even though professional migration to cities like Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin has grown quickly. See our Hindus in Germany 2026 guide for that newer community.

At a glance

Name	Country	Field	Known for
Varun Ghosh	Australia	Politics	WA Senator; first senator sworn in on the Gita
Daniel Mookhey	Australia	Politics	NSW Treasurer; first Australian minister to swear on the Gita
Deepak-Raj Gupta	Australia	Politics / community	ACT's first India-born parliamentarian
Kavish Partiman	Netherlands	Politics	Alderman of The Hague; Hindu who led a CDA list
Tanja Jadnanansing	Netherlands	Politics / public life	Former Tweede Kamer member; Nuffic Advisory Board chair
Ram Ramlal	Netherlands	Politics / social services	First Surinamese-Dutch member of the Tweede Kamer
Siva Sri Arumugam Paskarakurukkal	Germany	Spiritual	Founder and chief priest, Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple, Hamm

Australia: three oaths on the Bhagavad Gita

Australia's best-known Hindu politicians share a striking detail: each chose to take an oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita, and each was among the first to do so in his parliament.

Varun Ghosh (Senator for Western Australia)

Current role: Labor Senator for Western Australia since February 2024, elected to a full term at the May 2025 federal election, and Temporary Chair of Committees in the Australian Senate since July 2025.

Ghosh was chosen by the WA Parliament on 1 February 2024 to fill the casual vacancy left by Senator Pat Dodson. Before entering the Senate he was a barrister in Perth at Francis Burt Chambers, and earlier worked as a lawyer, including at the World Bank in Washington DC.

Hindu connection: He took his Senate oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita in February 2024, reported as a first for an Australian senator; Foreign Minister Penny Wong publicly welcomed him as such (Source: WION; Parliament of Australia).

Daniel Mookhey (Treasurer of New South Wales)

Current role: Treasurer of New South Wales since 28 March 2023 in the Minns Labor Government, and a Labor member of the NSW Legislative Council since 6 May 2015. He presented the NSW 2026-27 budget, his fourth as Treasurer.

Mookhey was born in Blacktown, in western Sydney, to parents who migrated from Punjab, India. His career has produced two Australian firsts tied to his faith.

Hindu connection: In May 2015 he became the first MP in an Australian parliament to be sworn in on the Bhagavad Gita (Source: ABC News). In March 2023 he became the first Australian minister, state or federal, to take his oath of allegiance on the Gita. He has said the Gita was an important backdrop to his childhood growing up in western Sydney, and that he was honoured and humbled to be that first minister (Source: Indian Link).

Deepak-Raj Gupta (former ACT MLA)

Current role: Member of the Australia India Business Council (AIBC) National Executive Board; he was formerly President of the AIBC's ACT chapter for ten years.

Gupta was the Labor Member of the ACT Legislative Assembly for Yerrabi from July 2019 to October 2020, and the ACT's first India-born parliamentarian. In 2022 he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the Canberra community.

Hindu connection: He told WION that, being a Hindu, he wanted to take his oath on the Bhagavad Gita, and he sought special permission to do so in 2019 (Source: WION).

New Zealand

New Zealand has a fast-growing Hindu community centred on Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, with roots in both the Fiji-Indian diaspora and newer migration from India. At the time of writing, our research file does not contain a New Zealand public figure whose Hindu faith is confirmed by a reputable source, so we have not named anyone rather than guess. We will add names as they are verified. For temples, festivals and community life, read our Hindus in New Zealand 2026 guide.

The Netherlands: Surinamese Hindustani voices in Dutch politics

The Dutch Hindu community is overwhelmingly Hindustani, the name used for descendants of Indian indentured labourers in Suriname. Three politicians show how that community has moved into public life over three decades.

Kavish Partiman (Alderman, The Hague)

Current role: Wethouder (alderman) of The Hague since 2026, responsible for Housing, Integration, Religious and Philosophical Organisations, Volunteering, Real Estate and the Haagse Hout district, in the HvDH-VVD-DENK-CDA coalition (Source: Gemeente Den Haag).

Partiman, a Surinamese-Dutch politician of Hindustani background, led the CDA group in The Hague city council from 2019 and was the party's lead candidate at the municipal election of 18 March 2026. His selection was reported as historic: a Hindu heading the list of the Christian-democratic CDA. He has said he does not identify with Christianity but sees no conflict with the party's principles.

Hindu connection: Waterkant describes him as "een overtuigd hindoe", a committed Hindu, and Den Haag Centraal profiled him in a video series as "Hindoe Kavish Partiman", filmed at the Sewa Dhaam Hindu temple in Laak (Source: Waterkant).

Tanja Jadnanansing (former MP, Nuffic Advisory Board chair)

Current role: Chair of the Nuffic Advisory Board since 2020. She chaired the Amsterdam-Zuidoost district executive from 2018 to 2026 and was not reappointed in the June 2026 round.

