By DOUGLAS PIZA, 7/03/2016. The Chinese community in Kolkata celebrated last Sunday (July 26th) the first-all India dragon boat race. The event in Kolkata hallmarks more than just the race – it served the purposes of showing proud of the community, despite the fact that it has been decreasing over the decades, and of valuing the cultural encounters between the Chinese and Indian culture.
A good turn out of Indians of Chinese descent, the majority of the few remaining Chinese migrants of the 1940s and 1950s, and many Kolkata residents watched the race on a lake, tried Chinese exquisites, and listened to Chinese music sung by a famous Chinese Indian singer. The event proved to be also very informative, with flyer piles of all kinds and many smiles in the stalls. This is when it becomes interesting for my research project.
Besides many Chinese Indian businesses, the event was supported by the Chinese consulate in Kolkata. Though this is just a one-day celebration, it displays major features of the Chinese central government’s policy towards the diaspora population in India.
In fact, the main axis of the diaspora engagement policy in Kolkata is precisely the celebration of the Chinese cultural heritage, which includes financial support to fund cultural events of the community. This focus diverges from the general pattern of policies towards overseas enacted by the Chinese government, which usually center around economic issues such as foreign direct investment, remittances, and investment in human capital. The reasons for the peculiar emphasis on cultural linkages to the ancestors homeland in the case of India results from the Chinese government decision to re-link with this community comprised mainly of Indian citizens. This is not to say that embassies and consulates around the world do not support cultural festivities or broader cultural initiatives, but rather to recognize that in the majority of policies towards the Chinese communities in other countries prioritize economic issues – unlike the case of the overseas in India. It most be noticed that this event like many others is organized by the community, and is only supported by the Kolkata consulate. The result, as the Dragon Boat Race event shows, is what an interviewee told me: “though we are politically Indians, we are culturally Chinese.” For the spectator the celebration could not be nicer to watch!