Well, you may not be the only one to acknowledge this, but the Indian Chinese community, a large group residing in Kolkata for the last 220 years, is now being wooed by its native land. The average Indian Chinese concentrated in the eastern suburb of Tangra, still not part of the mainstream of Indian society, is receiving friendly overtures and reassurances from the Peoples Republic of China, 53 years after the Maoist revolution of 1949, to build up its emerging IT industry.

Mainland China, in the last couple of years, has embarked on a project to give the Indian information technology industry a run for its money. With the launch of this project, it has also woken up to the fact that it needs hands, or rather tongues, which speak both languages perfectly. The English language being the main vehicle of progress of the IT industry in India, China is now taking rapid strides to make its students conversant in the language.

What better option than to woo expatriate Chinese back into its fold. And what better country to look for them than India, which has a large cross-section of skilled, semi-skilled, English language-educated people. But will this community, so long forgotten by its native land, be tempted to go back just for a few dollars (or yuan) more?

Says Paul Chung, former assistant principal, Don Bosco School, and a second-generation Chinese: "The Chinese in India are wary of going back to China, especially after the turbulence of the Maoist revolution. The revolution left us asset-less. Whatever property we owned in China was taken away by the government. What do we go back for? Our roots are here now. Since we are a conservative community, we still do not trust the intentions of the Chinese government. Even after so many years, see what happened at Tiananmen Square. It is a classic case of being once-bitten-twice-shy."

Chinese settlements in Kolkata started sprouting up more than 220 years ago, when the city was the capital of India under the British Raj. Indian history lessons would tell you about the travels of Chinese visitors such as Hieung Tsang and Fa Hein in ancient and medieval India. However, official records indicate how a Chinese sailor by the name of Atchew in 1778 petitioned Warren Hastings, then Governor General of Bengal, of his wish to settle in India. He "was desirous of quitting a mercantile life and would wish to bring with him as many of his countrymen skilled in husbandry"

The British were prompt in permitting this industrious race to settle in these provinces. Atchew then went on to establish Bengals first sugar mill in a 650-bigha area in Budge Budge around, 50 kilometres away from present-day Kolkata.

Turbulent events back home saw an exodus from China into Kolkata. The census of 1837 shows 362 Chinese listed as living in Kolkata up from 110 in 1778. This steadily grew to 1,640 in 1901 during the Chinese war with Japan and the civil strife on the domestic front. The revolution of 1949 was a decisive and significant event. Prior to this date, despite having settled in Kolkata in large numbers, the Chinese population never saw India as a place for permanent residence.

They always felt that they would return back to their homeland once troubled times were over. However, the takeover of the Communist government and the turbulent period thereafter sealed the fate of the Chinese. Bereft of whatever they possessed in their homeland and amid accusations of overseas Chinese being enemies of the Communist movement by the ruling party of People Republic of China, they began to see India as a place to settle down.

The Chinese population in India reached a maximum of 11,000 just prior to the Sino-Indian war of 1962, after which it began to dwindle, with most migrating to Hong Kong, Australia, Austria, Sweden and Canada.

The period following the Sino-Indian war was a dark one. As most were suspected of having links with the Communist government of China, a lot of arrests were made, restrictions were placed on free movement of the Chinese, cancellation of Indian citizenship and not being allowed to leave their residence for more than 24 hours. Today the Kolkata Chinese community stands at 4,500.

The Kolkata Chinese mostly hail from the Canton region of China, while some also come from places such as Shanghai. Hakka Chinese, as they are normally known (Hakka means guests or nomads), are a practical people. Despite being subjected to enormous heartbreaks from their motherland, the way they have jealously preserved their cultural heritage and traditions is worthy of respect.

They have adjusted to life in India after Indian citizenship was available to them after Indian Independence. However, life has not been a cakewalk for this closed community. Chung says he finally received his citizenship in 1998-99, after having battled red-tapism, corruption and procedural delays for 20 years.

"Invariably I have the odd police constable knocking at my door, expecting a bribe. Just because I look different, I do not remember any incident when I was not harassed by the police for getting any work done," he says bitterly.

It is perhaps the notion of being different from the mainstream that has prompted this group of people to consciously guard their identity, language and customs. While intermarriage with Indians exists, it is not popular, very few in number and looked down upon.

Buddhism, which is the religion of the community when it came from China, is now the main vehicle for preserving their culture. Observance of the Chinese New Year (12 February), lion, knight and dragon dance, are occasions all Kolkattans are familiar with. "It is our way of asking the mainstream to participate in our festivities, just as everyone is welcome to the Durga Puja pandals during Dussehra. These festivals are more cultural expressions than religious observances," says Chung.

Language is the critical thread that weaves them together, besides customs. "We encourage young Chinese children to learn to write their names in Chinese," he says. So much that today, there are two Chinese newspapers that come out from Kolkata. Seong Pow, or the Overseas Chinese Commerce of India, is the only daily newspaper in the world to be handwritten. While this is a 31-year old newspaper, the other daily, The Chinese Journal of India, is over 60 years old.

Despite being a closed community, there are areas where the Chinese have moulded themselves to suit their changed environment. For instance, most Chinese have a Chinese name and a Christian name. The Christian name is used for communicating in the non-Chinese world for purposes of practicality, and this denotes that while the person practices Buddhist customs at home, he also has a Christian identity besides a Chinese one.

Why Christianity? We ask. Chung says the English medium education propagated by Christian missionaries has enabled the average Indian Chinese to hone his talents and make him eligible for jobs in the mainstream. It is the feeling of belonging and oneness that they receive from the Church that has made most of them embrace the Christian religion.

Why not Hinduism, the religion of the majority? Chung has a logical explanation. Both the Chinese and the Indian are oriental cultures. They are closed and conservative and will allow acceptance of communities other than their own only up to a limit. However, in contrast, occidental cultures, and consequently the Christian religion, reach out to people and that is where they score above oriental cultures, he says.

While English medium education is sought to make a better life, this community is also struggling to keep alive Chinese language schools for children. At the moment, there are three schools in the area teaching Chinese as a language.

In a bid to preserve the unique nature of the community, the Indian Chinese Association was formed in 2000 to network with Indian Chinese all over India, work for the promotion of Chinese culture and needs of the community and help the community develop and grow. Efforts are also being made to create a Chinese Gateway to the Kolkata City, and facilities set up to teach traditional arts and vocations of China such as Feng Shui, Kung Fu and Chinese catering and shoemaking.

"In India today, we have experts in Feng Shui, but not many Indian Chinese can claim any expertise in this field," rues Chung.

So here is a unique Chinese community for whom Victoria Memorial and New Market are closer home than the Great Wall of China or Tiananmen Square; is as familiar with puchkas and jhaal muri as dim sums and chow mein and Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Jyoti Basu more familiar than Jiang Zemin and Li Peng.

Yet their hearts blow up with pride when China wins medals at the Olympics and the bustling commercial concrete jungles of Shanghai sends their pulses on a wild beat. Dont they sometimes wonder how their lives would be had they not come to India?