Famous Hindus Living Outside India in 2026: 42 Leaders, Scientists, Artists and Teachers Across the Diaspora

Quick answer: Hindus outside India now hold some of the most visible jobs in public life, from the prime ministers of Trinidad and Tobago and Mauritius to Canada's Foreign Minister and the head of the FBI, alongside astronauts, a Fields Medal mathematician, Grammy-nominated musicians and the monks who run landmark temples. Below are 42 of them, region by region, each with their role as of 9 October 2026 and a source for their Hindu connection.

Entries are grouped by region, not ranked. Those who have passed away are marked as the late.

Two waves of migration, one living faith

The Hindu diaspora was built in two broad waves. From 1834 to 1917, Indian indentured labourers were taken to plantation colonies such as Mauritius, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname, Fiji and South Africa. They carried the Ramayana and village rituals, and their descendants built the temples and Maha Sabhas that still anchor those countries. The second wave, mostly after the 1960s, brought students, doctors and engineers to the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, and workers and traders to the Gulf.

So in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean, Hindu leaders often come from families settled there for generations, while in North America and Britain many are children of later migrants.

North America: United States

Full list: Famous Hindu Americans 2026.

• Kash Patel (politics): Director of the FBI since February 2025 and the first person of Indian heritage to head it. Took his FBI oath on the Bhagavad Gita. Source: Deccan Herald.
• Tulsi Gabbard (politics): Director of National Intelligence from February 2025 to June 2026, when she resigned; U.S. Representative for Hawaii 2013-2021 and the first Hindu member of Congress. Took her 2013 oath on her personal Bhagavad Gita. Source: HuffPost India.
• Ro Khanna (politics): U.S. Representative for California's 17th district since 2017, standing for re-election in November 2026. Has described himself as "an Indian American of Hindu faith". Source: Grabien transcript.
• Vivek Ramaswamy (politics, business): Republican nominee for Governor of Ohio, election 3 November 2026; founder of Roivant Sciences. Said publicly in 2023, "I'm Hindu." Source: AP via Bay News 9.
• Vivek Murthy (public life): 19th and 21st U.S. Surgeon General, the first Indian American in the post; on the Common Sense Media board since October 2025. Took his 2015 oath on the Bhagavad Gita. Source: Hindu Press International.
• Sunita Williams (science and space): NASA astronaut 1998-2025 with 608 days in space and nine spacewalks, the most by a woman. Said she took a Ganesha idol and the Bhagavad Gita to space. Source: The Quint.
• Manjul Bhargava (science): Princeton mathematics professor, Fields Medal 2014, Interim Director of the Lodha Mathematical Sciences Institute from July 2026. Described by Princeton Alumni Weekly as a practising Hindu. Source: Princeton Alumni Weekly.
• Indra Nooyi (business): PepsiCo CEO 2006-2018, Amazon board member and Honeywell director from January 2026. Wrote of the puja alcove where she lights a lamp every day. Source: Free Press Journal / PTI.
• Julia Roberts (arts): Academy Award-winning actress. Told Elle in 2010 she is a practising Hindu who goes to temple with her family. Source: The Daily Beast.
• Swami Sarvapriyananda (spiritual): Minister of the Vedanta Society of New York since 2017, the society founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1894; a monk of the Ramakrishna Order. Source: Vedanta Society of New York.

North America: Canada

More in Famous Hindu Canadians 2026.

• Anita Anand (politics): Minister of Foreign Affairs since May 2025 and MP for Oakville East; earlier Defence Minister and Treasury Board President. The first Hindu federal cabinet minister; took her 2025 oath on the Bhagavad Gita. Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia.
• Chandra Arya (politics): founder of the Hindu Public Affairs Council of Canada (2025); MP for Nepean 2015-2025, who moved the motion making November Hindu Heritage Month. Source: The Globe and Mail.
• Budhendranauth Doobay (spiritual): founder of the Vishnu Mandir, Richmond Hill (1979), and a Member of the Order of Canada (2024), whose citation says he shares Hinduism's teachings. Source: Governor General of Canada.
• The late Deepak Obhrai (politics): MP for Calgary 1997-2019 and the first Hindu elected to the House of Commons. Source: Global News.

