Rajasthani Community in Birmingham

Where they come from

Rajasthan, the land of kings, is India's largest state, known for the Thar Desert, the pink city of Jaipur, the lakes of Udaipur and its great hilltop forts. Rajasthani families in Birmingham include professionals, business owners and students, many of whom speak Hindi as well as Rajasthani dialects such as Marwari.

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

Rajasthan's Marwari community is famous across India for business, and that tradition of enterprise continues in Birmingham, where people of Rajasthani heritage work in trade, finance and retail. Others work as doctors, engineers, IT specialists and academics, and students add to the life of the city's universities.

Much of the work that keeps Birmingham moving happens out of sight: the night shift on a hospital ward, the early start on a building site, the plumber who fixes a boiler on a winter evening, the teaching assistant who helps a child learn to read. People from every community in the city do these jobs, and Rajasthani residents are part of that everyday effort to make Birmingham a better place to live.

Culture and community life

Diwali, Holi and Teej, the monsoon festival celebrated by women, are among the highlights of the year. Rajasthani folk music, puppetry and dance, and dishes such as dal baati churma and ghevar, are cherished. Families enjoy sharing the bright textiles and crafts of their home state with friends in Birmingham.

Like so many of the communities that make up modern Birmingham, the Rajasthani community shows how a city can be home to many cultures at once. Its members are proud of where they come from, and just as proud to be Brummies.