Yoga and Bollywood, these two very different Indian cultures are slowly developing in Hong Kong. The Indian population has been making a living from business in Hong Kong for some time. Many of the young Indians who have been engaged in cultural endeavours in Hong Kong are the new generation of Indians who came to Hong Kong from India after the handover.

Indians emphasize family life and attach a particular importance to the education of their children. Living in Hong Kong where the language and culture are so different, what are their thoughts and ideas about education?

Manoj Dhar used to work in the banking industry. He and his wife noticed that many non-Chinese speaking students from underprivileged families in Hong Kong could only enroll in schools mainly for non-Chinese speaking students, making it hard to learn Chinese properly, which in turn limits their upward social mobility. In 2014, they opened a non-profit making education centre, hoping to reshape life with knowledge. They are opening a kindergarten to serve more students.

Herdip Kaur was born and raised in Hong Kong, and is now a teacher in an international kindergarten. Herdip attended a non-Chinese speaking school when she was small, so she can only understand and speak Cantonese, but is not able to read or write Chinese, which has affected her career development. She therefore sent her children to local mainstream schools, hoping they would truly settle in. Besides being a parent and a teacher, Herdip is the only Indian kindergarten manager in Hong Kong. What does she think about the educational philosophies of Indian Hongkongers of different generations and backgrounds?

As the third largest ethnic group of foreign residents in the city, Indians have made significant contributions to the local business scene since the last century, with some families remaining prominent to this day. From the early days of Hong Kong's establishment, many Indians have come to the city to do business and have established leading positions in various industries, such as jewelry, clothing, home decor, and food and beverage. These individuals have contributed to the development of Hong Kong's business scene and left behind fascinating stories as witnesses to the city's political, commercial, and social ups and downs over the past century. One such family is the Harilela family.

In the nineteenth century, Britain recruited a large number of Indians from India to Hong Kong for police and defence duties, with Sikhs known for their bravery and discipline being the predominant group. These turban-wearing officers were known as ‘Big heads in green uniforms’, and their arrival marked the establishment of the Sikh community in Hong Kong.

Indians are in fact the fourth largest ethnic minority group in Hong Kong after Filipinos, Indonesians and Whites. India and Hong Kong are connected because both places were ruled by Britain from the mid 19th century. Indians sold fabric and clothes made in Hong Kong to British people. They also set up trading companies and exported goods to other Commonwealth countries, to take a share in the huge trade market.