Hong Kong’s democracy protests dubbed the ‘Umbrella Revolution’ by the international media seemed somewhat surreal for many residents of the Asian financial hub hardly used to mass rallies and scenes of violence that marked recent events. With the political crisis deepening Friday after talks between protesters and the government fell apart, uncertainty still hands very much in the air. For many Indians of third and fourth generation settlers, Hong Kong is home and they strongly believe they too have a stake in the political future of the former British colony. A large number of young Indians also participated in the demonstrations. Sunil Khiatani was only nine when his father left India. He says Hong Kong is fast and competitive, though not very different from any other city. Khiatani has an IT-enabled job that keeps him
very busy in the week. The weekends are for his family, the occasional movie and his passion—standup comedy.
He says that other than the tear gas
that was fired at protestors one night,
the rallies have been largely peaceful
and controlled. He was part of all the
big sit-ins that have taken place at Causeway
Bay, Central and Mong Kok over
several days.
“I spoke to people there and donated
supplies like water. There were some
anti-protesters that caused trouble but
that was easily avoidable. People on the
street were chanting slogans and waving
lights in some places. In other less
densely packed places there were lectures,
artwork and many other activities,” Khiatani
says.
Outside the protest areas, life in Hong
Kong goes on as usual.
Khiatani himself was not in the hotspot
when some violence erupted, and has
only seen peaceful agitation. “When my
friend and I visited the protest areas, we
were almost like tourists. I even waved
at police officers outside the police HQ
in Wan Chai and they smiled and waved
back. I was simply doing my part (sit-in)
for Hong Kong.”
An estimated 56,000 Indians live in
Hong Kong currently, and most of them,
he says, see themselves as both Hong
Kongers and Indian.
But the government see things differently.
Jeffrey Adams, 28, was born in
Hong Kong, raised in an Indian family.
But the social worker says getting citizenship
is almost impossible for those
who are non Chinese.
One of the good things about Indians
living in Hong Kong is that they have
not ghettoized, like in the UK or the
Gulf. But they do nonetheless tend to
keep to themselves, enjoying the occasional
Bollywood movie and traditional
festivals.
Second generation settler Suraj
Samthani who works as a journalist and
has published several poems in Hong
Kong says life revolves around work
mostly. The city which is known for its
efficiency, high standards and low
margin of error attracted his father to
the financial hub years ago. It is what
keeps Suraj there too.
The chaos on September 24 took
Samthani by surprise. “To a large extent
it was scary. Most of us were stuck to
the news on all platforms—TV, radio
and internet. Our safety and security,
as well as livelihood and businesses
were all potentially at stake. If the
triads or the military manage to take
over, Hong Kong will not be recognizable
anymore,” he says.
Author Shobha Nihalani has nine
novels to her name, most of which are
based on scenes and characters from
Hong Kong as she finds it to be the
most suitable platform to explore her
passion for writing. Her biggest fear
over the democracy protests was that
they could turn violent. “There was
rising tension and everyone was concerned
that there would be violence
and it would result in major clashes.
This was the biggest worry. We were
constantly watching the news and hoping
there would be no outbursts,” she
says.
The first few nights after the students
clashed with police and tear gas was
fired, like many others, Nihalani thought
the situation would go totally out of
hand. But the protestors managed to
keep a handle on the situation, keeping
the rallies mostly peaceful.
Hardly used to chaos, the worst affected
was Hong Kong’s transport. “Various
routes of transport had to be diverted
and even cancelled, while those
who lived around the affected areas
had sleepless nights,” says Samthani.
The protests have since dwindled,
but the situation remains both unpredictable
and fluid with student protesters
yesterday threatening to expand their
area of occupation in key parts of the
city.
Some Indians believe the fight for
democracy in Hong Kong is far from
achievable. Khiatani says, “I think democracy
will be good for Hong Kong but I
don’t feel we’re going to get it though,
even after this protest. Even with all
the pressure this is putting on Beijing,
it will not budge the regime, because
if they give in, even just a little bit,
other parts of China will probably try
the same tactics.”
Samthani too went to look at the
unprecedented scenes out on the
streets of the city. “Considering Hong
Kong is under the reigns of China,
‘true’ democracy seems more like an
eternal ideal than a possible reality.
Assuming the protests weren’t just an
orchestrated drama by the higher
powers, it has shown that people do
not have enough trust in China. Seeing
this difference from the mainland, the
locals probably fear for their future
and well-being.”
Despite the many problems they
face here—language and racism being
a problem for minority communities—
the Hong Kong Indians say they still
prefer living in this financial hub than
elsewhere. Many Indians have already
learnt that understanding and speaking
Cantonese goes a long way in surviving
in Hong Kong.
