Gujarati Community in Birmingham

Its members have built businesses, practices and places of worship that serve the whole city.

Where they come from

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

The community in numbers

At the 2021 Census, out of a city population of 1,144,919, 3,345 residents gave Gujarati 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.

Working for Birmingham

Gujarati families are well known in pharmacy, medicine, accountancy, law and retail, and many run shops, cash and carries, hotels and manufacturing firms. Gujarati-heritage professionals work in the NHS, in education and in finance, and their businesses provide jobs and services to neighbourhoods across Birmingham.

Birmingham is one of the youngest and most diverse cities in Europe, and its progress has always depended on people who chose to make it home. Its hospitals, schools and universities, its building sites, workshops, warehouses and kitchens all rely on skills brought from around the world. The Gujarati community adds its own share to that effort, and takes pride in giving back to the city that welcomed it.

Culture and community life

Navratri, the nine nights of dance in honour of the goddess, fills halls across the city with the swirling circles of garba and dandiya raas. Diwali and the Gujarati New Year follow soon after. Hindu and Jain temples are at the heart of community life, and Gujarati vegetarian cooking, with dhokla, thepla and undhiyu, has a loyal following.

For anyone who wants to learn more, the best introduction is the simplest one: say hello. Birmingham's communities are at their best when they meet, share food and learn from one another, and the Gujarati community is a warm part of that everyday exchange.