Hinduism is a minority faith in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

followed by 2% of the population.Census of Gibraltar 2012, HM Government of Gibraltar
/ref> Most of the Hindus in

are of Sindhi origin.

Demographics

According to 2000 census Hindus numbered 491 and made up 1.8% of the population of

. According to an estimate from 2012, the population of Hindus made up 2%. The demographics of Hindus from 1970 to 2012:

History

The first people in Gibraltar from

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

are thought to have arrived in 1870 from the area around

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

( Sindh) taking advantage of the new Suez Canal. The new Sindhi merchants were able to establish businesses with local managers that they could manage remotely. Indians faced some resistance from

Gibraltarians The Gibraltarians ( Spanish: ''gibraltareños'', colloquially: '' llanitos'') are an ethnic group native to Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterrane ...

and in 1921 the seven Hindu traders required licences to operate. By 1950 the number of licences had tripled but the real demand for assistance was when the border was closed by the Spanish and there were no Spanish shop assistants. There were nearly 300 trading licences by 1970. There was resistance to the Hindu community but arranged marriages were reducing and the community shared common schools with the other groups in Gibraltar. It was said that the date for deciding whether a person was a true Gibraltarian was designed to exclude as many Indians as possible but by 1973 the local Hindu lawyer Haresh Budhrani assessed that Hindus were able to fully join in with the community. On the day of

Divali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali (IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is o ...

in 1993 the community started using the Gibraltar Hindu Temple. By 1999 the decoration was complete and the

Prana pratishta refers to the rite or ceremony by which a murti (vessel for the spirit of god) is consecrated in a Hindu temple, wherein hymns and mantra are recited to invite the deity to be resident guest, and the murti's eye is opened for the first time. Pra ...

ceremony was formally performed by a priest from India. The wider community celebrated the new temple when the

Governor of Gibraltar The governor of Gibraltar is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the ...

Richard Luce formally opened the temple on 1 March 2000.

Contemporary Society

In 2004 Budhrani was elected the Speaker in the House of Assembly and he later became the first speaker of the Gibraltar Parliament. In 2012 the

Mayor of Gibraltar The Mayor of Gibraltar is the ceremonial official of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The mayor is appointed by the elected Members of Parliament Gibraltar City Hall The Gibraltar City Hall is the former city hall for Gibraltar, centrally located within the city at the west end of John Mackintosh Square. It is the office of the Mayor of Gibraltar. History The building was a private mansion built in 1819( ...

to celebrate the

Hindu festival Across the globe, Hindus celebrate a diverse number of festivals and celebrations, typically marking events from ancient India and often coinciding with seasonal changes. These celebrations take place either on a fixed annual date on the solar c ...

. Hindus have the highest proportion (%) of pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs (Grades A-C), the highest percentage of people of working age with a degree, and the lowest crime rate in Gibraltar.

References

Extranal Links

{{Hinduism in Europe Sindhi diaspora

Demographics

History

Contemporary Society

See also

References

Further reading

Extranal Links