List of converts to Hinduism
Notable people who converted to Hinduism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following is a list of converts to Hinduism from other religions or a non-religious background.

From Abrahamic religions
Christianity
Islam
- Anirudh Gyan Shikha (1 June 1928 – 25 November 2006; popularly known as Anwar Shaikh
- Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi (born Waseem Rizvi) former member and chairman of the Shia Central Waqf Board.
Judaism
- Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert) (1931–2019) – syncretist, and follower of the Hindu deity Hanuman. Professor of psychology at Harvard University.[6]
- Tamal Krishna Goswami (born Thomas G. Herzig) (1946–2002) – governing body commissioner of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.[7]
- Lora Logic (b. 1960) – punk rock saxophonist with Poly Styrene's X-Ray Spex.
- Radhanath Swami (born Richard Slavin) (b. 1950) – prominent Bhakti yoga guru and a governing body commissioner of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.[8]
From other Indian-origin religions
This is list of converts from Indian-origin religions.
Buddhism
- Mihirakula (r. c. 502 – c. 530) – Huna ruler.[9]
- Rajasinghe I (c. 1544–1593) – Sri Lankan king who conquered Kandy.[10]
- Rishabhadatta (1st/2nd century CE) – Satrap viceroy.[11]
- Rudradaman I (r. 130–150) – Satrap ruler and conqueror of the Satavahanas.[12]
- Vasudeva I (r. c. 191 – c. 232) – Kushan king
- Jayavarman III (r. c. 835 – c. 877)
Jainism
- Mahendravarman I (r. 600–630) – Pallava King and patron of the arts.[13]
- Vishnuvardhana (r. c. 1108 – c. 1152) – King of Hoysala empire and prominent temple-builder.[14]
- Tirunavukkarasar (c. 6th–7th century CE) – Saivite saint and one of the most prominent of the sixty-three Nayanars.[15]
Other
Other theist converts
- Mihirakula (r. c. 502–530) – Huna ruler.[9] [dubious – discuss]
- Heliodorus (c. 2nd century BCE) – Greek minister to King Bhagabhadra.[16]
- Pamheiba (1690–1751) – Manipuri King[17]
- Suhungmung (r. 1497–1539) – Ahom kingdom's ruler who extended Assam up to the Kamarupa Kingdom[18]
- Supangmung (r. 1663–1670) – Ahom kingdom's ruler who recaptured Guwahati. Converted to Vaishnavism.[19]
- Susenghphaa (r. 1603–1641) – Ahom king; during his rule the Ahom-Mughal conflicts began[20]
Non-theistic converts
- Annie Besant – British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer, orator, and supporter of both Irish and Indian self-rule.[21]
- John Dobson (former atheist who became a believer in Vedanta) – astronomer and telescope designer.[22][23]
- Sita Ram Goel (former atheist) – Indian commentator, writer and Hindu activist.[24]
- Chrissie Hynde (born 7 September 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the garage rock new wave band the Pretenders.
- Poly Styrene (3 July 1957 – 25 April 2011), singer with one of Britain's earliest punk rock bands, X-Ray Spex; earlier religious affiliation unknown (Poly Styrene had one Sudanese parent, possibly Muslim, and one British parent of unknown religion) .
Converts from undetermined former religion
- Agehananda Bharati (born Leopold Fischer) (1923–1991) – academic Sanskritist, a prolific author about religious subjects, and a Hindu monk in the Dasanami Sannyasi order.[25]
- Alain Daniélou – French historian, intellectual, musicologist, and Indologist.[26]
- Crispian Mills of Kula Shaker – Hare Krishna devotee. His initiated name is Krishna Kantha Dasa. He was initiated by Narayana Maharaja. He wrote a foreword to a book by Bhaktivinoda Thakur titled Sri Siksastaka.[27]
- Geoffrey Giuliano – American biographer.[28]
- Nina Hagen (follower of Haidakhan Babaji) – German singer.[29]
- Joe Don Looney (follower of Swami Muktananda) – football player.[30]
- J Mascis – lead vocalist, guitarist, and drummer for Dinosaur Jr.[31]
- John McLaughlin (became a disciple of Sri Chinmoy) – jazz fusion guitar player.[32]
- Lex Hixon (syncretist and disciple of Swami Nikhilananda) – poet, philosopher, spiritual practitioner and teacher.[33]
- Sati Kazanova, Russian singer.[34]
- Savitri Devi (born Maximiani Portas) – Greek-French writer and Nazi-sympathiser.[35]
- Savitri Khanolkar (born Eve Yvonne Maday de Maros) – designer of India's highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra.[36]
- Mathias Rust – German daredevil pilot.[37]
- Kelli Williams – American actress who played Lindsay Dole Donnell on the ABC legal drama The Practice.[38]
- Sherlyn Chopra - Indian actress.[39]
See also
References
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