INTRODUCTION

While newspapers and magazines talk excitedly about the rise of India — whether it be the spread of Bollywood, its foremost status in the information technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sectors, corporate takeovers by Non-Resident Indians of top companies, or its 400 million middle class — in the mind of most ordinary Filipinos, Indians are Bombays who lend money and have now penetrated almost every town and city. This dissonance points to how India and its rise is perceived by different people, as well as the asymmetrical effect it has on various emigrant Indian communities.

Unlike its neighbours Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar, Indian migration to the Philippines has traditionally been minimal, due to trajectories of colonial history. Thus, because of their small size, the Indian communities in the Philippines are under-studied. Yet with the so-called “rise of India”, a great many things are changing.

This chapter examines the continuities and changes in the socio-economic conditions of the Indian communities in Metro Manila and focuses on the effects of “rising India”, if any, on them. The chapter first provides a brief historical background before it examines the established Indian communities in Manila, identifying who they are, what social organizations they have created, what economic and social activities they are involved in, and how they are faring. Next, it examines changes that the new wave of Indian movement to Metro Manila implies, especially those in the knowledge economy such as IT professionals, engineers, businessmen, and bankers. A third section explores the official relations between the two countries and efforts being undertaken at both the government and private sector level to improve Indian and Filipino relations. Finally, the fourth section concludes and considers the challenges and issues faced by Indians in Metro Manila.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Pre-colonial contacts between the Philippines and India are evident in Indian influences in Philippine languages and literature. The alibata, the ancient written Filipino alphabet, is Sanskrit-based. Meanwhile Sanskrit and Tamil influences are manifest in the various Filipino languages. In folklore, the epic story Darangan of the Maranaw, the Manubo Ango legend of Agusan Province, the Ilokano poems of Lam-ang, and Batiluk of the Ifugaos are narrated incidents that follow the pattern of the Mahabharata. Finally, various versions and local adaptations of the Ramayana are popular in the country and continue to be staged as plays and musicals.