Heartbeat: Chinatown, Kolkota
It’s tough
It’s tough
Indo-China conflict has affected businesses as India imports and exports billions of dollars worth of goods and services. All Indian mobile phones contain up to 62% of parts from China.
Kolkota’s Chinatown has several businesses such as tannery, restaurants and shoes. All businesses are owned by Indians, who originally came from China. The recent tensions between China and India are affecting the community. People, who went for food walks to China Town are avoiding to go for the walk. Chinatown gets the credit for inventing dishes such as manchurian and chopsuey.
According to Indian Express: Chinese migration to Kolkata started in the late 18th century, according to Jayati Bhattacharya and Coonoor Kripalani, who have conducted extensive research on the Chinese community in Kolkata in their paper ‘Indian and Chinese Immigrant Communities: Comparative Perspectives’. Kolkata’s Hakka Chinese community worked in several different trades, one of which was shoemaking.
Sandip Roy is a writer and journalist. He does a weekly radio show. According to him if Indian authorities were serious about banning Chinese goods, they should start with the mobile phones.