Gujarati Matrimonials in the USA - Finding a Gujarati Bride or Groom

The Gujarati Diaspora in the USA primarily refers to people who can trace back their ancestry to the western state of Gujarat in India. While there is a significant population of Gujaratis hailing from Pakistan too – Mohammad Ali Jinnah being one of the most famous of them – in the USA, Gujarati speakers predominantly refer to India as their country of origin. According to the 2006 US Census, there were around 299,000 Gujarati-speaking people in the country out of a total of 1,417,000 people speaking Indic languages, and this excluding the second and third generation Gujaratis who mostly speak English at home. This effectively means that around 20% or one out of every five Indian Americans is a Gujarati. Interestingly, Gujaratis comprise only 5% of the population in India, the land of their origin! However the emotional and cultural ties to India remain, most vibrantly played out in the process of finding a Gujarati groom or bride in the adopted country.



Traditionally an enterprising people with keen business sense, Gujaratis in the USA are today one of the most successful immigrant communities among South Asians. Their economic clout is evident in the US hospitality industry besides niche sectors like diamond, retail and garments businesses. Gujaratis make up 90% of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association whose members have a $40 billion stake in the US hotel industry and own as much as 50% of all the economy lodging properties and 35% of all hotel properties in the country. Today most of the Gujarati Diaspora in the US is to be found in states like New Jersey, California, Illinois, Texas, North Carolina and Connecticut.

For the Gujaratis, the history of immigration to the New World passes through East and South Africa. An overwhelming majority of the first generation Gujaratis in the US are twice- or even thrice-migrants – first, leaving their native villages in India in the late 19th and early 20th century to work as laborers, civil servants or traders in countries like Uganda, Kenya and South Africa. However with independence and rising political problems in the African countries, the Gujarati community proceeded to migrate to the UK in the 1960s and ‘70s and from there to the New World like US and Canada for newer economic and social opportunities.

Despite being an economically thriving community, the Gujaratis in the US are keen on maintaining their cultural identity which among other things includes matrimonial practices.  Like all Indian American communities, Gujaratis too believe in the tradition of arranged marriages. However while earlier generations preferred to come back to India to look for suitable grooms and brides for their children, the present generation is more in favor of finding a life partner from within their own community but located in the US. This naturally ensures greater mutual understanding as young people sharing the same kind of upbringing in US have more in common than someone brought up in India. Towards this view, Gujarati community leaders regularly organize various matrimonial gatherings in states like New Jersey and North Carolina. Sometimes in fact, various castes like the Brahmins, Patels and Banyas among the Gujaratis have their own matchmaking venues. At these gatherings, parents of young people can not only meet and get to know of prospective matches on lines of particular caste and sub-caste preferences but conduct preliminary discussions at a neutral space without the pressure of formal negotiations.

Of greater prominence are various community organizations which play an important role in keeping alive the Gujarati cultural identity in the Diaspora. The most significant among these are the Gujarati Samaj which has branches in several states and the Swaminarayan Sanstha. There are also various periodicals like the Gujarati Samachar, the Sandesh as well as the Gujarati Times which not only talk about issues relevant to the Gujarati community but also provide an important platform for its members to get in touch with each other. Similarly the social networking and cultural activities promoted by organizations allow the younger Gujarati generation to look for life partners within their own community.

Then there are the various social and cultural occasions like marriages, festivals and religious celebrations where great numbers of Gujarati people converge and thus provide ideal hunting grounds for prospective matches. The most colorful among these is perhaps the Navratri celebration when young men and women from the community sing and dance away the night in a blaze of color, music and revelry. These occasions not only ensure that young people with identical community affiliations get together but offer fun and exciting ways to meet prospective partners - certainly a far more attractive proposition for the Gujaratis of today than the tradition of arranged marriages.

The Internet too has come to the aid of young Gujaratis looking for a life partner in the US. There are several matrimonial websites catering to the requirements of prospective grooms and brides located in the US. Then there are websites which have links to matrimonial listings. Furthermore there are social networking sites where young men and women from similar communities can get to know each other. These websites score over traditional matchmaking practices in that they offer a far wider scope of prospective partners as compared to small localized communities and kin groups. More importantly however, personal networking by mail, chat, photos and videos allow young men and women a degree of control over their personal choices, which may have been restricted in the case of their own parents.

Like other South Asian communities, dating is generally discouraged among Gujaratis, especially if the young people are still in high school. Even though, Gujaratis have traditionally flourished in family-owned businesses, today young people from the community are eagerly pursuing college education. The result is wider exposure to the various cultures and ethnicities which inhabit the university campus besides a greater degree of freedom in their personal lives. All these factors have not only led to young Gujaratis joining the dating scene like their American friends but have also informed personal choices with some of them opting for love matches with members of other communities and races.

Many Indian American leaders of Gujarati origin in the US believe the secret of the community’s success lies in a unique ability to take advantage of external opportunities while remaining true to one’s ethnic and cultural identity – something which significantly informs contemporary matrimonial practices among Gujaratis living in the US.