Should the definite article 'the' be used or ignored?

The Ganga is the holy river of the Hindus. Why can't we simply say, Ganga is the holy river of Hindus. why should we use the definite article 3 times?

Solution 1:

The first is because the definite article is often used with the name of rivers.

The second is because it's saying the Ganga is the only (or at least the main) holy river for a certain group of people.

And the final one is because it's talking about Hindus as a collective mass; all Hindus, not just some.

Solution 2:

The OED says that the is normally used to refer to an individual object (or set of objects), or to mark an object as one "before mentioned or already known, or contextually particularized". It goes on to list 23 major senses, of which your example uses three:

The Ganga:

3. b. With names of rivers, as the Amazon, the Thames

the holy river [of the Hindus]:

15. a. Where the object is defined by a following phrase with a preposition (especially of, representing an Old English genitive).

the Hindus:

22. With a noun in the plural, chiefly the name of a nation, class, or group of people, where the = ‘those who are’; ‘the…taken as a whole’.