| South Asians In The Philippines |
Article Index for South |
Website Links For South |
Information AboutSouth Asians In The Philippines |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SOUTH ASIANS IN THE PHILIPPINES | |
| filipinos of indian descent | |
|
According to recent survey, the number of Desi s (South Asians) in the Philippines are approximately 32,500 people. Not included in this list are the mixed Filipino-South Asian people. The presence of South Asians in the Philippines have been ongoing since the Prehistoric times, predating even the coming of the Europeans by at least two centuries. However, this is a paradox, since there is still an absence of Tagalog words for the South Asians. The term ''Bumbay'', loosely applied to all South Asians in the country, regardless of ethnicity or religion, was borrowed from the Bahasa Malaysia n term ''Bombay''. It is considered derogatory. ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS AFFINITIES The largest South Asian community would be the Sindhi , who number around 21,000. Followed by the Punjabi , numbering about 10,000. Urdu -speaking Pakistanis number around 21,000. There are some seasonal Marathi , Nepali , and Tamil settlers in the Philippines. Generally, the South Asian community in the Philippines can speak excellent English , as well as Filipino . Only few South Asians, such as Pakistani, as well as the recent newcomers like the Marathi, Nepali, and Tamil retain their own native languages. The Philippines is the seventh largest Hindu country. Most South Asians in the Philippines practice Hinduism, while some practice Sikhism and Islam. A few, particularly the Marathi and Nepali, are Roman Catholics and Protestants, respectively. TRADE AND COMMERCE SEE ALSO |
|
|