Gujarati Hindu Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

Gujarat is a coastal state in western India with a long tradition of trade. Many Gujarati Hindu families in Birmingham came from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in the late 1960s and 1970s, where their families had lived for generations, while others came directly from India.

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 2,438 residents whose main language is Gujarati gave their religion as Hindu.

Working for Birmingham

Gujarati Hindus are well known in pharmacy, medicine, accountancy, law and retail, and many families run shops, wholesalers, hotels and manufacturing firms. Their businesses serve neighbourhoods across Birmingham, and their professionals work in the NHS and in finance.

The city's future rests on the same things as its past: skills, enterprise and people willing to put in the hours. Whether in a hospital, a classroom, a lecture theatre, a van full of tools or a shop on a busy high street, Gujarati Hindu residents are helping to build that future, and to make Birmingham a stronger, fairer and more welcoming city.

Culture and community life

Navratri fills halls across the city with garba and dandiya raas dancing, and Diwali and the Gujarati New Year follow. Temples are at the heart of community life, and Gujarati vegetarian food, from dhokla and thepla to sweet shrikhand, is loved by many.

Birmingham's strength lies in its variety, and the Gujarati Hindu community is a welcome part of it. As the city continues to grow and change, that contribution will remain part of the story of a place that has always looked forward.