A 2013 report by the Global Detroit and Data Driven Detroit stated that of the immigrant ethnic groups to Metro Detroit, the largest segment is the Indian population.Warikoo, Niraj.
Biggest metro Detroit immigrant group is from India, report shows
"
Archive
) ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

''. July 20, 2013. Retrieved on March 9, 2014. As of 2012, the Indian populations of

Farmington Hills Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern suburb of Detroit, Farmington Hills is located roughly from downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 83,986, making it the se ...

and

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

are among the twenty largest Indian communities in the United States.Celebration of Asian Indian culture comes to Novi
." ''

The Oakland Press ''The Oakland Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Oakland County, Michigan with headquarters in Troy. It is owned by 21st Century Media, with which its parent company merged in 2013 after filing for bankruptcy. The local historical society ...

''. August 17, 2012. Retrieved on March 9, 2014. As of the 2000 U.S. Census there were 39,527 people with origins from post-partition

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(Indians and

Indian Americans Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "Am ...

) in Metro Detroit,Metzger, Kurt and Jason Booza.
Asians in the United States, Michigan and Metropolitan Detroit
" Center for Urban Studies,

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

. January 2002 Working Paper Series, No. 7. p. 12. Retrieved on November 6, 2013. making them the largest Asian ethnic group in the Wayne County-

Macomb County Macomb County ( ) is a county on the eastern shore of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Detroit metropolitan area, bordering Detroit to the north and containing many of its northern suburbs. Its seat of government is Mt. Clemens, a ...

Oakland County Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its seat of government is Pontiac, and its largest city is Troy. As of the ...

tri-county area. People of those origins are found throughout Metro Detroit, with the majority being in Oakland County.Metzger, Kurt and Jason Booza.
Asians in the United States, Michigan and Metropolitan Detroit
." Center for Urban Studies,

. January 2002 Working Paper Series, No. 7. p. 11. Retrieved on November 6, 2013. Across the border, there is an equally large and growing

Indian Canadian Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The term ''East Indian'' is sometimes used to avoid confusion with Indigenous groups. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of South Asian Canadians which is a further ...

community in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

History

In 1924 the "original six" people were the first Indians to settle in Detroit. They included Sarwan Singh Grewal, a

Jat Sikh Jat Sikh or Jatt Sikh (Gurmukhi: ਜੱਟ ਸਿੱਖ) is an ethnoreligious group, a subgroup of the Jat people whose traditional religion is Sikhism, originating from the Indian subcontinent. They are one of the dominant communities in Pu ...

from Sahuli,

Ludhiana District Ludhiana district is one of the 23 districts in the Indian state of Punjab. It is Punjab's largest district by both area and population. Ludhiana, the largest city in Punjab, is the district headquarters. The main industries are bicycle parts ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, and Arjin Singh. They had moved to Detroit from California after experiencing a low wage of twenty cents an hour while working in that state. They drove in a car eastward, staying in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

for one month before settling in Detroit. According to the 1990 U.S. Census, the Wayne-

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

- Macomb-

Livingston Livingston or Livingstonemay refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North Am ...

area had 16,096 Asian Indians. By the 1990s Indian businesses and institutions began appearing in Metro Detroit, especially in

, Garden City, and

Sterling Heights Sterling Heights is a city in Macomb County, Michigan, Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Sterling Heights is located roughly north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had ...

.Helweg
Page unstated
(

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

PT79). "The 1990 census counted 16,096 Asian Indians in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Livingston Counties" By 2004, there was an estimate of 93,681 Asian Indians in the entire State of Michigan, almost four times the number in 1990, 23,845. As of that year, many Asian Indians moved to Canton Township, Farmington Hills,

, and West Bloomfield Township.Chan, Erin.
BOLLYWOOD NIGHTS: With its daily slate of Indian films, a Novi theater is becoming a hub of south Asian culture
" () ''

''. June 8, 2006. Retrieved on March 9, 2014. As of 2006, of the over 100,000 ethnic Asian Indians in Michigan, the majority are in Metro Detroit.Klein, Sarah.
A little India

Archive
. ''

Metro Times The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly newspaper located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. The ''Metro Times'' was an official sponsor of the now-defunct De ...

''. August 23, 2006. Retrieved on March 9, 2014.

Geography

Canton Township,

, and

all have major Asian Indian populations. The 2008 ''

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

''/''

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...

'' "Best Places to Live" stated that the city of Novi had a significant Asian Indian population.48. Novi, MI
"

''Best Places to Live 2008''. Retrieved on March 9, 2014. According to the 2000 U.S. Census there were 4,697 Asian Indians in Troy,Metzger, Kurt and Jason Booza.
Asians in the United States, Michigan and Metropolitan Detroit
." Center for Urban Studies,

. January 2002 Working Paper Series, No. 7. p. 31. Retrieved on November 6, 2013. See "Appendix III-2: Asian Population in Oakland County Communities in 2000" - Rows: "Farmington Hills", "Novi", and "Troy" Column: "Asian Indian" 3,413 Asian Indians in Canton Township,Metzger, Kurt and Jason Booza.
Asians in the United States, Michigan and Metropolitan Detroit
." Center for Urban Studies,

. January 2002 Working Paper Series, No. 7. p. 31. Retrieved on November 6, 2013. See "Appendix III-3: Asian Population in Wayne County Communities in 2000" - Rows: "Canton township" and "Detroit" Column: "Asian Indian" 3,384 Asian Indians in Farmington Hills, and 1,278 ethnic Asian Indians in Novi. A 2014 ''

Crain's Detroit Business Crain Communications Inc. is an American publishing conglomerate based in Detroit, Michigan, United States, with 13 foreign subsidiaries. History Gustavus Dedman "G.D." Crain Jr. ( Gustavus Demetrious Crain Jr.; 1885–1973), previously the ci ...

