In the tide of globalization, the Chinese have become a part of many cities around the world, forming a Chinatown with a unique cultural atmosphere. However, in Taba Chinatown in Kolkata, India, the Chinese here face a very different dilemma than elsewhere.
As the largest Chinese settlement in India, Taba Chinatown has about 4,000 residents, most of whom are from Mei County, Guangdong Province, China, and are mainly Hakka. Their lives are intimately connected to the land, but the environment here is unbearable. Garbage can be found everywhere, the air is filled with the stench of leather processing, and the living conditions are unimaginably harsh.
Taba's leather industry was once a glorious place, and at the beginning of the 18th century, it was a swamp, but with the opening of a tannery by a Cantonese man surnamed Xiong, Taba gradually became an important base for India's leather industry. At its peak, Taba produced more than 20% of India's leather, and the Chinese community here reached 30,000 people.
However, with the intensification of environmental pollution, Taba's tanneries have been closed, and the lives of Chinese people have been seriously affected. Many of them, although holding Indian passports, still retain the Chinese language and customs. Every traditional Chinese festival, they will celebrate according to the customs of their hometown, and this attachment to their homeland is moving.
The vicissitudes of history have also made the Chinese of Taba experience many hardships. In the 60s of the last century, the outbreak of the Sino-Indian border war made the Chinese here suffer from exclusion and suppression. Today, the number of Chinese in Taba has been greatly reduced, but they still hold on to this land, and despite the difficult life, they still miss their hometown in their hearts.
The fate of the Chinese in Taba Chinatown is closely related to the rise and fall of the motherland. They know very well that only when the motherland is strong can overseas Chinese gain respect and status. They longed to return to China, to the hometown that haunted them, but the obstacles of reality made their way home out of reach.
The story of Taba Chinatown is a poignant history of overseas Chinese. This is not only the place where they live, but also the eternal pain in their hearts. Their living environment, their homesickness, their helplessness and persistence are all historical chapters that we cannot ignore. Let us remember this history, never forget our original intention, and continue to move forward, for the sake of those Chinese compatriots who are sticking to it in a foreign land, and for our common motherland.
Text/Compendium