Indian Filipinos are
Filipinos
Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino language, Filipino, Philippine English, English, or other Philippine language ...
of Indian descent who have historical connections with and have established themselves in what is now the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. The term refers to Filipino citizens of either pure or mixed Indian descent currently residing in the country, the latter a result of intermarriages between the Indians and local populations.
Archaeological evidence shows the existence of trade between the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
and the Philippine Islands at least since the ninth and tenth centuries B.C.
As of the year 2018, there are over 120,000 Indians in the Philippines.
Indians in the Philippines have generally arrived in four waves since pre-colonial times: Indian merchants and traders who visited the Philippines regularly from India and Southeast Asia; slaves from South India and Bengal, who made up the majority of slaves imported into the Philippines by the Spanish in the 1500s and 1600s; Indian soldiers and
sepoys who arrived in the Philippines and mutinied during the
British occupation of the Manila in the 1760s, deserting and intermarrying with native Filipinos; and the fourth wave, continuing to the present of Indians who have immigrated to the Philippines since the 1890s for work, education, and business, with this number continuing to grow as relations between the Philippines and India continue.
The first census in the Philippines was in 1591, based on tributes collected. The tributes counted the total founding population of the Spanish-Philippines as 667,612 people. 20,000 were Chinese migrant traders, at different times: around 15,600 individuals were Latino soldier-colonists who were cumulatively sent from Peru and Mexico and they were shipped to the Philippines annually, 3,000 were Japanese residents, and 600 were pure Spaniards from Europe. There was a large but unknown number of
South Asian Filipinos, as the majority of the slaves imported into the archipelago were from
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
and Southern India, adding
Dravidian speaking South Indians and
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...
speaking
Bengalis
Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym and exonym, endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divi ...
into the ethnic mix.
In addition, Indian-Filipino unions and marriages are very common in countries with large populations of both nationalities, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Canada, and Australia.
History
Prehistory
Indian genetic signatures found among the
Dilaut native ethnic group of the Sulu archipelago show that Indian immigration to the Philippines happened even before the start of formal written Philippine history.
Ancient history
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
finds in Philippines also point to the existence of trade between the
Indian Subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
and the Philippine Islands during the ninth and tenth centuries B.C.
India had greatly influenced the many different cultures of the Philippines through the
Indianized kingdom of the
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
Majapahit and the
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
Srivijaya
Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hinduism, Hindu-Buddhism, Buddhist thalassocracy, thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important ...
. For at least two millennia before the arrival of the Spanish, Philippines was ruled by
Hindu kings called Rajahs and Pramukhas. Numerous kings with written genealogies and Sanskrit names were found by Spanish warlords and friars. Indian presence in the Philippines has been ongoing since ancient times along with the
Japanese people
are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Japanese archipelago. Japanese people constitute 97.4% of the population of the country of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 125 million people are of Japanese descent, making them list of contempora ...
and the
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...
and Arab and Persian traders, predating even the coming of the Europeans by at least two millennium.
Indian people
Indian people or Indians are the Indian nationality law, citizens and nationals of the India, Republic of India or people who trace their ancestry to India. While the demonym "Indian" applies to people originating from the present-day India, ...
together with the natives of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula, who came as traders introduced
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
to the natives of the Philippines. Indian migrants have been crucial in the establishment of several Indianized kingdoms ruled by 'rajahs' in the Philippines, such as that of
Butuan and
Cebu. Indian
Bania converts to Islam brought
Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
to the Philippine islands in the course of trade, which was later enhanced and strengthened by Arab Muslim Sea traders to Mindanao and Sulu Sultanate.
The semi-legendary first Rajah and founder of
Cebu,
Sri Rajahmura Lumaya, whose existence is only confirmed through oral tradition in the Cebuano epic ''Aginid, Bayok sa atong Tawarik'', was said to be of
Tamil and
Malay ancestry from Sumatra.
By the 17th century,
Gujarati merchants with the aid of
Khoja and Bohri ship-owners had developed an international transoceanic empire which had a network of agents stationed at the great port cities across the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. These networks extended to the Philippines in the east, East Africa in the west and via maritime and the inland caravan route to Russia in the north.
Colonial Period
During the Spanish era, the chief source of slaves bought by Spanish administrators, native Filipino nobilities, and Chinese merchants in the Philippines, were:
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
Bengal
Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...
. Together they formed a cosmopolitan community in even the rural areas of the country. Sepoy troops from Madras (now
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
), British India also arrived with the
British expedition and occupation between 1762 and 1764 during the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
. When the British withdrew, many of the
Sepoys (Army privates) mutinied and refused to leave. Virtually all had taken native brides (or soon did so). They settled in what is Cainta, in what was then the Province of Manila (currently part of
Rizal Province). As of 2006, between 70 and 75 percent of Indians in the Philippines lived in Metro Manila, with the largest community outside of Manila being in
Isabela province. The region in and around Cainta still has many Sepoy descendants.
However, Indian business people started to arrive in larger numbers in The Philippines during the American colonial period (1898–1930s) – especially during the 1930s and 1940s, when many Indians and Indian Filipinos lived in Filipino provinces, including
Davao. The longest serving
mayor of Manila
The City Mayor of Manila (, sometimes referred to as, ''Alkalde ng Maynila'') is the head of the executive branch of Manila's city government. The mayor holds office at Manila City Hall. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the m ...
,
Ramon Bagatsing, was of Indian-Punjabi descent, having moved to
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
from
Fabrica,
Negros Occidental before the second world war.
A second surge of Indian businessmen, especially Sindhis arrived in Philippines during the
Partition of India
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
.