Born in Leiden in 1967, Jadnanansing was a PvdA member of the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) from 2010 to 2016. Earlier, she worked for the Hindu broadcaster OHM (Stichting Hindoe Media).

Hindu connection: Parlement.com, the Dutch parliamentary biography site, lists her worldview as Hindu, and Wikipedia describes her as Indo-Surinamese and Hindu (Source: Parlement.com).

Ram (Dowlatram) Ramlal (former MP)

Most recent role: Director of MEE Zuid-Holland Noord, a social services organisation, from 1996 to 2020.

Born in Nickerie, Suriname, on 2 April 1951, Ramlal was a pioneer: the first migrant on The Hague city council, where he served as alderman from 1989 to 1992, and then the first Dutch person of Surinamese origin in the Tweede Kamer, as a CDA member from 1992 to 1994. He was made a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau in 2004.

Hindu connection: Parlement.com says he was the CDA's first non-Christian MP, entering parliament in 1992 as a Hindu, and lists his worldview as Hindu (Source: Parlement.com). Seen together with Kavish Partiman, his story shows a long thread of Hindu politicians in the same party in the same city.

A Dutch footnote: in May 2025, Bali's governor I Wayan Koster consecrated Pura Santa Citta Bhuwana in the Netherlands, described as the first Balinese Hindu temple in Europe (Source: Indonesian National Police). He is profiled in our guide to famous Hindus in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the UAE.

Germany: the priest who built a temple in Hamm

Siva Sri Arumugam Paskarakurukkal

Current role: Founder and chief priest of the Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple in Hamm-Uentrop, since 1989; the main temple opened in 2002.

A Sri Lankan Tamil priest, Paskarakurukkal fled the civil war in 1985 and trained at the Kamakshi Amman temple in Kanchipuram. He started worship in a rented basement in 1989 and went on to build what is often described as one of Europe's largest Hindu temples. He has also led its renovation, with demolition of the front structures beginning in October 2024.

Hindu connection: A practising Hindu priest who has served as head priest of the temple since founding it (Source: Hinduism Today). For visiting Hindu temples across the continent, see our Hindu temples and festivals in Europe guide.

What these stories have in common

The Gita oath as a public marker: three of the Australians here chose the Bhagavad Gita for their oaths, and each was a first in his chamber. Our guide to leaders sworn in on the Bhagavad Gita outside India follows the same thread worldwide.
Local, not just national: several of these figures made their mark in state parliaments, city councils and district executives, where community ties are strongest.
Temple builders matter too: a priest who began in a basement can shape a community as deeply as any politician. More such figures are in Hindu spiritual leaders and temple founders abroad.

Frequently asked questions

Who was the first Australian senator sworn in on the Bhagavad Gita?

Varun Ghosh, Labor Senator for Western Australia, took his Senate oath of office on the Bhagavad Gita in February 2024. He was reported as the first Australian senator to do so, and Foreign Minister Penny Wong welcomed him as such (WION, Deccan Herald).

Who was the first Australian MP sworn in on the Bhagavad Gita?

Daniel Mookhey. ABC News reported in May 2015 that he became the first MP in an Australian parliament to be sworn in on the Gita when he joined the NSW Legislative Council. In March 2023 he became the first Australian minister, state or federal, to take his oath of allegiance on the Gita, as NSW Treasurer.

Are there famous Hindus in New Zealand on this list?

Not yet. Our research file does not currently hold a New Zealand public figure whose Hindu faith is confirmed by a reputable source, and we only include people who meet that standard. Our New Zealand country guide covers the Hindu community, temples and festivals there.

Which famous Hindus are there in the Netherlands?

This guide covers three Dutch politicians of Surinamese Hindustani heritage: Kavish Partiman, alderman (wethouder) in The Hague since 2026; Tanja Jadnanansing, a former member of the House of Representatives; and Ram Ramlal, the first Dutch person of Surinamese origin in the Tweede Kamer.

Where is one of Europe's largest Hindu temples?

The Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple in Hamm-Uentrop, Germany, is often described as one of the largest Hindu temples in Europe. It was founded by Siva Sri Arumugam Paskarakurukkal, who began worship in a rented basement in 1989; the main temple opened in 2002.

Why are UK Hindus not on this page?

Britain has so many well-known Hindus that they have their own guide, Famous British Hindus 2026, which covers figures such as Rishi Sunak and members of the House of Lords.

Editor's note (9 October 2026)

People are included only where public statements or reputable reports (official parliament and government pages, major news outlets, or the person's own words) establish their Hindu faith; Indian or Surinamese heritage alone is not enough. Roles are given as of 9 October 2026 and can change; every factual claim is linked to or drawn from the sources cited. We describe each person's faith only as far as that evidence goes. If you spot an error or an outdated role, please let us know and we will correct it.