Indian Chinatown's 'forgotten' history comes alive in Kolkata walking tours

Temple roofs, restaurants, a Sunday breakfast market and character-laden signs are visible reminders of Chinese life in central Kolkata's Tiretta Bazaar, the oldest such settlement in South Asia.

They neatly highlight the city's Chinese settlers and their history, one which in recent decades has been fading knowledge for many, and either unknown or irrelevant to many more.

Today, though, the neighbourhood is on the rise, thanks to visitors interested in such heritage, Instagram influencers, and grassroots organisations keen to spread the word about Chinese immigrants to India.

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It is believed this Chinatown, known as Chinapada (neighbourhood of the Chinese people), was first mentioned in the 1790s on a Kolkata map by the British adventurer, surveyor and apparent bassoon player Aaron Upjohn. Chinese migration had begun some two decades earlier, with arrivals seeking new livelihoods as the nation's maritime network expanded across the South China Sea.

The area was soon known as Tiretta Bazaar, named after an Italian called Edward Tiretta, thought to have been a political refugee around the time Upjohn made his map.

After Tiretta's arrival in Kolkata, he worked as an architect for the British-owned East India Company. He accrued large tracts of land and on one of them, he built a bazaar. Not all bazaars made their way onto maps, perhaps showing the significance and size of this one which was owned by Tiretta.

By the mid-1800s, a distinct and vibrant Chinese neighbourhood was emerging, influenced by Chinese sailors who stopped off in the city and decided to stay. Tea plantation owners also brought in Chinese workers from southern China.

The Chinatown area was dominated by Hakka and Cantonese groups. There was also a noticeable presence of people from Fujian who were involved in various trades like tanneries, laundries and beauty salons, as well as silk traders from Shandong and Hubei dentistry experts.

Each group established native associations, with links to temples, clubs and cemeteries. Some Chinese entered the leather manufacturing industry in World War I and around the time of World War II, the community's population reached a peak of about 40,000, according to an essay in the book China's Practice of International Law.

But like many migrant histories, the story of this particular Chinatown is in large part about overcoming struggle. Perhaps one of the biggest disillusionments came during the Sino-Indian war of 1962 and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's decision to detain Kolkata's Chinese community for two to three years at internment camps in the state of Rajasthan, hundreds of miles away.

They were eventually released after the war, which China won, but the relationship between Chinese and Indians had been jolted. The following years saw that emotional distance only widen. By the late 1970s, the Chinatown was largely forgotten by Bengalis and other Indian communities, and many Chinese had already left India. Around 1,500 live there today.

Chelsea McGill of Immersive Trails, a walking tours project she founded with husband Tathagata Neogi in 2017, said a "huge gap in historical research" had formed over the years. "The cosmopolitanism that Kolkata embodied in the past is often overlooked and forgotten," she said.

Even before the British arrived in the 1600s, Kolkata traded with other nations, meaning foreign traders visited the city.

"It was never a city of Bengalis, per se," said McGill, a linguistic anthropologist. "And yet most of the research done on Kolkata has been focused on the Bengal renaissance and the national movement led by Hindu Bengalis. The lack of research about the population other than the Bengalis is glaring and the gap is only starting to be addressed."

Sabir Ahmed, one of the founders of the Bengal-based citizens' initiative Know Your Neighbourhood, said historical amnesia was linked to identity politics. "Knowing one's neighbourhood is linked with the creation of a society where pluralism, equality, communal harmony are considered integral and non-negotiable," he said.

The project began as a social experiment in 2016 to try to heighten public engagement between communities. Now, it enables many to learn about Kolkata's marginalised neighbourhoods and communities like Chinapada and Daftaripada, where many Muslim bookbinders live. "There is an urgent need for peaceful coexistence, by forging inclusive relationships," said Sabir.

Such efforts have helped the area regain its popularity and build new relationships with Kolkata residents elsewhere; the population of the wider metro area is well over 10 million.

Neogi noted that the Chinese community "played a very important role in ... professions like carpentry, dentistry, silk, shipbuilding", while Ahmed said links between Chinese and Indians were "integral" to local culture.

"Just as they have been shaped by the city's culture, the Chinese people have in turn played a role in shaping Kolkata," he said.

An important contribution to the city is how Chinese setters have helped to shape modern Bengali food habits. From the 1950s to the late 1970s, the city had what many believe to be the best Chinese restaurants in India, all owned and managed by Cantonese people, and often housed in buildings that used to be tanneries.

Yet making a living through Chinese food was not enough for an overall sense of well-being; the ongoing political apathy added to continued migration that had begun in the post-war days.

Those who stayed, though, are bound to the city by love and livelihoods.

"We have many friends among the Cantonese community who have discussed their life experiences with us, happily opening some of their private spaces to the public," said McGill. "It is the trust of the community members in our research, narrative, and in us personally that allows us to conduct tours."

Visitors also appreciate this inclusive approach, she added.

Her words resonated with the city's Chinese Consul General Zha Liyou, who joined a recent Know Your Neighbourhood walking event. "There should be more awareness about the community, their practices, traditions and lived histories," he said.

Amid children and older history enthusiasts, Ahmed, who led the walk, reflected on how such tours integrate local community members. "We feel this gives them space to share their views and stories, and makes them feel less like tour exhibits," he said.

While the old China-influenced diversity of Kolkata is not rising Phoenix-like, yet, with a more informed understanding of the city's Chinese past and present, and so much more citizen participation, it is certainly being increasingly enjoyed, and recognised.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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