City Hindus Network (CHN) is a not-for-profit organisation created to promote
networking
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
,
spirituality
The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
, education and
charity
Charity may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...
amongst
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
professionals. It was founded in 2005 by
Dhruv Patel OBE, who was succeeded by entrepreneur Pratik Dattani. Its current Chair is Alpesh Patel OBE, who was appointed in December 2019. CHN is focused on building closer relationships between Hindu professionals working in the
City of London
The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
.
History

CHN's first major event was held by the then
Mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The current ...
,
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...
, for the British Hindu community, at
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
Since then, the CHN has organised networking events, talks on
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy or Vedic philosophy is the set of philosophical systems that developed in tandem with the first Hinduism, Hindu religious traditions during the Iron Age in India, iron and Classical India, classical ages of India. In Indian ...
and
spirituality
The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
, a
mentoring
Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...
scheme, charity and
volunteering
Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergenc ...
events for Hindu professionals, and taken part in community and government liaison on behalf of the Hindu community. Many of its events have been in conjunction with the
accountancy
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys ...
and consulting firms and
investment bank
Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...
s in London, alongside other Hindu community partners, such as Diwali in London, built relationships with the Metropolitan City Police and charities such as Odanadi, Women in Need, Joshua Playing Project and London Community Transport.
CHN has also works closely with other faith networks including
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 among ...
to organise the largest hustings events in London. Recent collaboration events have included a quarterly DEI series in 2023 focusing on Women in Business and Technology.
Awards and nominations
* The founder of CHN, Dhruv Patel received an OBE in the 2018 Birthday Honours as a result of his community work through CHN and elsewhere.
*The chairman of CHN, Alpesh Patel received an OBE in the 2020 Birthday Honours as a result of his services to the economy and international trade.
References
{{Reflist
External links
City Hindus Network website
Hindu organisations based in the United Kingdom
Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 2005
2005 establishments in the United Kingdom