Hinduism is a minority religion in Wales constituting 0.4% of its population. Under half of Welsh

Hindus 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 ...

settled there in the second half of the 20th century.

History

Most Welsh Hindus are of

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 ...

n origin, or from neighbouring countries, such as

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. Many of them came after

Idi Amin Idi Amin Dada Oumee (, ; 30 May 192816 August 2003) was a Ugandan military officer and politician who served as the third president of Uganda from 1971 until Uganda–Tanzania War, his overthrow in 1979. He ruled as a Military dictatorship, ...

's expulsion of Indians and other Asians from

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

in the 1970s, and some also came from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. There are also a few of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n origin. Many of these are from the

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 ...

. Common languages amongst them, other than English and Welsh, include Punjabi,

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 ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, Gujarati and Nepali. The Hindu Cultural Association (HCA Wales), established in March 1991, is a Registered Charity with the

Charity Commission for England and Wales The Charity Commission for England and Wales is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Government that regulates Charitable organization, registered charities in En ...

. It is run by the Indian community in Wales and aims to serve the pan-Indian community as well as helping the integration of the Indian community into the wider community.

Demographics

According to the 2021 Census, there are 12,242 Hindus living in Wales. According to the 2011 census, there were 10,434 Hindus in Wales, which was almost double the number in the 2001 census. As of 2013, about half of the Hindus in Wales live in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

(4,736), followed by Swansea (780), Newport (685) and Wrexham (504).

Temples and sites

Skanda Vale is an inter-faith

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Llanpumsaint,

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

. The site has three temples and attracts around 90,000 devotees annually. The largest Hindu temple in Wales, the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, is located in Grangetown, Cardiff. It is a Swaminarayan temple and was first opened in 1982. The Sanatan Dharma Mandal Temple was originally established in 1985 in the Parade, Cardiff to serve Hindus in South Wales. Sanatan Dharma represents a code of conduct and a value system that has spiritual freedom as its core, serving all Hindus within Wales and aims to offer a place of no anxiety. The temple and Hindu Community Centre are today located in the Seaview, Lewis Road, Splott, Cardiff, CF24 5EB.

Hindu Council of Wales

It is the major Hindu organisation in Wales. It was established in 2013, to promote Hindu culture, religion and values in Wales. The council was made up of temples including Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Cardiff and Sanatan Dharma Mandal temples, Hindu charities and community centres like the Bhaktidham Wales charity.

References

{{Hinduism in Europe

History

Demographics

Temples and sites

Hindu Council of Wales

See also

References