'' article stated that Bloomfield Township also has a community of ethnic Asian Indians.India leads all nations in sending people to Detroit

Archive
. ''

''. June 1, 2014. Updated June 6, 2014. Retrieved on September 29, 2014. As of 2006 there is also a population of Indians in West Bloomfield Township. Within the City of Detroit, as of 2000, there were 2,991 Asian Indians. As of 2002, three areas had concentrations of Indian Americans. A portion of Detroit next to eastern

Hamtramck Hamtramck ( ; ; ; ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An enclave of Detroit, Hamtramck is located roughly north of downtown Detroit, and is surrounded by Detroit on most sides. As of the 2020 census, the city had a po ...

includes Indian Americans along with

Bangladeshi Americans Bangladeshi Americans () are American citizens with Bangladeshi origin or descent. Bangladeshi Americans are predominantly Bengali-speaking Muslims. Since the early 1970s, Bangladeshi immigrants have arrived in significant numbers to become o ...

and

Pakistani Americans Pakistani Americans () are citizens of the United States who have full or partial ancestry from Pakistan, or more simply, Pakistanis in America. They can be from different ethnic groups in Pakistan like Punjabi or Muhajir. The term may also re ...

. Also the area north of

Downtown Detroit Downtown Detroit is the central business district and a Neighborhoods in Detroit, residential area of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Locally, "downtown" tends to refer to the 1.4 square mile region bordered by M-10 (Michigan high ...

; including the region around the

Henry Ford Hospital Henry Ford Hospital (HFH) is an 877-bed tertiary care hospital, education and research complex at the western edge of the New Center, Detroit, New Center area in Detroit, Michigan. The flagship facility for the Henry Ford Health System, it wa ...

, the

Detroit Medical Center The Detroit Medical Center (DMC) is a for-profit alliance of hospitals that encompasses over 2,000 licensed beds, 3,000 affiliated physicians and over 12,000 employees. Located in Midtown Detroit, the DMC is affiliated with medical schools fr ...

, and

; has transient Asian national origin residents who are university students or hospital workers; most of these Asians are Chinese and Indians. Few of them have permanent residency after schooling ends. In addition there is an area in the westside of Detroit adjacent to Dearborn and

Redford Township Redford Township (commonly known simply as Redford) is a charter township in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Redford borders Detroit to the east, roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2 ...

that has a mostly Indian Asian population.Metzger, Kurt and Jason Booza.
Asians in the United States, Michigan and Metropolitan Detroit
." Center for Urban Studies,

. January 2002 Working Paper Series, No. 7. p. 8. Retrieved on November 6, 2013.

Demographics

Many Indian immigrants who arrive to Metro Detroit already have high competency in the English language. This is especially the case with people who work in the technology and health care sectors. As of 2014 over 70% of Metro Detroit ethnic Indians who were born outside of the United States have at minimum a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

Economy and commerce

Many Indians work in the information technology sector and medical sectors, and by 2014 an increasing demand in the sectors increased immigration of Indians to Metro Detroit. The automobile suppliers that manage information technology contracts with automobile companies hire Indian IT workers. As of 2014, almost half of ethnic Indians in Metro Detroit who were born outside of the United States have annual incomes of over $75,000. Businesses supporting the Indian community include grocery stores, web portal www.miindia.com, AM radio stations, wedding companies, and dress shops.

Religion

In the late 1970s, many Indian leaders in the community formed a committee to build the first Hindu Temple in Michigan. After years of planning and raising funds, in 1983, the Hare Krishna temple was inaugurated in Detroit. The creation of a religious building is an indicator of these Indian immigrants putting down roots in Michigan especially in the metro Detroit area. The population of South Asians in 1990 was fairly small with around 23,000 Asian-Indians, 1,500 Pakistani, 342 Bangladeshi, and 179 Sri Lankan people out of the total 100,000 Asian population. The presence of Asian Indians was prevalent enough for the census to include them as their own category. As of 2013 Hindu temples and religious centers had been recently established in Detroit,

Ada Ada may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle'', a novel by Vladimir Nabokov Film and television * Ada, a character in 1991 movie '' Armour of God II: Operation Condor'' * '' Ada... A Way of Life'', a 2008 Bollywo ...

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

, Novi,

Pontiac Pontiac most often refers to: * Pontiac (Odawa leader) ( – 1769), Native American war chief *Pontiac (automobile), a former General Motors brand Pontiac may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apo ...

