Chindian

This article is about people of Chinese and Indian descent. For the geopolitical term, see Chindia.
Chindians
Regions with significant populations
Languages

Other languages of India & other languages of China

Religion
Related ethnic groups

Chindian is an informal term used to refer to a person of both Chinese and Indian ancestry. There are a considerable number of Chindians in Malaysia and Singapore, where people of Chinese and Indian origin immigrated in large numbers during the 19th century.[1] There are also a sizable number living in Hong Kong and smaller numbers in other countries with overseas Chinese and Indian diaspora, such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana in the Caribbean, as well as in Thailand, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand.

Malaysia and Singapore

In Malaysia and Singapore, the majority of interracial marriages occur between Chinese and Indians. The offspring of such marriages are informally known as "Chindian". The Malaysian government, however, considers them to be an unclassified ethnicity, using the father's ethnicity as the informal term; similarly the government of Singapore classifies them as their father's ethnicity. As the majority of these intermarriages usually involve an Indian male and Chinese female, the majority of Chindian offspring in Malaysia and Singapore are usually classified as "Indian" by the Malaysian government.[2]

According to government statistics, 2.4% of Singapore's population are multiracial, mostly Chindians. The highest number of interethnic marriages was in 2007, when 16.4% of the 20,000 marriages in Singapore were interethnic, again mostly between Chinese and Indians.[1]

Singapore only began to allow mixed-race persons to register two racial classification on their identity cards in 2010. Parents may choose which of the two is listed first.[3] More than two races may not be listed even if the person has several different ethnicities in their ancestry.

Hong Kong

Indians have been living in Hong Kong long before the partition of India into the nations of India and Pakistan. They migrated to Hong Kong as traders, police officers and army officers during colonial rule. 25,000 of the Muslims in Hong Kong trace their roots back to what is now Pakistan. Around half of them belong to 'local boy' families, Muslims of mixed Chinese and Indian/Pakistani ancestry, descended from early Indian/Pakistani immigrants who took local Chinese spouse and brought their children up as Muslims.[4][5] These "local Indians" were not completely accepted by either the Chinese or Indian communities until now.[6]

Mauritius

In the late 19th to early 20th century, Chinese men in Mauritius married Indian women.[7][8] The 1921 census in Mauritius counted that Indian women there had a total of 148 children with Chinese men.[9][10][11]

India

Assam

In Assam, local Indian women married several waves of Chinese migrants during British colonial times, to the point where it became hard to physically differentiate Chinese in Assam from locals during the time of their internment during the 1962 war, and the majority of these Chinese in Assam were married to Indian women.[12]

Nilgiris

In the 19th century, when the British Straits Settlement shipped Chinese convicts to be jailed in India, the Chinese men then settled in the Nilgiri mountains near Naduvattam after their release and married Tamil Paraiyan women, having mixed Chinese-Tamil children with them. They were documented by Edgar Thurston.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] [22] Paraiyan is also anglicized as "pariah".