United Kingdom

More in Famous British Hindus 2026.

• Rishi Sunak (politics): MP for Richmond and Northallerton; Prime Minister 2022-2024, the first Hindu in the post. Told ANI in 2023, "I am a proud Hindu," and swore his Commons oath on the Gita in 2019 and 2024. Source: Business Standard (ANI).
• Kanishka Narayan (politics): Minister of State for AI attending Cabinet since July 2026, the UK's first cabinet-level AI minister; MP for Vale of Glamorgan. Swore his oath on the Bhagavad Gita in 2024. Source: Siasat (PTI).
• Shivani Raja (politics): MP for Leicester East since 2024. Wrote that she was proud to swear allegiance "on the Gita". Source: WION.
• Lord Nagaraju (politics): Labour peer since January 2026, born in Siddipet, Telangana, and reported as the first Telugu-origin member of the Lords. Took his oath on the Bhagavad Gita. Source: Sakshi Post.
• Himesh Patel (arts): actor in Yesterday (2019) and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey (2026). Told NBC News he related to his Yesterday character "as an Indian Hindu". Source: NBC News.
• Jahnavi Harrison (music): kirtan singer whose album Into the Forest was Grammy-nominated in 2026. Calls japa meditation the cornerstone of her daily practice. Source: Hindu American Foundation.
• Yogvivekdas Swami (spiritual): Head Priest of BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Neasden, who welcomed King Charles III for the temple's 30th anniversary in 2025. Source: Royal Family.
• Visakha Dasi (spiritual): Temple President of ISKCON Bhaktivedanta Manor, Watford, since January 2020. Source: ISKCON News.

Australia and continental Europe

More in Famous Hindus in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

• Daniel Mookhey (politics): Treasurer of New South Wales since March 2023, reported by ABC News as the first MP in an Australian parliament sworn in on the Bhagavad Gita (2015). Source: ABC News.
• Varun Ghosh (politics): Labor Senator for Western Australia since February 2024, reported as the first Australian senator sworn in on the Gita. Source: WION.
• Kavish Partiman (politics, Netherlands): alderman of The Hague since 2026, a Surinamese-Dutch politician described by Waterkant as a committed Hindu. Source: Waterkant.
• Siva Sri Arumugam Paskarakurukkal (spiritual, Germany): founder and chief priest of the Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple in Hamm, begun in a rented basement in 1989. Source: Hinduism Today.

The Caribbean: Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname

More in Famous Hindus of the Caribbean.

• Kamla Persad-Bissessar (politics): Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago since May 2025 (and 2010-2015), the country's first woman PM. Sworn in on the Bhagavad Gita in 2010; visited nine temples for Maha Shivaratri 2026. Source: Trinidad Guardian.
• The late Basdeo Panday (politics): Prime Minister 1995-2001, the first Hindu and first Indo-Trinidadian PM; received T&T's first state funeral under Hindu rites. Source: Trinidad Guardian.
• Vindhya Vasini Persaud (politics, Guyana): Minister of Human Services and Social Security since 2020 and President of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha since 2013. Source: Kaieteur News.
• Shivnarine Chanderpaul (sport, Guyana): former West Indies captain with 164 Tests; his UWI citation speaks of his strong Hindu faith. Source: UWI Today.
• Ashwin Adhin (politics, Suriname): Chair of the National Assembly since 2025 and Vice President 2015-2020; took his 2025 oath in Sanskrit. Source: Tribune India.
• The late Chan Santokhi (politics, Suriname): President 2020-2025, born into an Indo-Surinamese Hindu family; died on 30 March 2026. Source: NOS.

Indian Ocean, Africa and Fiji

More in Famous Hindus of Mauritius, Fiji and South Africa.