, and

. In 2012 a Hindu temple built for $11 million opened in Troy. The Sri

Venkateswara Venkateswara (, ), also known as Venkatachalapati, Venkata, Balaji and Srinivasa, is a Hindu deity, described as a form or avatar of the god Vishnu. He is the presiding deity of Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala, Venkateswara Temple, Tirupati. Hi ...

Temple and Cultural Center (SVTCC), a temple mainly catering to

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

speakers, opened in Novi in 2013. It is the first Michigan Hindu temple to be named after a southern Indian deity.Warikoo, Niraj.
New Hindu temple in Novi reflects region's growing Asian-Indian population
(). ''

''. May 31, 2013. Retrieved on March 9, 2014
Available at

EBSCOHost EBSCO Information Services, headquartered in Ipswich, Massachusetts, is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., a private company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. EBSCO provides products and services to libraries of many types around the worl ...

, Accession#89086086, from News India Times;6/14/2013, Vol. 44 Issue 24, p15 There are many other Hindu Temples in Metro Detroit such as: BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Detroit and BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Sterling Heights

Culture and recreation

The India Day, a celebration of Indian culture sponsored by the India League of America - Michigan, is held annually. The Festival of India is held at Philip A. Hart Plaza in

. Jaydevi and Bharat Sanghvi founded the festival. It was held regularly in the 1970s, but according to Sarah Klein of the ''

'', it "lost its luster" and then was no longer held. Indians moved their cultural festivals to suburban areas as Detroit declined. In 2005, 20 years after the festival closed, the nonprofit United South Asian Promotions (USAP), founded by Gurvinder Singh, Jack Sandhu and Raj Sanghvi, the son of the original founders of the Festival of India, restarted the festival. As of 2006 SR Movies, an eight screen movie theater in the Novi Town Center development in Novi, previously played standard American films in English and also Indian films,Hastings, Michael.
Hooray for Bollywood

Archive
''

''. February 22, 2006. Retrieved on March 10, 2014. including those in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, and other Indian languages. Sonali and Rakesh Gangwani, a wife and husband couple from New Delhi resident in

, managed the theater, which according to Sonali was the first theater showing

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

films seven days per week in the state of Michigan. At least one Indian film, as of 2006, was screened every day. The couple took over the management of the theater in December 2005. Prior to the change in management, the Goodrich theater chain owned the complex, and the Gangwanis rented one or two screens on weekends. The management change was effective on the first of the month. The name "SR" came from their given names. The theater closed in 2010 as part of the redevelopment of Novi Town Center. The theater was not a part of the redevelopment plans, so it did not pay any rent during its final three years of operations.Walsh, Dustin.
Wal-Mart to open in Novi Town Center
" ''

''. October 4, 2010. Retrieved on March 10, 2014. "Town Center 8, which is not part of the relocating tenants, paid no rent during the past three years it has been an Indian-themed movie theater, because it was not part of the expansion plan. " Anand Kumar started the website
Miindia
', an Indian community portal, in 1999. In 2017 the website has a daily count of 6,000 unique users and over one million monthly hits. Among the small assortment of Indian publications in Michigan is the Little India of Michigan Newsletter, which is published online and is distributed in local Indian businesses.

Notable residents

* Dr.

Sanjay Gupta Sanjay Gupta (born October 23, 1969) is an American neurosurgeon, medical reporter, and writer. He serves as associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, associate professor of neurosurgery at ...

, chief medical correspondent for

( Novi)Steinberg, Stephanie.
Alum Gupta nominated for surgeon general post
" ''

The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'', also known as "''The Daily''", is the independent student newspaper of the University of Michigan published in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established on September 29, 1890, the newspaper is financially and editorially independe ...

''. Wednesday January 14, 2009. p. 1A. Retrieved from

Google News Google News is a news aggregator service developed by Google. It presents a continuous flow of links to articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Google News is available as an app on Android, iOS, and the Web. Google ...

(1 of 16) on October 28, 2013. " ..chool in 1993. He also grew up in nearby Novi, Mich., and attended Novi High School." * Representative Padma Kuppa, Indian-American Democrat serving in the state House of representatives from Troy, Michigan. * Representative Sam Singh, Indian-American from East Lansing. * Congressman Shri Thanedar, congressman of MI-13 *Madhu Anderson, former deputy treasurer of the State of Michigan

References

* Helweg, Arthur W. ''Asian Indians in Michigan'' (Discovering the Peoples of Michigan).

Michigan State University Press Michigan State University Press is the scholarly publishing arm of Michigan State University. Scholarly publishing at the university significantly predates the establishment of its press in 1947. By the 1890s the institution's Experiment Stations ...

, March 1, 2012. , 9781609170486.

Notes

External links

India League of America (ILA) - Michigan

Indian American Cultural Association (IACA)

Detroit Telugu Association
(DTA, , డిటిఎ) * * {{Indian Americans by location

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Indian American Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans in the United States, who ar ...

South Asian American culture

History

Geography

Demographics

Economy and commerce

Religion

Culture and recreation

Notable residents

See also

References

Notes

Further reading

External links