Edgar Thurston described the colony of the Chinese men with their Tamil pariah wives and children: "Halting in the course of a recent anthropological expedition on the western side of the Nilgiri plateau, in the midst of the Government Cinchona plantations, I came across a small settlement of Chinese, who have squatted for some years on the slopes of the hills between Naduvatam and Gudalur, and developed, as the result of ' marriage ' with Tamil pariah women, into a colony, earning an honest livelihood by growing vegetables, cultivating coffee on a small scale, and adding to their income from these sources by the economic products of the cow. An ambassador was sent to this miniature Chinese Court with a suggestion that the men should, in return for monies, present themselves before me with a view to their measurements being recorded. The reply which came back was in its way racially characteristic as between Hindus and Chinese. In the case of the former, permission to make use of their bodies for the purposes of research depends essentially on a pecuniary transaction, on a scale varying from two to eight annas. The Chinese, on the other hand, though poor, sent a courteous message to the effect that they did not require payment in money, but would be perfectly happy if I would give them, as a memento, copies of their photographs."[23][24] Thurston further describe a specific family: "The father was a typical Chinaman, whose only grievance was that, in the process of conversion to Christianity, he had been obliged to 'cut him tail off.' The mother was a typical Tamil Pariah of dusky hue. The colour of the children was more closely allied to the yellowish tint of the father than to the dark tint of the mother; and the semimongol parentage was betrayed in the slant eyes, flat nose, and (in one case) conspicuously prominent cheek-bones."[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] Thurston's description of the Chinese-Tamil families were cited by others, one mentioned "an instance mating between a Chinese male with a Tamil Pariah female"[34][35][36][37][38] A 1959 book described attempts made to find out what happened to the colony of mixed Chinese and Tamils.[39]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheela Narayanan (October 17, 2008). "Go ahead, call me Chindian". AsiaOne. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
  2. ↑ Daniels, Timothy P. (2005), Building Cultural Nationalism in Malaysia, Routledge, p. 189, ISBN 0-415-94971-8
  3. ↑ Hoe, Yeen Nie (12 January 2010), "Singaporeans of mixed race allowed to "double barrel" race in IC", ChannelNewsAsia, retrieved 10 June 2010
  4. ↑ Weiss, Anita M. (July 1991), "South Asian Muslims in Hong Kong: Creation of a 'Local Boy' Identity", Modern Asian Studies 25 (3): 417–53, doi:10.1017/S0026749X00013895.
  5. ↑ Ina Baghdiantz McCabe, Gelina Harlaftis, Iōanna Pepelasē Minoglou (2005), Diaspora Entrepreneurial Networks: Four Centuries of History, Berg Publishers, p. 256, ISBN 1-85973-880-X
  6. ↑ Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember, Ian A. Skoggard (2004), Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World, Springer, p. 511, ISBN 0-306-48321-1
  7. ↑ Marina Carter, James Ng Foong Kwong (2009). Abacus and Mah Jong: Sino-Mauritian Settlement and Economic Consolidation. Volume 1 of European expansion and indigenous response, v. 1. BRILL. p. 199. ISBN 9004175725. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  8. ↑ Paul Younger Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies McMaster University (2009). New Homelands : Hindu Communities in Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, South Africa, Fiji, and East Africa: Hindu Communities in Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad, South Africa, Fiji, and East Africa. Oxford University Press. p. 33. ISBN 0199741921. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  9. ↑ Huguette Ly-Tio-Fane Pineo, Edouard Lim Fat (2008). From alien to citizen: the integration of the Chinese in Mauritius. Éditions de l'océan Indien. p. 174. ISBN 9990305692. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  10. ↑ Huguette Ly Tio Fane-Pineo (1985). Chinese Diaspora in Western Indian Ocean. Ed. de l'océan indien. p. 287. ISBN 9990305692. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  11. ↑ "What Inter-Ethnic Marriage In Mauritius Tells Us About The Nature of Ethnicity". p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-22. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  12. ↑ CHOWDHURY, RITA (November 18, 2012). "The Assamese Chinese story". The Hindu. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  13. ↑ Sarat Chandra Roy (Rai Bahadur), ed. (1959). Man in India, Volume 39. A. K. Bose. p. 309. Retrieved 2 March 2012. d: TAMIL-CHINESE CROSSES IN THE NILGIRIS, MADRAS. S. S. Sarkar* (Received on 21 September 1959) DURING May 1959, while working on the blood groups of the Kotas of the Nilgiri Hills in the village of Kokal in Gudalur, inquiries were made regarding the present position of the Tamil-Chinese cross described by Thurston (1909). It may be recalled here that Thurston reported the above cross resulting from the union of some Chinese convicts, deported from the Straits Settlement, and local Tamil Paraiyan
