Indian Dating and Matchmaking in Hong Kong

Indians in Hong Kong make up one of the most successful ethnic minority groups of the city. They owe their success not only to the vast economic opportunities of Hong Kong but also to their unique social practices which are amply reflected in dating and matchmaking trends of the community.

The history of Indian presence in Hong Kong goes back to the middle of nineteenth century when the city became part of the British colonial empire. The authors of Co-Prosperity in Cross-Culturalism: Indians in Hong Kong (2003), S.T  Kwok and K. Narain mention that in 1841, the Union Jack was hoisted in Hong Kong in the presence of around 2700 Indian troops. Till the Second World War in fact, Sikhs from India continued to dominate the numbers in the Hong Kong police force. On the other hand, the British colonial presence in Hong Kong allowed Indian businesses the opportunity to establish their foundations in one of the most cosmopolitan centers of the Asian subcontinent. These Indians who traveled to Hong Kong mostly belonged to the Parsi, Gujarati, Marwari and Tamil communities. In the latter half of the twentieth century, more and more professionals from India began to migrate to Hong Kong to make use of the growing opportunities in the city’s banking, insurance, hospitality and other service sectors.

Today Hong Kong has around a 35,000 strong Indian origin population according to the website of Consulate General of Indian in Hong Kong. Of these about 23000 hold Indian passport while the rest may have migrated to Hong Kong from other countries in Africa or Southeast Asia. The geographical concentration of Indians in Hong Kong used to be slightly higher in Tsim Tsa Tsui even though now the community is scattered around areas like Yau Ma Tei, Jordan, Central, Wanchai, Happy Valley, Yuen Long, Fanling and Lam Tin. Interestingly the traditional Indian presence also depended on their occupational groups for instance most of the dressmaking and tailoring shops run by Indians came up on Nathan Road and Modi Road.

One of the most distinctive features of the Indian community in Hong Kong is the vast diversity in religious and linguistic affiliations which in turn impact dating and matchmaking practices. Here one can find Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Parsis among the Indians besides those belonging to various Indian states like Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bengal. Parsis and Sindhis who have no specific geographical affiliation have in fact been one of the most prominent business groups in Hong Kong. These various cultural identities often come to play in matchmaking practices since families prefer to choose prospective partners for their children from their own communities. Thus a Tamil Hindu boy will be introduced to various girls of similar background while a young Sikh woman will be encouraged to meet other men from the same community.  this adherence to community and caste specifications in matchmaking negotiations is seen as an important way of ensuring cultural continuity in the Indian expatriate community in Hong Kong.

Despite the tradition of arranged marriages in most Indian communities, there is an increasing realization of the importance of letting young people make their own personal choices. With this end, community elders regularly organize social and cultural meets in Hong Kong which allow young singles of the same community to interact with each other. Some of the most active Indian associations in Hong Kong are the Gujarati Samaj, the Tamil Cultural Association, the Rajasthani Samaj and the Hong Kong Bengali Association. Religious associations like the Khalsa Diwan, the Dawoodi Bohra Association and one of the earliest, the Incorporated Trustees of the Zoroastrian Charity Funds of Hong Kong, Canton and Macao are instrumental in encouraging the preservation of cultural and linguistic identities of various groups.

Besides these there are various professional and artistic Indian associations in Hong Kong. Some of the most significant of these are Forum of Indian Professionals HK, the Progressive Indian Group and the Indian Businessmen’s Association which provide a useful platform for professional as well as social networking among Indians. Other than these, associations like the India Club and the India Arts Circle organise various programs which showcase Indian artistic and cultural expressions. In fact the annual Diwali Ball, the Dussehra festivities and the Miss India Hong Kong organized by the India Club are some of the most anticipated occasions in the Indian expatriate community in Hong Kong.

However several generations of expatriate living and changing times have brought about newer dating trends within the Indian community. Young men and women are now keener to give more importance to personal compatibility than to parental approval or cultural similarity. This has led to more instances of inter-community dating like between a Gujarati guy and a Sindhi girl. There are even more instances of inter-racial dating like between young people of Indian and Chinese origin. In recent years, the trend has received a major impetus with the deluge of dating and social networking sites on the Internet. Websites orientexpat.com and hongkongcupid.com allow young singles to search and meet like-minded partners without necessarily adhering to religious and ethnic specifications. Even for those singles keen to preserve cultural similarity, websites that focus on Indian matchmaking have links which allow them to choose partners in Hong Kong according to religious and community specifications.

Today, Indians are one of the most high-achieving ethnic groups in Hong Kong.  While they make up just one percent of the total population of Hong Kong, Indians account for as much as ten percent of all the exports. According to 2001 figures provided by the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong, the percentage of Indians earning more that HK$30,000 is far higher than the average working force in Hong Kong. This has been possible not only due to hard work put in by pioneers of the Indian community like Hari Harilela but also because of their innate ability to take advantage of economic opportunities even while preserving their cultural roots. The same balance between tradition and modernity also informs the dating and matchmaking practices of Indians in Hong Kong.