The Chinese and the Indus Valley civilization contribute to the global heritage of eugenics with the oldest race cultures. Exploring the disseminated cultural bindings beyond borders of nationality, the Indian subcontinent in the ancient ages, ushered in the concept of universal relationship of mankind; barring colour, race, creed and caste. In one of the archaic global languages, Sanskrit; this message was announced with the expression “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. Among many homes away from home the Chinese immigrants found a special dwelling in Bengal, India.  In the late 1700 AD, thousands of Chinese emigrated from China to work at the port of the then British capital, Calcutta, now known as Kolkata.  Kolkata was the capital of the British regime in India from 1772 to 1911. The earliest evidence of any Chinese travelling to the Indian soil is traced back to the Fifth Century AD as cited in the travelogue of the eminent and honored globe trotter ‘Fa-Hien’, who directed his course of journey to ‘Tampralipta’, now known as ‘Tamluk’ in Bengal.

Over the centuries, the soil of planet earth has been a silent spectator of the whirlwinds of dust rising from the hoofs of gallant stallions, ammunition boots and cannon shells; various political movements have drawn newer geographical boundaries and revolutionized the lifestyle, moral and line of work for the human race.  Amongst these winds and turbulence of socio-economic and political changes, somehow, miraculously, nature hasn’t kept the human mind bereft of its craving for truth and love; the primal originality of a human body and mind. The Chinese population in West Bengal gives us an opportunity to explore this indomitable spirit of mankind for universal relationship, truth and love that still exalts and reassures the ancient Sanskrit expression of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, as truly, mankind is but one human race, barring colour, race, creed and caste.   A glorious instance of which is still witnessed from the many homes of the Chinese in Bengal.

‘Yang Tai Chow’, with a little over hundred Chinese laborers was the first Chinese to arrive in Kolkata in the year 1778 with the sole aim of setting up a successful tea trade. Trailing his route, across the snow peaks of the Himalayas, thousands of Chinese emigrated to Kolkata for a source of income; owing to the plausibly convenient proximity of a metropolitan area from China by land. A trader named Tong Achi established a steel mill 33 kilometers from Calcutta on the banks of the river Hooghly near ‘Budge Budge’ during the era of Warren Hastings, the first governor-general of British India. A mystifying resemblance of Chinese influence in Indian soil and sound is observed in the appellation of the same borough christened as ‘Achhipur’. The highest population of ethnic group of Chinese origin in the People’s Republic of China is the Han, considered to be the single largest in the world, also identified by the names ‘Pinyin’, ‘Hanzu’ or ‘Hànrén’ originating from the Han River located in central China which is referred to as the ‘Heavenly River’ by the Chinese. During the fall of the Ching dynasty, post the victory of the communists in 1949 and owing to the civil wars and the due to the influence of Mao Zedong, thousands of Chinese intellectuals, landowners and merchants migrated to a greener pasture, Kolkata, often termed as the ‘Cultural Capital of India’.

The earliest of migrators, known as the Hakka, worked on the Khidderpore docks. Among the various precious emeralds that embedded the crown of the Chinese civilization is the Tang dynasty. In languages like Cantonese, Hakka and Minnan the word is Tángrén or Tángrénji?, indicating “Street of the people of Tang”. Today, the north-west region of Kolkata homes thousands of Han Chinese. The area with the thickest density of Chinese population in Kolkata is befittingly called ‘Tangra’. The foundation of trust, warmth, love and unity for the institution called home in this vicinity developed to finally gift an enthralling socio-cultural dimension to the city and the nation over the years. Dwellings of the Chinese built in this area is in accordance with the traditional edifice of the Han people (also called “sì hé yuàn”, (Hanyu Pinyin) which is mammoth in size, rectangular in shape and guarded by towering walls. The structures would be large to accommodate four tablets, heaven, earth, ancestor and teacher, which would be worshipped. A large number of Tanneries, Buddhist temples, traditional Chinese pastry shops and restaurants serving authentic Chinese cuisine mirrors the cultural characteristics of the two century old Tangra which it’s popular for throughout the globe. The Cantonese recipe, with the use of Monosodium Glutamate’ referred to in India as aji-no-moto, blended with Indian ingredients has created a unique fusion of Bengali and Chinese cuisines and is an element of posthumous across India. The Chinese of Bengal, over the years have honed their skills in manufacturing sauce, in catering to tailor made shoes and in being restaurateurs. Dentistry is a prominent affair to earn means. Prettifying the sugary eye brows and eye lashes of Bengali demoiselle still remains a proficiency of Chinese finger strokes in the most eminent beauty parlours of Kolkata.   The daily chronicle, “Overseas Chinese Commerce in India”, among others, brings home global news in the crimson of dawn in the firmament of Kolkata, knocking doors of the Chinese by the paper boys with a hood of fog or bead of moisture. Shoe shops on the crossways of Bentinck Street showcase Chinese mastery over leather craft. TheGrace Ling Liang English School of Kolkata institutionalizes ethnic Chinese essence into its curriculum for the Chinese toddlers; Mandarin, “The School of Chinese Language” (Zhong Wen Xue Xiao) specialises in imparting authentic Chinese language.

The grave of Tong Achi and the solitary Temple of Guan Yu, the god of war, located near Dharamtalla magnetizes visitors of the city, especially during the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year celebration brings a riot of colours in the streets of Kolkata with the splendor of pomp and show, especially in the area of Tiretti Bazar and Tangra. Thousands of visitors across the globe throng to witness the spectacular festivity. The music, dance, fireworks, rituals spectacled during this period is breathtaking.

Bengalis and the Chinese have united and come together through centuries and this entire process of union of varied cultures and the thriving nature of mankind towards universal relationships reminiscences us of the ancient Sanskrit expression, “Vasudhhaiva Kutumbakam”. An expression accentuating the importance of universal relationship; quintessential in today’s world of differences created by human within the human race.

The ‘Bengali’ Chinese population in Bengal clearly demonstrates to the world the eternal relevance of universal relationship within mankind barring colour, race, nation and creed. A truth that we humans still refuse to fully accept.