Present
Most of the Indians and Indian Filipinos in the Philippines are
Sindhi and
Punjabi as well as a large
Tamil population. Many are fluent in
Tagalog and English as well as local languages of the provinces and islands. Many are prosperous middle class with their main occupations in
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...
sales and marketing.
Sikhs
Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...
are involved largely in
finance
Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
, money lending (locally called ''Five – six''),
sales
Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. A period during which goods are sold for a reduced price may also be referred ...
and marketing.
Over the last three decades, a large number of civil servants and highly educated Indians working in large banks,
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world.
The bank was establishe ...
and the
BPO sector have migrated to Philippines, especially Manila. Most of the Indian Filipinos and Indian expatriates are
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
,
Sikh
Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
,
Christians
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
or
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, but have assimilated into Filipino culture. The community regularly conducts philanthropic activities through bodies such as the Mahaveer foundation, The SEVA foundation and the
Sathya Sai organization.
Most Indians congregate for socio-cultural and religious activities at the Hindu Temple (Mahatma Gandhi Street, Paco, Manila), the Indian Sikh Temple (United Nations Avenue, Paco, Manila), and the Radha Soami Satsang Beas center (Alabang, Muntinlupa, Metro Manila).
Many Indians have intermarried with Filipinos, more so than in neighboring countries such as
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
, and
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
, mainly because their populations are largely
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, and the Indians there (with the exception of Indian-Muslims) are averse to marrying
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
in those host countries.
Indian Filipino companies with the largest work force include Indo Phil Textile (1,800 employees), Global Steel (950 employees and 8,000 in Iligan), Hinduja Global (3,500 workers) and Aegis People Support (over 12,000).
Demography and DNA studies
According to the
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
's DNA study covering 80,000 Filipinos in 2008–2009, "The Genographic Project", 3% of the average Filipino's genes are of South Asian origin.
3 percent equates to nearly 3,300,000
[Current total Philippines population]
worldometers, accessed on: 19 June 2020. Filipinos living in Philippines having full or partial Indian descent as of June 2020.
The Indian
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...
hapolgroups, M52'58 and M52a are also present in the Philippines suggesting that there was Indian migration to the archipelago starting from the 5th Century AD.
According to another much smaller study by the ''Applied Biosystems'', a DNA company which undertook
Y-DNA compilation, calculated an estimated 1% frequency of the South Asian Y-DNA "
H1a" in the Philippines. Thus translating to about 1,011,864 Filipinos having full or partial Indian descent, not including other Filipinos in the Philippines and Filipinos abroad whose DNA (
Y-DNA) have not been analyzed.
The integration of Southeast Asia into Indian Ocean trading networks around 2,000 years ago also shows some impact, with South Asian genetic signals present within some Filipino ethnic groups like the Sama-Bajau communities.
A recent genetic study found 10-20% of Cebuano ancestry is attributable to
South Asia
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
n (Indian) descent, dated to a time when Precolonial Cebu practiced Hinduism.
As of 2018, there are over 120,000 Indians alone in the Philippines, not including illegal Indian immigrants or Filipinos of Indian descent living in the Philippines.
Filipino people of Indian descent
Beauty Pageant Winners
*
Rabiya Occeña Mateo, winner of
Miss Universe Philippines 2020.
*
Parul Quitola Shah, Miss Grand International 2015 – 2nd Runner-up.
*
Maria Venus Bayonito Raj, winner of
Binibining Pilipinas 2010,
Miss Universe 2010 Fourth Runner-up.
Movies & TV
*
Addy Raj, actor
*
Aljur Abrenica, actor, dancer, model and singer
*
Vin Abrenica, actor, model, singer
*
Raymond Bagatsing, actor, model
*
RK Bagatsing, actor
*
Joem Bascon, actor
*
Gian Magdangal, singer and actor
*
Cassandra Ponti, Filipina-Indian actress, model and dancer
*
Sharmaine Arnaiz, Filipina-Indian actress
Radio
*
Sam Y.G., Filipino-Indian radio disc jockey
*
Mo Twister, Filipino-Indian DJ, actor, host and podcaster
Author
*
Roshani Chokshi, Filipino-Indian descent, American author
Politics
*
Ramon Bagatsing, Filipino-Indian of
Punjabi Jat blood, longest serving
mayor of Manila
The City Mayor of Manila (, sometimes referred to as, ''Alkalde ng Maynila'') is the head of the executive branch of Manila's city government. The mayor holds office at Manila City Hall. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the m ...
, grandfather of
Raymond Bagatsing
* Ranjit Shahani, Filipino-Indian politician congressman and former youngest vice governor in the country of Pangasinan province at the age of 28, from Indian father Dr. Ranjee Gurdassing Shahani, PhD and former senator
Dr. Leticia Ramos-Shahani, PhD who is the sister of former president of Philippines
Fidel Ramos
Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...
Sports
*
Von Pessumal, Filipino professional basketball player
*
Carlo Sharma, Filipino professional basketball player
*
Khasim Mirza, Filipino professional basketball player
*
Hyram Bagatsing, Filipino professional basketball player
*
Sanjay Beach, American football player
Army and Revolution
*
Juan Cailles, Commander who served during the
Philippine Revolution
The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...
and
Philippine–American War
The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...
Notes
See also
*
List of India-related topics in the Philippines
India and the Philippines have historic ties going back over 3000 years and there are over 150,000 people of Indian origin in Philippines.
Iron Age finds in the Philippines also point to the existence of trade between Tamil Nadu in South Indi ...
*
Hinduism in the Philippines
*
Filipinos in India
*
India–Philippines relations
*
Nanak Darbar Indian Sikh Temple, Iloilo
References
Citations
*
*
*
External links
Indian Diaspora in Philippines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indians in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...