  14. ↑ Edgar Thurston, K. Rangachari (1909). Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 2 (PDF). Government press. p. 99. Archived from the original on June 21, 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2012. 99 CHINESE-TAMIL CROSS in the Nilgiri jail. It is recorded * that, in 1868, twelve of the Chinamen " broke out during a very stormy night, and parties of armed police were sent out to scour the hills for them. They were at last arrested in Malabar a fortnight
  15. ↑ Edgar Thurston (2011). The Madras Presidency with Mysore, Coorg and the Associated States (reissue ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 218. ISBN 1107600685. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  16. ↑ RADHAKRISHNAN, D. (April 19, 2014). "Unravelling Chinese link can boost Nilgiris tourism". The Hindu. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014.http://www.bulletin247.com/english-news/show/unravelling-chinese-link-can-boost-nilgiris-tourism
  17. ↑ Raman, A (Published Date: May 31, 2010 12:48 AM Last Updated: May 16, 2012 4:45 PM). "Chinese in Madras". The New Indian Express. Retrieved May 17, 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ↑ Raman, A (Published Date: Jul 12, 2010 5:40 AM Last Updated: May 16, 2012 1:38 PM). "Quinine factory and Malay-Chinese workers". The New Indian Express. Retrieved May 17, 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ↑ "Chinese connection to the Nilgiris to help promote tourism potential". travel News Digest. 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  20. ↑ W. Francis (1908). The Nilgiris. Volume 1 of Madras District Gazetteers (reprint ed.). Logos Press. p. 184. Archived from the original on unknown. Retrieved May 17, 2014. Check date values in: |archivedate= (help)
  21. ↑ Madras (India : State) (1908). Madras District Gazetteers, Volume 1. Superintendent, Government Press. p. 184. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  22. ↑ W. Francis (1908). The Nilgiris. Concept Publishing Company. p. 184. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  23. ↑ Government Museum (Madras, India) (1897). Bulletin ..., Volumes 2-3. MADRAS: Printed by the Superintendent, Govt. Press. p. 31. Retrieved 2 March 2012. ON A CHINESE-TAMIL CKOSS. Halting in the course of a recent anthropological expedition on the western side of the Nilgiri plateau, in the midst of the Government Cinchona plantations, I came across a small settlement of Chinese, who have squatted for some years on the slopes of the hills between Naduvatam and Gudalur, and developed, as the result of 'marriage' with Tamil pariah women, into a colony, earning an honest livelihood by growing vegetables, cultivating cofl'ce on a small scale, and adding to their income from these sources by the economic products of the cow. An ambassador was sent to this miniature Chinese Court with a suggestion that the men should, in return for monies, present themselves before me with a view to their measurements being recorded. The reply which came back was in its way racially characteristic as between Hindus and Chinese. In the case of the former, permission to make use of their bodies for the purposes of research depends essentially on a pecuniary transaction, on a scale varying from two to eight annas. The Chinese, on the other hand, though poor, sent a courteous message to the effect that they did not require payment in money, but would be perfectly happy if I would give them, as a memento, copies of their photographs. The measurements of a single family, excepting a widowed daughter whom I was not permitted to see, and an infant in arms, who was pacified with cake while I investigated its mother, are recorded in the following table:
  24. ↑ Edgar Thurston (2004). Badagas and Irulas of Nilgiris, Paniyans of Malabar: A Cheruman Skull, Kuruba Or Kurumba - Summary of Results. Volume 2, Issue 1 of Bulletin (Government Museum (Madras, India)). Asian Educational Services. p. 31. ISBN 81-206-1857-2. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  25. ↑ Government Museum (Madras, India) (1897). Bulletin ..., Volumes 2-3. MADRAS: Printed by the Superintendent, Govt. Press. p. 32. Retrieved 2 March 2012. The father was a typical Chinaman, whose only grievance was that, in the process of conversion to Christianity, he had been obliged to 'cut him tail off.' The mother was a typical Tamil Pariah of dusky hue. The colour of the children was more closely allied to the yellowish tint of the father than to the dark tint of the mother; and the semimongol parentage was betrayed in the slant eyes, flat nose, and (in one case) conspicuously prominent cheek-bones. To have recorded the entire series of measurements of the children would have been useless for the purpose of comparison with those of the parents, and I selected from my repertoire the length and breadth of the head and nose, which plainly indicate the paternal influence on the external anatomy of the offspring. The figures given in the table bring out very clearly the great breadth, as compared with the length of the heads of all the children, and the resultant high cephalic index. In other words, in one case a mesaticephalic (79), and, in the remaining three cases, a sub-brachycephalic head (80"1; 801 ; 82-4) has resulted from the union of