Early Migration of the Chinese community in Kolkata
Early Migrations of the Chinese community in Kolkata
The early migration of the Chinese people occurred in three distinct phases and people probably came to the city of Kolkata as refugees - the first wave of migration occurred in the 18th century where the Chinese immigrants reached Kolkata, the second wave of Chinese migration occurred during the first half of the 20th century, and the third phase of the migration of Chinese immigrants occurred after the end of the Second World War after the 1945.
Most of the Chinese settlers in Kolkata had migrated from Shanghai. As Kolkata is one of the biggest ports in India, it is seen that the early migrants were the Chinese sailors and indentured labor. The reason why Chinese sailors and indentured labor start settling down in Kolkata is that during the war with Japan, Americans offered and employed Chinese labor in military work. The Chinese labor had to travel a lot for eastern side to western side through ships. They had to pass through Kolkata coast in their way and sometimes they had to hold in Kolkata for another ship. As it was a long process these Chinese people started offering their services to the locals and started settling down there. Another reason that the Chinese people migrated to Kolkata city is that at one point Kolkata was a major pull factor offering jobs and opportunity to the people.
sources:
http://www.sagepublications.com/
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