New class of 'super rich' Indians in Britain

London, Oct 29: Britain is witnessing a growing new class of 'super-rich' Indians as they have changed Northwood, a quiet west suburb here, to what is thought to be country's first ''Millionaires' Row'' for a single ethnic minority.

Homes worth more than one million pounds on Astons Road are being snapped up and then demolished to make way for mansions worth up to five million pounds complete with indoor pools, sweeping marble staircases and extravagant landscaped gardens.

Nine out of 10 new buyers on Astons Road are Indians, eager to take advantage of the area's respected private schools and some of the best golf courses within the M25, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

Less than two decades ago, their parents were living in dilapidated flats in nearby Southall but the new generation has moved out to the leafier areas such as Moor Park, the part of Northwood where Astons Road is situated.

Keith Vaz, chairman of the National Ethnic Minority Task Force and MP for Leicester East, said, ''What the Moor Park community shows us is the real nature of what happens to first generation immigrants.

''The stereotype view, that they are dependent on the state, is proved to be a myth because they have shown through hard work, dedication and enterprise that they are first-class contributors to our country.'' Satish Ruparelia, 54, made his fortune importing cappuccino machines from Italy and bought a two million pound home in Moor Park.

''My father came here with 50 pounds in his pocket. He was born in India and then thrown out of Uganda during Idi Amin's Africanisation programme,'' he said, adding he himself came to England in 1972 and survived on 29 pounds a month that his father was sending through. He was a paying guest in Finsbury Park and had a very basic box room, he pinpionted.

Kulwinder Dhadwal, 42, a management consultant and property developer, who has been looking at homes in Astons Road, said, ''The Indian community are still fairly conservative about displaying their wealth, but now there is a desire more and more to show the fruits of their hard work.''

UNI