Chindians: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 00:55, 14 February 2010
 | This article is missing information about the origin and connotations of the term. (December 2009) |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana | |
| Languages | |
| English, Tamil, Mandarin, other Indian languages & Chinese dialects | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly: Hinduism Minority: Buddhism & Islam. | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indians in Singapore, Chinese Singaporean, Indian Malaysian, Chinese Malaysian, South Asians in Hong Kong |
A Chindian is 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, and Canada. Chindian is also a slur used to describe Tibetans.
Malaysia and Singapore
In Malaysia and Singapore, the majority of interracial marriages occur between Chinese (specifically Han Chinese) and Indians (specifically Tamil Indians). The offspring of such marriages are informally known as "Chindian". The Malaysian government, however, only classifies them by their fathers' ethnicity. As the majority of these intermarriages usually involve an Indian groom and Chinese bride, the majority of Chindian offspring in Malaysia are usually classified as "Indian" by the Malaysian government.[2]. Language wise, a majority of Singaporean and Malaysian Chindians who have Tamil Indian fathers are most likely to take Tamil as their mother tongue while the minority with Chinese fathers are most likely to speak Mandarin as their second language. As for Religion, a large number of Indian-Chinese marriages are between Indian Hindus and Chinese Buddhist and their offsprings would be raised practicing both religions although they would be given Hindu names and would classify Hinduism as their religion. There are also marriages between Indian-Chinese Christians and their offsprings would be raised as practicing Christians.
A similar anomaly can be seen in the case of Chinese baby girls who were adopted by Indian parents. This was not an uncommon phenomenon in early 20th century Singapore, and although the practice has stopped with growing affluence, many of these women are still residents of Singapore. In every linguistic, religious, cultural and ethnic identity sense, these women are Indian. However, despite this, they continue to be seen, officially, as Chinese, which can be a source of some unhappiness for some of them. Nonetheless, as the practice of such adoptions was generally limited to Chinese girls, and as most of these grown up women married Indian men, their children would be considered as Chindians although they would refer to themselves as Indians.
According to government statistics, Singapore's population was 4.68 million, 2.4% of whom were multi-ethnic, mostly Chindians. Also in 2007, 16.4% of all marriages in Singapore were inter-ethnic, again mostly between Chinese and Indians.[1]
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' or 'local girl' families, Muslims of mixed Chinese and Indian/Pakistani ancestry, descended from early Indian/Pakistani immigrants who took local Chinese wives and brought their children up as Muslims.[3][4] These "local Indians" were not completely accepted by either the Chinese or Indian communities.[5]
Notable Chindians
- Jacintha Abisheganaden
- Vivian Balakrishnan
- Helena Carr
- Datuk Bernard Chandran
- Savika Chaiyadej
- Nicol David
- Vanessa Fernandez
- Jwala Gutta
- Maya Karin
- Nicki Minaj
- Indranee Rajah
- Monita Rajpal
- Michelle Saram
- Mark Subra
- Yinhua
References
- ^ a b Sheela Narayanan (October 17, 2008). "Go ahead, call me Chindian". AsiaOne. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
- ^ Daniels, Timothy P. (2005), Building Cultural Nationalism in Malaysia, Routledge, p. 189, ISBN 0415949718
- ^ Weiss, Anita M. (July 1991). "South Asian Muslims in Hong Kong: Creation of a 'Local Boy'BHANJI BHAI Identity". Modern Asian Studies. 25 (3): 417–53.
- ^ Ina Baghdiantz McCabe, Gelina Harlaftis, Iōanna Pepelasē Minoglou (2005), Diaspora Entrepreneurial Networks: Four Centuries of History, Berg Publishers, p. 256, ISBN 185973880X
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Carol R. Ember, Melvin Ember, Ian A. Skoggard (2004), Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World, Springer, p. 511, ISBN 0306483211
See also
External links
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