Mina Hindocha was born in 1953 in Jinja, Uganda. She arrived in the UK as a teenager at the time of exodus. She moved to Harlow in Essex where she set up a Newsagents Business and ran her shops for 17 years. While in Harlow she started the Hindu Community Gatherings with a small community of around 20 families in the 1970's. This grew to over 100 families by the early 2000s. MIna ran the celebrations of Hindu Celebrations, worked with the local council to secure funding for celebrating Indian events and festivals. She also taught Indian Dance to English pupils at schools in Essex and Hertfordshire from the 1980s to 2000s, often voluntarily. After moving to London in the early 2000s she became an ardent follower of BAPS (Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayn Sanstha), where she gave her voluntary service for over a decade. Mina now runs various online social media forums with over 10,000 people engaging in them for the Asian Community, which talk about matters of Public awareness, Spiritual matters and Bollywood.
1) Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?
I made my home in London, England. So I feel at home here. Unashamedly proudly British.
2) What are your proudest achievements?
My proudest achievement is serving my community.
3) What inspires you?
Women in parliament inspire me like Margaret Thatcher and Indira Gandhi.
4) What has been biggest obstacle in your career?
Starting life from scratch in this country was the biggest obstacle.
5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
My father has been a great influence to me and my career. My son, Kishan Devani BEM, FRSA who has achieved so much at such a young age has made me proud and pushed me to continue serving the community.
6) What is the best aspect about your current role?
I am officially retired now but I my online social media groups and the wider work I do in the community keep me busier than a full-time job!
7) And the worst?
I wish I could reach out to more people who are in need and that would like to engage with people who need assistance.
8) What are your long-term goals?
Is to see a world that is united and not divided, a world where bridges are built and not walls.
9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?
If I were a Prime Minister, I would want to assist the most deprived people in our country, reaching out to the forgotten communities is something I would prioritise.
10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why?
I would like to spend time with Nelson Mandela. Mr Mandela was inspirational at how he took life so positively, after spending 27 years in Jail, he took life so positively and achieved so much. He has left such a remarkable legacy for all of us to learn from.
