Application of Hindu law; who are Hindus

Before the advent of Muslims in India , the term Hindus had no creedal
connotation .Then it had a territorial significance ; probably it also denoted nationality .It seems that
the word Hindus came in to vogue with the advent of Greek who called the inhabitants of the Indus
valley and later on this designation was extended to include all persons who lived beyond the Indus
valley .Today the term Hindu has no territorial significance ,nor is it a designation of nationality .
Today it has also lost much of its creedal significance.
It is very significant that the term Hindu even before the of
some branches of Hindu law in 1955-56 had not been defined strictly in terms of religion .Before
1955,a person who was a Hindu by religion was certainly a Hindus by religion ,yet Hindu law
applied to them ; and ,since Hindu law applied to them, they were called Hindus .Thus ,at the time
we had reached a stage when it was easier to indicate a Hindu negatively; a person who was not a
Muslim , Christian, Parsi or Jew was a Hindu .It was in respect of religious endowments that the
definition of Hindu in terms of religion was of some significance.
Till this day, there is no precise definition of the term ‘Hindus ; available either in any statute or in
any judicial pronouncement; it has defied all efforts at definition . However , since Hindu law applies
to all those persons who are Hindus , it is necessary to know who are Hindus , whatever definitional
difficulties there might be . If the question is posed in a different form ,viz.to whom does Hindu law
applies. The persons to whom Hindu law applies may be put in the following three categories;

(a) Any person who is a Hindu ,Jain ,Sikh or Buddhist by religion,, Hindus by religion.
(b) Any person who is born of Hindu parents
(c) Any person who is not a Muslim ,Christian , Parsi or Jew, and who is not governed by any
other law.

Hindus by Religion
Two types of persons fall under this category
(a) Those who are originally Hindus , Jains , Sikhs or Buddhist by religion, and
(b) Those who are converts or reconverts to Hindus, Jain, Sikh or Buddhist
religion.