Kolkata: The Chinese Indian community in Tangra, Kolkata, got actively engaged in the democratic process on Saturday, dispelling any doubts about their identity and reaffirming their Indian roots. By 3 pm, approximately 70% of the 700 Chinese Indian voters in Chinatown had exercised their right to vote, surpassing previous election trends.
Shirley Lee, who rode a scooter to cast her franchise at KMPC School on Matheswartala Road, where nearly 70% of the Chinese voting population is registered, expressed pride in being Indian and felt it was their duty to vote, despite being a minority community whose voice and vote may not hold significant value to political parties.Lee’s family had to relocate their leather business from Tangra to the Kolkata Leather Complex (KLC) in Bantala around two decades ago. Lili Liao, a nursing staff member who returned home to vote after her night shift, noted that while the younger generation in the community takes pride in being Indian, the elderly have realized the importance of making their Indian identity visible, given the strained relationship between India and China.
Li Mei Ling, who came to the school to vote with her mother Chu Lie Yan and brother Li Kit Sen, emphasized that every vote counts. That was not quite the sentiment in the community a decade-and-a-half ago when few were registered in the voters’ list and fewer still stepped out to vote. They were nursing the scars of internment during the Sino-India War in 1962 when 3,0000-odd Chinese Indians were sent to a camp in Deoli, Rajasthan. The distrust it created led to many migrating to Canada, US and Australia. The disruption in the leather business around 2002 when tanneries had to be shifted to KLC also left many disillusioned about their future in the city.
The conversion of factories into restaurants in Tangra has led to increased interaction and has drawn the Chinese out of their shell, according to Bean Ching Law, who represents the Indian Chinese Association of Culture, Welfare, and Development. The Pei May School, the lone Chinese school in Tangra that does not have any Chinese students, is another polling centre that has several registered Chinese Indian voters. Chi Ying Chang, who cast her vote there, said she loved to see the school spring back to life every time an election was held.