An international conference that aims to unite Hindus across the globe will begin here Friday.
The World Hindu Congress 2014 (WHC) is being organised by the World Hindu Foundation and is expected to get about 1,500 delegates from 40 countries.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama will address the inaugural session while BJP president Amit Shah is among those set to take part in later sessions.
Union ministers Smriti Irani, Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman are also scheduled to address the gathering.
The conference, which has attracted educationists and scientists, will have 45 sessions.
"This is the coming together of Hindus," WHC media coordinator Sushil Pandit told IANS.
"We want to equip a billion plus Hindu society for the challenges of the future.
"We are trying to unite Hindus all over the world and bring together coordinated voices and action plans for Hindu society," Pandit added.
The organisers said the WHC intends to serve as a channel for Hindus across the globe to congregate on a common platform and deliberate on ways to strengthen the community.
They said the Congress will also help organise the talent of Hindus that remains scattered and help people network with one another.
The need of the hour was to have a "pressure group" of Hindus just as the Jews do in the US, one activist said.
"We are a united society. But we are not an organised society. The purpose is to have an organisational structure and institutional framework so that Hindus across the globe can leverage each other," Liza Bhansali, coordinator of WHC, said.
The conference will see discussions on economy, politics, education, women and media.