a mesaticephalic Chinaman (78-5) with a sub-dolichocephalic Tamil Pariah (76"8). How great is the breadth of the head in the children may be emphasised by noting that the average head-breadth of the adult Tamil Pariah man is only 13"7 cm., whereas that of the three boys, aged ten, nine, and five only, was 14 3, 14, and 13"7 cm. respectively. Quite as strongly marked is the effect of paternal influence on the character of the nose; the nasal index, in the case of each child (68"1 ; 717; 727; 68'3), bearing a much closer relation to that of the long nosed father (71'7) than to the typical Pariah nasal index of the broadnosed mother (78-7). It will be interesting to note, hereafter, what is the future of the younger members of this quaint little colony, and to observe the physical characters, temperament, improvement or deterioration, fecundity, and other points relating to the cross-breed resulting from the union of Chinese and Tamil.
  26. ↑ Edgar Thurston (2004). Badagas and Irulas of Nilgiris, Paniyans of Malabar: A Cheruman Skull, Kuruba Or Kurumba - Summary of Results. Volume 2, Issue 1 of Bulletin (Government Museum (Madras, India)). Asian Educational Services. p. 32. ISBN 81-206-1857-2. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  27. ↑ Edgar Thurston, K. Rangachari (1987). Castes and Tribes of Southern India (illustrated ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. 99. ISBN 81-206-0288-9. Retrieved 2 March 2012. The father was a typical Chinaman, whose only grievance was that, in the process of conversion to Christianity, he had been obliged to "cut him tail off." The mother was a typical dark-skinned Tamil paraiyan,
  28. ↑ Edgar Thurston, K. Rangachari (1987). Castes and Tribes of Southern India (illustrated ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. 98. ISBN 81-206-0288-9. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  29. ↑ Edgar Thurston, K. Rangachari (1987). Castes and Tribes of Southern India (illustrated ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. 99. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
  30. ↑ Government Museum (Madras, India), Edgar Thurston (1897). Note on tours along the Malabar coast. Volumes 2-3 of Bulletin, Government Museum (Madras, India). Superintendent, Government Press. p. 31. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  31. ↑ Government Museum (Madras, India) (1894). Bulletin, Volumes 1-2. Superintendent, Government Press. p. 31. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  32. ↑ Government Museum (Madras, India) (1894). Bulletin. v. 2 1897-99. Madras : Printed by the Superintendent, Govt. Press. p. 31. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  33. ↑ Madras Government Museum Bulletin. Vol II (No. 1). Madras. 1897. p. 31. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  34. ↑ Sarat Chandra Roy (Rai Bahadur) (1954). Man in India, Volume 34, Issue 4. A.K. Bose. p. 273. Retrieved 2 March 2012. Thurston found the Chinese element to be predominant among the offspring as will be evident from his description. 'The mother was a typical dark-skinned Tamil Paraiyan. The colour of the children was more closely allied to the yellowish
  35. ↑ Mahadeb Prasad Basu (1990). An anthropological study of bodily height of Indian population. Punthi Pustak. p. 84. Retrieved 2 March 2012. Sarkar (1959) published a pedigree showing Tamil-Chinese-English crosses in a place located in the Nilgiris. Thurston (1909) mentioned an instance of a mating between a Chinese male with a Tamil Pariah female. Man (Deka 1954) described
  36. ↑ Man in India, Volumes 34-35. A. K. Bose. 1954. p. 272. Retrieved 2 March 2012. (c) Tamil (female) and African (male) (Thurston 1909). (d) Tamil Pariah (female) and Chinese (male) (Thuston, 1909). (e) Andamanese (female) and UP Brahmin (male ) (Portman 1899). (f) Andamanese (female) and Hindu (male) (Man, 1883).
  37. ↑ Sarat Chandra Roy (Rai Bahadur) (1954). Man in India, Volume 34, Issue 4. A.K. Bose. p. 272. Retrieved 2 March 2012. (c) Tamil (female) and African (male) (Thurston 1909). (d) Tamil Pariah (female) and Chinese (male) (Thuston, 1909). (e) Andamanese (female) and UP Brahmin (male ) (Portman 1899). (f) Andamanese (female) and Hindu (male) (Man, 1883).
  38. ↑ Edgar Thurston, K. Rangachari (1987). Castes and Tribes of Southern India (illustrated ed.). Asian Educational Services. p. 100. ISBN 81-206-0288-9. Retrieved 2 March 2012. the remaining three cases, a sub-brachycephalic head (80-1 ; 80-1 ; 82-4) has resulted from the union of a mesaticephalic Chinaman (78•5) with a sub-dolichocephalic Tamil Paraiyan (76-8).
  39. ↑ Sarat Chandra Roy (Rai Bahadur), ed. (1959). Man in India, Volume 39. A. K. Bose. p. 309. Retrieved 2 March 2012. d: TAMIL-CHINESE CROSSES IN THE NILGIRIS, MADRAS. S. S. Sarkar* ( Received on 21 September 1959 ) iURING May 1959, while working on the blood groups of the Kotas of the Nilgiri Hills in the village of Kokal in Gudalur, enquiries were made regarding the present position of the Tamil-Chinese cross described by Thurston (1909). It may be recalled here that Thurston reported the above cross resulting from the union of some Chinese convicts, deported from the Straits Settlement, and local Tamil Paraiyan

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