COMMUNITIES Today there is still conflict between Spain and Gibraltar, as the Spanish government continues to want to make the Rock a Spanish possession.
The Hindu Community Following the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 the first merchants from India arrived in Gibraltar with the permission of the Governor, and had the same rights as any other traders in the area. The present population is comprised almost entirely of
descendants from Hyderabad, Sindh (now Pakistan.) Because Gibraltar was regarded as nothing more than a trading outpost, it was not until 1925 (over 50 years after the arrival of the first merchant) that the first Indian was born in Gibraltar. In the mid1920s proprietors and senior employees began to reside here with their families. Until 1921 there were only about seven licensed Indian traders. Once licensed they enjoyed freedom of trade and the right to have as many alien employees resident in Gibraltar as
Hindu Temple, Al Mandir
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