Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.s4.t4: Chinese Community in India
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.s4.t4
- Language
- English
Chinese Community in India
v2.c13.s4.t4.1
The Chinese community in India has its origin in the colonial era maritime trade between China and India. Just as a number of Indian merchants flocked to China’s shores in search of profit, a number of Chinese sailors, traders, artisans and labourers arrived in Calcutta (Kolkata) and Bombay (Mumbai), then the two most flourishing ports on the east and west coast of India, respectively.
v2.c13.s4.t4.2
Tradition holds that the first Chinese to settle in India was a person called Atchew or Achi (Yang Dazhao in Chinese) who around the year 1780 petitioned the then British Governor General in Calcutta, Warren Hastings, for land on which to grow sugarcane. His petition was granted, and he was allotted land about 15 km south of Calcutta, at a place which is still called Achipur in his memory.
v2.c13.s4.t4.3
*Tangra Street, Kolkata*
v2.c13.s4.t4.4
Using about a hundred Chinese labourers he brought with him, he grew sugarcane, produced sugar and distilled liquor as well. Records indicate, however, that there were already some Chinese living in Calcutta in his time. In the same period, Chinese also came to Bombay as sailors, peddlers, artisans and so on. They were particularly appreciated for their skills in carpentry and were employed as ship ‘fitters’ and for building and maintaining docks. Some were painters and craftsmen who came to India to cater to the demands of Bombay families who had acquired a taste for Chinese embroidery, paintings and textiles through their association with the China trade. Others brought with them silks and other items from China and went from door-to-door selling them. A third stream of Chinese who came to India were brought, many from Malaya, Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia, to assist in the early stages of the development of the tea industry in Assam in northeastern India. Many of them inter-married with local women and set up small shops and enterprises. A moderate sized community of Assam Chinese grew, centred around a place called Makam in Assam.
v2.c13.s4.t4.5
Until the middle of the 19th century, it appears that there were about 500 Chinese living in both Calcutta and Bombay. They were mainly males and many of them were sojourners who moved back and forth between China and India. However, from the early decades of the 20th century, the community in Calcutta grew steadily. Political disturbances,
v2.c13.s4.t4.6
*Chinese community in Kolkata, Nanshun Hall*
v2.c13.s4.t4.7
war and invasion back home as well as economic hardship brought many more Chinese to India in search of a livelihood. A significant development was that Chinese men in India began to bring over their wives and families, leading to the emergence of a more settled community. The community began to number several thousands, peaking at about 14,000 in the early 1950s. The only concentration of Chinese in India was in Calcutta, where the Chinese settled initially mainly in the area of the city, and then went on to establish themselves in the neighbourhood of Tangra.
v2.c13.s4.t4.8
It is possible to identify some distinct regional groups among the Chinese in India. The earliest arrivals were mainly Cantonese who were particularly renowned for being excellent carpenters. Another group belong to the Hakka community. Many of them entered the tannery business and set up their businesses and residences in Tangra. They also became renowned shoemakers. A third smaller group originally came from Hubei province in central China. Many of them were traditionally ‘teeth-setters’ and over time evolved into modern dentists. Due to the nature of their work, they are more widely dispersed in different towns and cities of India than the other groups. In more recent decades, Chinese in India have moved into other occupations as well and are particularly known for their restaurants, beauty parlours, laundries and other ventures. Over decades, the Tangra locality of Calcutta evolved into India’s main ‘Chinatown’. The Chinese families have gone to great lengths to retain their language and other cultural characteristics as well as their community consciousness. They have given rise to several Chinese language newspapers, of which two remain in circulation: *The Chinese Journal of India* and *The Overseas Chinese Commerce of India*. Although in recent years, they have faced the problem of declining enrolment leading to full or partial closure, the community has given rise to several Chinese medium schools for their children including the Pei Mei, Mei Kong, Chen Kuo and the Sacred Heart schools. Several Chinese temples have also been built. Chinese New Year as well as other Chinese festivals are celebrated exuberantly and in a traditional manner by the community, particularly in Calcutta. It has become a custom among the Kolkata Chinese to pay an annual visit to Achipur, the place of the earliest settlement of their community on the occasion of Chinese New Year. There they pay their respects at the tomb of Atchew which still exists.
v2.c13.s4.t4.9
The community suffered a severe setback as a result of the 1962 hostilities between India and China over the disputed border. Many Chinese families were uprooted from their homes, sent to internment camps and in some cases, deported. Those who were later allowed to return to their homes in India found it hard to pick up the threads of their lives. The legal and political status of many of them in India is not secure. This trauma has been movingly depicted in the writings of Kwai-yun Li who herself had grown up in Kolkata and of the Assamese writer Rita Chowdhury Rita Chowdhury whose novel *Makam* has been widely read in Assam. Rafeeq Elias’ short film *The Legend of Fat Mama* also evokes the mixed memories of this community.
v2.c13.s4.t4.10
In recent years, the community faces the problem of dwindling numbers, particularly as younger members have immigrated to Canada, Australia, etc, in search of lucrative economic opportunities. However, even when they migrated, the Chinese Indians remain connected with each other and with their Indian links through blogs and websites such as *www.dhapa.com*, and through various associations and programmes that they organise for themselves from time to time.