The presence of Indians in Hong Kong dates back to January 26, 1841, when the British hoisted the Union Jack at Possession Point (now Western District). On that historic Tuesday, at least 2,700 Indian troops and four Indian merchants were there to witness the ceremony when Captain Charles Elliott raised the flag.
Abdoolally Ebrahim & Co, set up by Ebrahim Noordin in 1842, is still in business today, and is the oldest established Indian firm in Hong Kong. Mr Noordin, a Muslim from Surat on the west coast of India, founded the firm with his brother-in-law, Abdoolally in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1840 and opened the Hong Kong office two years later. The company also ran a coss-harbour steamboat ferry service, the forerunner to the Star Ferry, which was later taken up by another Indian businessman, Dorabjee Nowrojee.
As of June 24, 1845, there were 362 Indians and 595 Europeans living in Hong Kong, according to a report by the first Registrar-General, Samuel Fearon. The total population of Hong Kong at the time was 23,817. By 1855, the number of Indians was 391, and from 1860 to 1870, the population increased to 1,435 following the recruitment of Punjabi policemen to the Hong Kong police force.
According to the 1931 census, of the 3,475 Indians in Hong Kong, 1,270 were in the army; 398 in the police force; 127 in the civil service; 1,294 in trade and commerce; 108 were professionals, and 34 worked as domestic or personal servants with Indian families. The remainder worked as guards, watchmen and lay priests.
In the early 1870s, the police force comprised Punjabi, Sikh and Mus-lim constables as well as British officers. Chinese constables were recruited several decades later.
In the first 100 years of the colony, Indians were mostly employed in the civil service in the police and prison services, with a few others working as engineers with the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corpo-ration, doctors, teachers, tele-graphists, etc.
Most Indian merchants and tra-ders who did business with China and later settled in Hong Kong came from Bombay and nearby towns on the west coast of India. The majority of these merchants were Parsees. In the 1860s, there were 17 Parsee-owned firms listed in the Hong Kong Directory. Parsees are followers of Zoroastri-anism.
