British Indians form the largest ethno-national group in London with a population of around 656,272 or 7.5% of the population. The majority are concentrated in West London, though populations can be found throughout London.

Demographics

As at 2021, the Indian population of Greater London was 656,272 or 7.5% of the population, (including those of British Indian ethnic origin).2021 Census data on ethnicity
Accessed 1 April 2023

Religious groups

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 ...

: Some of the largest Hindu temples in Europe, the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir, is located in

North West London The NW (North Western) postcode area, also known as the London NW postcode area, is a group of 13 postcode districts covering around 13,895 live postcodes within part of northwest London, England. It is the successor of the NW sector, originally ...

, London. The number of Hindus in London is around 350,000, of which most are of Indian descent, and Hindus compose nearly 64% of Indians in Greater London.

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

: Most Sikhs in Greater London live in West London, Southall being the heart of the community. And some also live in Bexleyheath, Erith, Hayes, Ruislip, Hounslow, Ilford, Belvedere, Osterley and Ealing. The largest Sikh organisation in the UK is the London-based

City Sikhs City Sikhs (formerly City Sikhs Network) (Punjabi: ਸਿਟੀ ਸਿੱਖ) is a nonprofit organisation, and a registered charity which describes itself as "A voice for progressive Sikhs". It promotes networking, education and volunteering amongs ...

. The number of Sikhs in London is around 150,000, of which most are of Indian descent, and Sikhs compose over 27% of Indians in Greater London. Islam: Around 20% of Indians in London are Muslims. They are located primarily in

Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the ...

in East London. Indian Muslims in London have strong connections to the Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslim community of London. Most Indian Muslims came from East Africa,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and Mumbai.

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

: There are a significant number of Christian Indians in London. Most of them are from the states of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. Denominations include Indian Orthodox,

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

. There is a church in

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

which offers church services in the Gujarati language.

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

: The Parsi community, which mostly comes from the state of Gujarat or from Mumbai, is also present in London.

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

: In 2006 it was estimated that there were 25,000 Jains in the United Kingdom.

Population spread

West London

In West London, close to Heathrow Airport, resides one of the UK's largest Indian communities. According to the 2001 Census, 39% of the people within the

Ealing Southall Ealing, Southall (also Ealing Southall) is a constituency created in 1974 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2007 by Virendra Sharma of the Labour Party. Constituency profile The constituency has relatively go ...

constituency, comprising Southall and nearby areas, are of

British Asian British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...

origin. Wembley and Harrow has a thriving

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

community while Southall being home to a thriving Punjabi community. Southall Broadway being popular among the diaspora for its Indian shops, cinemas and restaurants. Another Indian residential area is the

London Borough of Hounslow The London Borough of Hounslow () is a London borough in West London, England, forming part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 when three smaller borough councils (forming part of the former Middlesex County Council area) amalgamated under ...

In popular culture

Singaporean author

Balli Kaur Jaswal Balli Kaur Jaswal is a Singaporean novelist, having family roots in Punjab. Her first novel ''Inheritance'' won the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian Novelist Award in 2014, and was adapted for a film presented at the 2017 Singapore Inte ...

wrote the 2017 novel '' Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows'', which involves the Punjabi Sikh community in London.
See post at
''Asian Review of Books''

References

External links

Indian London
the Museum of London
Aden Mitra Mandal
association of Indian community with historic connections to Aden, holds cultural and religious events
Live telecast from religious places from across india
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian Community Of London Asian-British culture in London

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Culture in London