The Chinatown of Kolkata

Since the late eighteenth century when Tong Achew, the first recorded Chinese settler in India, started his sugar factory on the banks of the river Hooghly not far away from Calcutta (now Kolkata) there has been a steady flow of Chinese immigrants who sought fortune in the then capital of British India. Gradually the central district of Kolkata began to be known as Chinatown dotted with Chinese temples, schools, clubs and market. There were once more than 20,000 Chinese in Kolkata. They ventured into leather, carpentry, restaurant and other businesses contributing significantly to the socio-economic condition as well as the cosmopolitanism of Kolkata. However, during the Indo-China war (1962) there has been a spirit of distrust towards the Chinese-Indian community. Further, the lack of lucrative economic opportunity in the city (as well as in India) has sent many Chinese to settle in distant Australia, Canada and the USA. Today the Chinatown of Kolkata is fast becoming a shadow of its past as the number of its original residents is rapidly coming down (it is little more than 2000 according to an estimate). My photo-essay is a part of an ongoing long term project documenting various aspects of the life of the Chinese-Indian community living in Kolkata. I think it is important for both social and historical purposes.