Haryanvi Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

Haryana surrounds Delhi on three sides and is one of India's most prosperous states, known for its farming, its car and technology industries around Gurugram, and its sportspeople. Haryanvi families in Birmingham include professionals, business owners and students.

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 1,475 residents gave Hindi as their main language. Main language figures leave out the many bilingual residents who use English day to day, so the number who speak the language at home is higher still. The census records Hindi as one language, so it does not separate out people by the Indian state their families come from.

Working for Birmingham

People from Haryana in Birmingham work in engineering, information technology, healthcare, finance and business. Gurugram's technology and automotive industries have given many Haryanvi professionals skills that fit well in Birmingham, a city with its own proud history of car making and a growing digital sector.

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, Haryanvi residents are helping to build that future, and to make Birmingham a stronger, fairer and more welcoming city.

Culture and community life

Haryana has produced many of India's Olympic medallists in wrestling, boxing and athletics, and sport is a source of great pride. Festivals such as Diwali, Holi and Teej are celebrated with music and folk dance, and the state's simple, hearty food, rich in milk, ghee and bajra, is a taste of home.

The story of the Haryanvi community in Birmingham is still being written, by students, workers, parents and pensioners who call the city home. It is a story of hard work, friendship and quiet pride, and Birmingham is richer for it.