|
Little
India in Philippines
President
Gloria Arroyo puts her head back and laughs heartily. “Yes”
she says, controlling her laughter “who does not know the 5-6
Indians.” 5-6 means, “you loan 5 pesos and you receive
6 within a short time frame.”
In
fact, like senior analysts at the World Bank in Manila, even the
President of the Philippines believes the “5-6” Indians
perform an economic function. The “5-6” business started
some 50 years ago largely among the poor farmers, in Mindanao, also
the epicentre of the Muslim insurgency.
The
first Sikhs, mostly from villages around Jalandhar, arrived at the
turn of the century. After graduating through trading, setting up
small retail outfits, they noted a lacuna and an opportunity in
a nation spread across 7,000 islands, poor and ill served by the
central authority in Manila. There was no system of rural credit,
one that actually reached the 75 million in the countryside. Even
if banks provided loans to the poor, the paperwork involved was
too cumbersome.
Into
this opportunity enters the enterprising Sikh. He first loans, say
100 pesos, to a vegetable vendor, in a village on the outskirts
of Manila. The lady shopkeeper (the small shopkeepers who trust
the Sikhs the most are women) will now return four pesos every day
for one month. At the end of the month Darshan Singh will have collected
1,200 pesos. Increase the scale of this operation, both in terms
of the maximum loan an individual shopkeeper borrows from Darshan
Singh and a horizontal increase in the number of borrowers and you
have a parallel economy in operation without which the system of
neighbourhood shops would collapse. It runs into millions.
The
Indians community of about 30,000 in the Philippines is divided
evenly between Sikhs and Sindhi traders and merchants, the latter
possibly older citizens in the islands and infinitely more prosperous.
But it is the Sikh story, which is unique. The reason why the business
has spread like jungle fire is because every transaction is without
any paperwork. “It is total trust”, says Darshan Singh,
winding his way along the village footpath on his motorcycle with
his Filipino secretary behind him.
Collection
of dues is not easy. “You have to visit the same shop several
times” he continues. There are, of course, bad debts as well.
Moreover, Indians returning home after the day’s collection
are frequently “mugged”. Murders are not unknown.
Most
of the Sikhs have either smuggled themselves in through almost inaccessible
islands or have mastered the art of the fake visa. The role of the
Philippine embassy in New Delhi is helpful - visas are given by
fair means or foul. The Sindhi businessmen are often part of Manila’s
rich elite. The crisis this community is facing is best articulated
by Shakuntala Vasvani, President of the Hindu temple in Manila.
“I was shocked to find our girls and boys going in for Church
weddings, accepting Christianity”. The community has instantly
put in place a school for Hindu religious studies in a country,
which is almost totally Roman Catholic. But it looks like a tough
battle.
The
Indian community is possibly too small on which to build bilateral
ties. But something on which bilateral ties can be pushed is President
Arroyo’s enthusiasm for India. She realizes that for 50 years
Philippines and India were divided by the Cold War. But now, in
the era of globalisation, ASEAN, the Philippines included, cannot
contemplate a future without harnessing the vast resources of India
into the developmental processes. Yes, today “we have 10 ASEAN
countries plus 3” - namely China, Japan and Korea.
There
is no reason why “it cannot be 10+4” but extended discussions
among all the ASEAN countries would be required before a consensus
is reached on 10+4. “But it can happen.”
President
Arroyo has embarked on a two-track peace process with the Muslims
as well as the Communists. Initial contacts with the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front were established in Kuala Lumpur. Likewise, the
Communists will be engaged possibly in Oslo on April 27. Not many
Filipino leaders would have said it quite so boldly. “Yes,
in some ways, the Muslims in this country have been sinned against.”
But
why would you initiate a dialogue in Third countries when these
are your internal matters? I ask. When the opposition and the media
are breathing down your neck, “you can hardly be candid in
your discussions” with the Muslim rebels or the Communists.
|
