There was always the choice of Singapore, Hong Kong, Cyprus or Malta but ‘scouts’ doing a ‘recce’of the various locations worldwide, decided to report to their fellow potential business partners, back home in Hyderabad in the Sind province of India, that Gibraltar was the place to come to and set up shop — literally — and serve the Royal Naval and Army garrison building up at great speed here.

   The ‘scouts’ found there was a great scarcity of goods here and quickly moved in to remedy the situation. So began the birth of the Hindu community on the Rock. Three Sindhis arrived in the early 1890s, Messrs Pohoomull, Chanrai and Chellaram. Four others followed in quick succession and together became the founder members of the 600 strong Hindu community in Gibraltar today.

   “We would sell anything we could, from Indian curios to something as insignificant perhaps, as razor blades. We were not allowed to sell electric goods, that came much, much later,” says Krishna Khubchand, well known local businessman, whose ancestors were amongst the first seven to arrive. He was also the first Indian to be born in Gibraltar.

   Word got back to Hyderabad that Gibraltar was the in place to travel to and start a business, or be chosen by existing employers on the Rock to come and work for them. Most families here are Sindhis hailing from the Sind region of India. Amongst the Indian population on the Rock there are a handful of muslims, but the majority are Hindus. Krishna tells me that as numbers grew, some employees were allowed to open their own businesses. “But they had to have a Gibraltarian partner. That was the law, as it stood then. We didn’t become Gibraltarian citizens until 1972 or 73.”

   With the passage of time the Indian community has become well integrated into the local way of life. There are now many Gibraltarian Indian Hindus, and a number of Hindu girls have married local men.

   “We also have a story or two to tell about the Evacuation. We went down to one person only, serving in each shop. There were 26 shops, so we were down to 26 members of our community here. I was eight at the time and my family decided to evacuate to India. We were torpedoed and sunk by the Germans and then by the British and I lost my mother and father, three sisters and two brothers — my entire family lost to the oceans.”

   The experience of the border closure was also felt by the Indian community on the Rock, albeit in a positive way it could be said. About fifty Hindus were living in the Campo area at the time, because of restrictions here, and all were shipped over, together with the 700 or so Gibraltarians living there and luckily, were allowed to stay in Gibraltar. “So you can see to what extent we are part of the Gibraltarian family and can more than empathise with the local people.”

   Over the years the needs of the Gibraltar community have changed, from serving a garrison full of thousands of servicemen, to the inclinations of a more affluent and modern society. Being the shrewd businessmen they are, Indian shopkeepers on the Rock diversified, so there are now fewer bazaar type shops in town. Trends have changed and with those trends, a more professional, upmarket feeling has crept into their businesses in Main Street.

    We now have electronics and fine china shops, clothes outlets, and shops selling high quality watches and jewellery. When it comes to staffing their shops, some employers prefer importing labour from the Indian continent, for which there is a quota. That way, helping their fellow countrymen find employment, which they wouldn’t otherwise have back home. Once in employment here, as well as receiving some form of remuneration, they would have all their meals and accommodation thrown in. A topic that sometimes comes in for a little criticism.

   The Indian restaurants and takeaways are well represented, as are sweet shops, that now have Indian proprietors, finding their way into the back streets, which was never the case before. I recall, during my time as a Cadbury’s sales rep in the mid-seventies, visiting the Indian confectionery shops which had begun to spring up all over town. I remember how they would go for the full range of goods, not just concentrate on the best sellers as others would. They used to say that like that, you were pretty much guaranteed a sale! Now of course they’ve moved into the drinks and tobacco trade making a killing there too.

   “Over time we have seen how young Hindus on the Rock, after completing their comprehensive school and university education, have moved away from shop-keeping and into the professional world. We have a number of lawyers, accountants and civil servants in top jobs now.”

   We now also have a Gibraltarian Hindu Speaker of the House — Haresh Budhrani QC. Krishna says that socially too, you will find hindus mixing with the rest of the community.

   During my schooldays I used to hang about with one or two Hindu kids, and I remember going to the Boulevard to play marbles with them. One in particular was very good and always beat me, he was rich too, and didn’t need to inflate his already big bag of marbles with my puny handful!

   For many years now the Hindu community has invited friends and acquaintances to their homes and places of work during their Divali celebrations, but they would like to see more locals and Indians getting together socially.

   “The community had it’s own social clubs in the past. They closed down and now sixty or so Indians are members of the Casino Calpe and others frequent the St Bernard’s club in the Community Centre on Zoca Flank.” Krishna says there shouldn’t be segregations of the communities that make up Gibraltar’s population, so it’s a good thing to go along to these venues to join in whatever is going on.

   On the religious side of things, there is now a super Hindu Temple just off Engineer Lane, and it’s not unusual to see little shrines set up at the back of shops and businesses in town, and in homes also, which could be why the temple is not frequented as much as some would like.

   In recent times another Hindu building has sprung up. The Radhasoami Satsung Beas is situated on Red Sands Road — at the bottom of the hill there — and is used by about sixty people who follow the more spiritual side of the religion — ‘Sant Mat’ — the way to God. The building is also used as a conference centre.

   There are fewer arranged Indian marriages these days, not surprisingly perhaps, as many of the Hindus that have been born here have followed a Gibraltarian, and therefore a more secular way of life. While in the past, young Hindu girls were told to start preparing for marriage, and some may say, a more subservient life, now they are encouraged to study. We already have lawyers, pharmacists and civil servants in high posts in our midst — well done girls!   And it’s all part of the development of yet another group of people seeking opportunities to prosper, and arriving on the Rock to enrich our identity. 600 or so individuals who provide another piece of the colourful jigsaw that is… Gibraltar.