Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c4.s2.113

v1.c4.s2.113

The commercial connection between India and China also led to the arrival of Chinese in India. Chinese were to be found mainly in and around Calcutta (Kolkata) and Bombay (Mumbai) but it was only in Calcutta that their numbers grew large enough to form a Chinese settlement in India. The first Chinese known to have settled in India in this period was Yang Dazhao (Atchew) who received a grant of land from the British authorities in Bengal to set up a sugar mill at the end of the 18^th century CE. Thereafter, more Chinese continued to arrive in India throughout the 19^th century CE. They settled mainly in the Bowbazar and Tangra areas of Calcutta. They tended to specialise in carpentry and shipbuilding and later in the tannery business as well. Chinese were also brought to India’s northeastern province of Assam to work on the tea plantations that the British established. Their skills in tea cultivation and processing were used to develop an extensive tea industry in India.