Indians in Taiwan

Indians in Taiwan

Total population
3,565 · 1,925 (June 2019 · April 2013)
Regions with significant populations
Taipei City · Taipei	1,178 · 839
Hsinchu City · Hsinchu	667 · 326
Taipei County · Taichung	545 · 158
Languages
Mandarin Chinese · English · Languages of India
Religion
Hinduism · Sikhism · Islam · Jainism
Related ethnic groups
People of Indian origin

There is a small community of Indians in Taiwan consisting mainly of immigrants and expatriates from India. As of April 2013, there are about 1,900 Indian residents in Taiwan.

Overview

Indians have been coming to Taiwan since the 1980s — mainly businessmen, jewelers, and scientists. The first Indians to arrive were a community of Sindhi traders. This community used to have around 200 families, but now numbers only 40 or 50 as the majority of them have migrated to China, mainly to Guangzhou. Another similar-sized early group of Indians is made up of families in the diamond and precious stones trade who sell their wares to Taiwanese jewelers.

As a part of its "Look East" foreign policy, India has sought to cultivate extensive ties with Taiwan in trade and investment as well as developing cooperation in science & technology, environment issues and people-to-people exchanges. These exchanges have led to a minor influx of Indians into Taiwan, with small groups of Indian nationals springing up in several locations near the country's larger universities, most notably in Hsinchu and Taipei. Currently, there are almost about 100 Indian scientists alone at the Academia Sinica.

Education

In 2003, figures indicate that only 5 Indian students were enrolled on programmes in Taiwan, growing to 409 in 2007. By 2018, there were 2,398 Indian students studying in Taiwan, showing a 15-year growth of almost 48,000%. The number of Indian students in Taiwan rose by 56% between 2017 and 2018. This was deemed, according to the Taiwan Ministry of Education, as being due to a combination of low tuition fees in the country and easier availability of post-study work permits to foreign graduates.

Culture

Yoga, Indian fashion and dance are popular among many the ethnic Indians living in the country. Ayurvedic spas are cropping up in big hotels and beauty salons nationwide and there are also many Indian restaurants across the country. Many Indian festivals such as Diwali and Holi are celebrated by the Indian community in Taiwan.

Public Figures

Name	Hometown	Occupation	Known As
Chongtham Jayanta Meetei	Manipur	artist	Artistic Director of EX-Theatre Asia
Devesh Path Sariya	Alwar, Rajasthan	Professional Astronomer[2][3][4], Hindi Writer (not an occupation)	His poems and memoirs are regularly published in Hindi literary magazines and newspapers[5][6][7]
Dileep	Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh	chef	Owner of Dileep's Organic Healthy Veg Restaurant
Mirza Atif Ali Baig	Taiwan	entertainer
Mohammed Abdul Azeez	Hyderabad, Telangana	chef, TV show guest	Owner of Masala Art, Regular of WTO Sister show
Ngangbam Shantikumar Meetei	Imphal, Manipur	athlete, professor
Nilam Rani		TV show guest	Regular of WTO Sister show

Religion

Hare Krishna ISKCON Temple, Taipei

Jain Temple Taipei

Vishva Hindu Parishad Taiwan

List of mosques in Taiwan

Enterprise

Mahindra Taiwan

Social Media Community

Indians in Taiwan

Indian restaurants

Restaurant in Kaohsiung	Uncommon item in Kaohsiung	Meals
Aahar Indian Food, menu	kulfi, poha	veg, non-veg
Dennis Indian Restaurant, menu	dosa, Thali, pani puri	veg, non-veg
Dileep's Organic Healthy Veg Restaurant, menu	curry hot pot, calzone	veg, Jain-veg as per customised
Goon's Bistro , menu	home catering service, tiffin service	veg, non-veg
Himalaya Indian Kitchen, menu	dosa, Thali, paleo dahi vada, kulcha, paratha	veg, non-veg, Halal
India Palace, menu	lachha paratha	veg, non-veg
Lahore Restaurant, menu		veg, non-veg, Halal
Maharaja Indian Restaurant, menu	Goan curry, rumali roti, kingfisher beer, pickles, tamarind drink	veg, non-veg
The Spice Shop Kaohsiung, menu		veg, non-veg

See also

• India – Republic of China relations
• Indians in China