Lord Mayor of London celebrates Diwali

Lord Mayor of London has celebrated Diwali in an inaugural function in the financial heart of the city which saw participation of 100 guests from the British Hindu and Indian community whogathered here to celebrate the festival of light.
Alan Yarrow gave a speech highlighting how the Hindu community add to the makeup of the City and then took part in the traditional lighting of a diya at his Mansion House headquarters in the financial heart of London.
"It is a fantastic occasion to hold the inaugural Diwali celebration in the heart of the Square Mile at the Mansion House. The Hindu community brings so much to the fabric, energy and competitiveness of the Square Mile so it is great to be able to mark their contribution with this celebration," Yarrow said.

"The Lord Mayor praised the contribution of Hindu, Sikh and Jain employees in the Square Mile, adding that while Hindus made up one per cent of the UK population, they accounted for 9 per cent of the City's workforce," he said.
He also highlighted that in a report by international recruitment firm Astbury Marsden in 2012, it showed that from an ethnic diversity perspective, the City is more diverse than the UK as a whole.
Common Councilman and chairman of Community and Children's Services for the City of London Corporation, Dhruv Patel, said: "The impact of the Hindu community to the UK professional and financial services industry is clear."

The role that can be played in developing Britain's business relationship with India is already being demonstrated.

"I am delighted that the Lord Mayor has held this very special celebration of Diwali at the Mansion House for the first time ever. It is a wonderful recognition of the important contribution that the British Hindu community, of which I am a proud member, makes to the City.
As part of his programme of overseas visits representing the City, the Lord Mayor went to India in December 2014, taking with him a wide selection of financial and professional services firms from the Square Mile.

The Lord Mayor was looking to build on the strong commercial links between the UK and India that already exists, particularly when considering that India invests more into the UK than the rest of Europe, and the UK is the third biggest investor in India globally.