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{{About|people originating from India|native ethnic groups of Mexico, also sometimes called "Indians"|Indigenous peoples of Mexico}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Indian Mexicans
| image = FeriaCulturasAmigas06.JPG
| caption =
| population = 1,825<ref>{{cite web | title=India: Comercio exterior, inversión, remesas y migración | url=https://www.economia.gob.mx/datamexico/es/profile/country/india?timeSelector=Year&foreignYears2=2024 }}</ref>
| popplace = Mostly concentrated in urban areas such as: [[Guadalajara, Jalisco|Guadalajara]], [[Mexico City]], [[Monterrey]], [[Hermosillo]], [[Mexicali]], [[Tijuana]], coastal region of [[Michoacán]], [[Isthmus of Tehuantepec]]
| langs = [[English language|English]], [[Mexican Spanish]], [[Malayalam]], [[Kannada]], [[Marathi Language|Marathi]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Hindi language|Hindi]], other [[Languages of India]]
| rels = {{flatlist |
* Predominantly [[Catholicism]] ([[Roman Catholic Church|Latin Rite]], [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Church|Syro-Malabar]] and [[Syro-Malankara Catholic Church|Syro-Malankara]])
* [[Hinduism]]
* [[Islam]]
* [[Sikhism]]
}}
| related = Other [[Asian Mexicans]], [[Indian diaspora]], [[Punjabi Mexican Americans]], [[Romani Mexicans]]
}}

'''Indian Mexicans''' are [[Mexico|Mexican]] citizens who are descendants of migrants from [[India]].

==History==
[[File:Budistas_en_México_D.F.,_México,_2013-10-16,_DD_122.JPG|left|thumb|250px|Indians in Mexico City, Mexico]]

=== Early immigration ===
The first Indians arrived in Mexico during the [[New Spain|colonial era]]. During this period, thousands of Asians arrived via the [[Manila galleons]], some of them as slaves termed ''chinos'' or ''indios chinos'' ({{literally|Chinese}}, regardless of actual ethnicity). The first record of an Asian in Mexico is from 1540; an enslaved cook originating from [[Calicut]].<ref name="Oropeza">{{cite web|last1=Oropeza Keresey|first1=Déborah|title=La esclavitud asiática en el virreinato de la Nueva España, 1565-1673|url=https://historiamexicana.colmex.mx/index.php/RHM/article/viewFile/278/255|publisher=Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo|access-date=19 December 2016}}</ref> The best known "''china''" was [[Catarina de San Juan]], a girl captured by Portuguese slave traders in [[Cochin]].

In 1923, immigration of ethnic Indians was secretly prohibited (along with other ethnicities as well).<ref name=FitzGerald>{{cite book|last1=FitzGerald|first1=David Scott|last2=Cook-Martín|first2=David|title=Culling the Masses|date=2014|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0674729049|page=220|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wXWWAwAAQBAJ&q=Culling+the+Masses+Mexico+table+6.1&pg=PA219|access-date=24 December 2015}}</ref> The ban was kept confidential in order to avoid diplomatic problems with the [[British Empire]]. This ban, along with similar bans based on ethnicity, was eliminated by a 1947 law that prohibited racial discrimination.<ref name=FitzGerald/>

=== Modern status ===
Most of the Indians in Mexico are recent arrivals in the country and most of them have settled in [[Guadalajara]] and [[Mexico City]]. Mexico has a [[jus soli|non-discriminatory policy]] with regard to the grant of its citizenship. The spouse of a Mexican national would generally not face any problem in acquiring local citizenship. Although a few of the [[Non-resident Indian|NRI]]s have married Mexicans, they have retained their Indian citizenship.

Indian Mexicans are mainly businessmen or professionals. Many of them work with one or other international organization or a [[multinational corporation]]. There are also some academicians and scientists among them. They have helped to bring about greater mutual understanding between India and their host country. Some of the Indians work for "ISPAT Mexicana" which is part of the [[Laxmi Mittal]] group, well known in this region for having turned around a sinking steel company in [[Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán|Lázaro Cárdenas]]. [[Tata Group|TATA Consulting]] also has a huge investment with offices in [[Guadalajara]].

