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Indian community in Myanmar remembe
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Indian community in Myanmar remember homeland
>From NDTV (www.ndtv.com), monitored in New Delhi
February 24, 2001, Myanmar
Last week signalled an opening up of the relations between India and
Myanmar. It is perhaps time to take note of an oft forgotten component
of the Indian diaspora--four per cent of Myanmar's population is of
Indian origin. For those familiar with the old Hindi film song, Mere
Piya Gaye Rangoon, this statistic does not come as a surprise.
Generations ago, from the mid 1800s to independence, people left their
hometowns in India to settle in Rangoon--one of the most flourishing
cities of the British empire at the time. They came from West Bengal,
Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra, either to trade or to work in the
agricultural sector. However, when the military took over the country in
1960 and nationalised everything soon after, the community saw a change.
Naresh Dhinodia, Yangon-based businessman, says, "Indians had been here
for about 30 years and when the government nationalized everything, they
went back but we never broke our links with the government here. We had
been working regularly with the ministries and after the
nationalization, in '67 I think, we came back here and started business
again with the government.
Nevertheless, the ties run much deeper than just business. Thousands of
Indian soldiers who fought with the allied forces in world war II died
in Myanmar. Yangon or Rangoon, as it was known then, also became the
headquarters of Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian national army and
thousands of young Indians in the city signed up to fight for India's
independence.
In this land of apparent contradictions, the Indian community also
stands out as a glaring example. While the more affluent business
families have always had the option to travel freely in pursuit of a
better future, less fortunate ones like that of Perumal's do not even
have the means to return to the independence they once fought.
Along with other veterans of the Indian National Army, Perumal has been
knocking on the Indian government's door for a soldier's pension, which
he hopes will enable him to come back to India. He believes, "Our
country is still dear to us and we are happy here in Yangon and live
like the Burmese but we are still Indian and are loyal to the Indian
government.
Over the years, the Indian population has declined but some of those who
remain have not only managed to integrate successfully into Myanmar
society but have also fought hard to retain their cultural and religious
identities. Siddiq Seth, Yangon-based businessman, states, "There's
quite a big Indian community here and there is tremendous feeling of
belonging and attachment to the motherland."
The ultimate irony though is that the last five decades of military rule
have not only isolated Myanmar from the rest of the world but have also
left the Indian diaspora very close to home and yet very far away.
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<center><b><font color="#3333FF"><font size=+2>Indian community in Myanmar
remember homeland</font></font></b></center>
<p><font color="#660000"><font size=+1>From NDTV (www.ndtv.com), monitored
in New Delhi</font></font>
<br><font color="#660000"><font size=+1>February 24, 2001, Myanmar</font></font>
<p><font color="#660000"><font size=+1>Last week signalled an opening up
of the relations between India and Myanmar. It is perhaps time to take
note of an oft forgotten component of the Indian diaspora--four per cent
of Myanmar's population is of Indian origin. For those familiar with the
old Hindi film song, Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon, this statistic does not come
as a surprise.</font></font>
<p><font color="#660000"><font size=+1>Generations ago, from the mid 1800s
to independence, people left their hometowns in India to settle in Rangoon--one
of the most flourishing cities of the British empire at the time. They
came from West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra, either to trade
or to work in the agricultural sector. However, when the military took
over the country in 1960 and nationalised everything soon after, the community
saw a change.</font></font>
<p><font color="#660000"><font size=+1>Naresh Dhinodia, Yangon-based businessman,
says, "Indians had been here for about 30 years and when the government
nationalized everything, they went back but we never broke our links with
the government here. We had been working regularly with the ministries
and after the nationalization, in '67 I think, we came back here and started
business again with the government.</font></font>
<p><font color="#660000"><font size=+1>Nevertheless, the ties run much
deeper than just business. Thousands of Indian soldiers who fought with
the allied forces in world war II died in Myanmar. Yangon or Rangoon, as
it was known then, also became the headquarters of Subhash Chandra Bose's
Indian national army and thousands of young Indians in the city signed
up to fight for India's independence.</font></font>
<p><font color="#660000"><font size=+1>In this land of apparent contradictions,
the Indian community also stands out as a glaring example. While the more
affluent business families have always had the option to travel freely
in pursuit of a better future, less fortunate ones like that of Perumal's
do not even have the means to return to the independence they once fought.</font></font>
<p><font color="#660000"><font size=+1>Along with other veterans of the
Indian National Army, Perumal has been knocking on the Indian government's
door for a soldier's pension, which he hopes will enable him to come back
to India. He believes, "Our country is still dear to us and we are happy
here in Yangon and live like the Burmese but we are still Indian and are
loyal to the Indian government.</font></font>
<p><font color="#660000"><font size=+1>Over the years, the Indian population
has declined but some of those who remain have not only managed to integrate
successfully into Myanmar society but have also fought hard to retain their
cultural and religious identities. Siddiq Seth, Yangon-based businessman,
states, "There's quite a big Indian community here and there is tremendous
feeling of belonging and attachment to the motherland."</font></font>
<p><font color="#660000"><font size=+1>The ultimate irony though is that
the last five decades of military rule have not only isolated Myanmar from
the rest of the world but have also left the Indian diaspora very close
to home and yet very far away.</font></font>
<br>
<p> </html>
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