Indians in Poland consist of migrants from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

and their locally born descendants. The estimations of the number of Indians in Poland vary from 15,000 to 38,000 by governmental sources.

Migration history

Indians started migrating to Poland in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the political situation changed, and new opportunities started to emerge. Most of them are businessmen who migrated to cash in on the economic boom after

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

opted for a free-market economy in 1989 and joined the European Union in 2004. In 2007, Poland signed an agreement with India to admit more Indian migrant workers, as part of an effort to ameliorate labour shortages caused by the outward migration of hundreds of thousands of Polish workers to wealthier countries in the European Union. Newer groups of Indians in Poland are students and academics. Recent research shows that the Indian community has been well integrated into Polish society. Number of work permits for Indian citizens and number of Indian students enrolled in Polish universities * (Calculated on basis of col. 1 and col. 2)

Culture

The Indian community in Poland is a business-minded community. They have their own '

Little India Little India or India Town (less commonly known as Indian Street or India Bazaar) is an Indian or Desi (South Asian) sociocultural environment outside India or the subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with Indian residences and a dive ...

' in

and

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

as a large number of the community are based there while there are others based in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

and

Pabianice Pabianice is a city in central Poland with 63,023 inhabitants (2021). Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the capital of Pabianice County. It lies about southwest of Łódź and belongs to the metropolitan area of that city. It is the ...

Religion

Hindus and Sikhs form the majority of the Indian community.

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

has spread to

through

ISKCON The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktiv ...

missionaries since 1976. The first Polish Hindu temple was established in 1980 in Czarnów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship ( New Shantipur Temple in Czarnów). A new Hindu Temple named the Hindu Bhavan was constructed in Warsaw. The Indian community hopes that the temple sensitizes the community's youth towards Indian tradition and customs as well as to use the new place of worship as a tool to integrate with Polish society; however, that does nothing to actually integrate with Polish society only hinder the integration process. There are about 120 Sikh families in Warsaw headed by J J Singh, the most prominent Indian, who is also the president of Indo Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industries.Thaindian News - Indian community celebrates Baisakhi in Poland
/ref> The city's Sikh

Gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

the only Sikh shrine in the whole of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

and it is the place where both Sikhs and Sindhis come together to celebrate Baisakhi. The Kerala Association of Poland conducts Onam, the festival of Keralites year on year, headed by Pradeep Nayar and Chandramohan Nallur. The Association of Bengalis in Poland headed by Pradipto Maulik together with Durga Puja Committee conduct 3–4 days long festival of Durga Puja. Durgotsav which is the largest Indian community festival in Poland. Gujaratis and Tamilians also have their associations and celebrate Holi, Dandya and Pongal respectively.

References

External links

Indian Community of Poland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indians In Poland Asian diaspora in Poland Ethnic groups in Poland

India–Poland relations

Migration history

Culture

Religion

See also

References

External links