• Navinchandra Ramgoolam (politics): Prime Minister of Mauritius since November 2024, also 1995-2000 and 2005-2014. Performed aarti and offered prayers at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya in 2025. Source: Tribune India.
• Dharam Gokhool (politics): President of Mauritius since December 2024; prayed at the Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada in January 2026. Source: All India Radio News.
• Keshav Maharaj (sport, South Africa): South Africa's most prolific Test spinner, who calls himself "a devotee of Lord Hanuman and Lord Ram". Source: Daily Jagran.
• Ela Gandhi (public life, South Africa): chair of the Gandhi Development Trust and Co-President of Religions for Peace, which lists her as Hindu. Source: Religions for Peace.
• Biman Prasad (politics, Fiji): leader of the National Federation Party, Deputy PM and Finance Minister 2022-2025, who said in 2024: "We must seek lessons from the life of our Lord Rama on how to live a life of faith." Source: Fiji Village.

Southeast Asia and the Gulf

More in Famous Hindus of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the UAE.

• I Wayan Koster (politics, Bali): Governor of Bali since 2025 (and 2018-2023); in 2025 he consecrated Pura Santa Citta Bhuwana in the Netherlands, described as Europe's first Balinese Hindu temple. Source: Indonesian National Police.
• M. Saravanan (politics, Malaysia): MP for Tapah since 2008, who has carried a kavadi at Thaipusam almost every year since age seven. Source: New Straits Times.
• T. Ganesan (spiritual, Malaysia): President of the Malaysia Hindu Sangam, re-elected July 2026. Source: The Star.
• Swami Brahmaviharidas (spiritual, UAE): head of the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi, the UAE's first traditional stone Hindu temple (opened February 2024). Source: BAPS.
• Raju Shroff (business, UAE): Chairman of Regal Group since 2026 and trustee of the Hindu Temple in Jebel Ali, Dubai, opened in October 2022. Source: The National.

At a glance: all 42 people

What connects them

Read side by side, these lives show three ways Hindu identity travels. Some, like the many legislators who chose the Bhagavad Gita for their oath, make a quiet public statement at a formal moment. Others, such as the scientists and business leaders here, speak of daily practice: a lamp in a home shrine, a Ganesha carried into orbit. And a third group, the swamis, priests and temple founders, built the institutions that let the rest of the diaspora keep its festivals. For families in Leicester, Houston or Durban, they show that faith and full public life go together.

Frequently asked questions

Who are some famous Hindus living outside India?

Examples include former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, astronaut Sunita Williams and former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi.

Who was the first Hindu member of the U.S. Congress?

Tulsi Gabbard (2013), who took her congressional oath on her personal Bhagavad Gita.

Which countries outside India have Hindu heads of government or state in 2026?

Kamla Persad-Bissessar has been Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago since 2025, Navinchandra Ramgoolam has been Prime Minister of Mauritius since 2024, and Dharam Gokhool has been President of Mauritius since 2024.

Why are there so many Hindu leaders in the Caribbean and Mauritius?

Between 1834 and 1917, large numbers of Indians went to colonies such as Mauritius, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname, Fiji and South Africa as indentured labourers. Their descendants built temples and community bodies and are prominent in public life there.

How did you decide who to include?

We included only people for whom a public statement or a reputable report shows Hindu faith or practice, such as a Gita oath, their own words or leading a Hindu institution. Indian heritage alone was not enough.

Editor's note

Editor's note (9 October 2026): Inclusion is based on public statements or reputable reports of each person's Hindu faith or practice, linked in each entry. Roles are as of 9 October 2026. We do not rank people, and inclusion implies no view on their politics. Tell us about any outdated role and we will correct it.

Related guides

• Leaders sworn in on the Bhagavad Gita outside India
• Hindu scientists and business leaders abroad
• Hindu spiritual leaders and temple founders abroad
• Hindus in USA 2026: complete guide
• Hindus in UK 2026: complete guide
• Hindus in Canada 2026: complete guide
• The story of Hindu migrants