According to the [[Indian Ministry of External Affairs]], there were about 2,000 Indians living in Mexico as of March 2011.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://mea.gov.in/mystart.php?id=50049865 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721044421/http://mea.gov.in/mystart.php?id=50049865 | archive-date = 21 July 2011 | title = India-Mexico Relations | publisher = Indian Ministry of External Affairs}}</ref> In December 2018, the ministry estimated there are about 6,500 people of Indian descent.<ref name="mea.gov.in">{{cite web |date=31 December 2018 |title=Population of Overseas Indians |url=https://mea.gov.in/images/attach/NRIs-and-PIOs_1.pdf |access-date=15 January 2021 |publisher=[[Ministry of External Affairs (India)]]}}</ref> In 2020, there were 2,656 people from Indian origin in Mexico, according to the [[Censo General de Población y Vivienda]], by the [[National Institute of Statistics and Geography]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=López Olivares |first1=Lucero Jazmín |last2=Odgers Ortiz |first2=Olga |date=October 2022 |title=Altares domésticos hindúes en Tijuana: un acercamiento a la recreación de la religiosidad en cuatro familias originarias de India |url=https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/index.php/res/article/view/6207 |journal=Revista de Estudios Sociales |language=es |issue=82 |pages=79–100 |doi=10.7440/res82.2022.05 |issn=0123-885X}}</ref>

== Indian culture in Mexico ==

=== Religion ===
The main Indian community organisation is the Indian Women's Association of Mexico (IWAM) in Mexico City. It celebrates important festivals and organises cultural programmes. A [[Sai Baba of Shirdi|Sai Baba]] temple, a [[Vaishnav]] temple and a [[Gurudwara]] have also been constructed by Sangam Organisation in Mexico City.

In [[Tijuana]], [[Hinduism in Mexico|Hinduism]] is practiced in diverse ways among both Indian-origin Hindus and local converts. Some cross over to [[San Diego]] to access religious products and [[Hindu temple|Hindu temples]], while others practice at home with small altars. This adaptability allows them to adjust rituals to new realities, influencing gender roles and relationships with their countries of origin and residence.<ref name=":0" />

=== Sport ===
Indian and [[Britons in Mexico|British diaspora members]] have been noted for re-establishing [[Sport in Mexico#Cricket|cricket in Mexico]] in modern times.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-26 |title=Cricket fans in Mexico hope to boost the sport and add teams |url=https://apnews.com/article/mexico-cricket-growing-sport-ae04b2e49522dd7c8b1d40965ec3d72d |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>

==Notable individuals==
[[File:Dr._Sanjaya_Rajaram_WFP.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram]]
* [[Manabendra Nath Roy]] – Founder of the [[Mexican Communist Party]]
* [[Rajagopal (professor and researcher)|Rajagopal]] – Expert in business and marketing at [[Tec de Monterrey]]
* [[Sanjaya Rajaram]] – Agronomist and creator of 480 types of [[wheat]]
* [[Ravi Prakash Singh]]
* [[Babaji Singh]] – [[Mexico|Mexican]] [[Sikh]] credited with translating the [[Guru Granth Sahib]] into Spanish
* [[Pandurang Sadashiv Khankhoje]] – One of the founding fathers of the [[Ghadar Party]]
* [[Catarina de San Juan]] (Mirra) – Girl brought to colonial Mexico as a slave; i.e., the "[[China poblana]]"

==See also==
{{Portal|India|Mexico}}
* [[Hinduism in Mexico]]
* [[Asian Latin Americans]]
* [[India–Mexico relations]]
* [[Punjabi Mexican Americans]]
* [[Romani Mexicans]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Indian diaspora}}
{{Ethnic groups in Mexico}}
[[Category:Asian diaspora in Mexico]]
[[Category:Indian diaspora by country|Mexico]]
[[Category:Indian diaspora in North America|Mexico]]
[[Category:Mexican people of Indian descent|*]]
[[Category:India–Mexico relations]]

{{Mexico-stub}}
{{NorthAm-ethno-group-stub}}

Indian Mexicans - Revision history

ChristenHii at 22:06, 24 February 2026