Indians, who are second in number to the Chinese among Sai Gon's minorities, settled in the city a long time ago. The word "Indian" is used generically for people from the Indian subcontinent, which includes Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Southern Vietnamese once called them "Cha" or "Cha va," which came from an adaptation of "Java," which the Vietnamese used for Javanese whom the Dutch had recruited as soldiers to serve in Viet Nam. Later, Vietnamese used "Cha va" for people of different skin color, irrespective of whether they came from Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Turkey, Egypt, or Iran.
In 1945, when the British landed in southern Viet Nam to disarm the Japanese, they brought brown-skinned soldiers recruited from the Dayak tribe in Borneo. The Dayak were then known to be very fierce. These soldiers shaved their heads except for a small long tuft at the top. Sai Gon residents called them "Cha chop." Some brown skinned foreigners married Vietnamese. Saigonese called their children and grandchildren "Cha lai." In Vietnamese "lai" means "mixed blood." The Chetty were Indians who lent money if the borrower could guarantee land or a house as collateral. They had business licenses, paid taxes to the French, and hired lawyers to represent them. The Cha Chetty lived on Ton That Thiep and other streets near the Cha Temple, which served the Brahmin community. Every year they hold a festival with a large procession. The "Cha Bombay" was rich Indians, who sold cloth and silk on Le Loi, Ham Nghi, and Dong Khanh (now Tran Hung Dao 2) Streets, and on either side of the Ben Thanh Market. Saigonese would call well-dressed Indian ladies and gentlemen "Cha Bombay." The Vietnamese called the Indians who guarded large stores, companies, or workshops "hach" from "hadj," the title awarded to Muslims who have made a pilgrimage to Mecca. Sometimes Vietnamese called the Indians "Brother Bay" from the Turkish word "bey" or "bay" for a high-ranking officer in the Muslim Army.
Most Indians lived in their own community and practiced certain trades. The Cha -including Hindus, Brahmins, and Muslims - often sold cloth and silk on Ham Nghi, Le Loi, and Tu Do (now Dong Khoi Streets and inside the Ben Thanh Market. In the Cho Lon area, the Cha had cloth and silk shops on Tong Doc Phuuong Street (now Chau Van Liem) and in the Binh Tay Market. Here and there, the Indians also sold sweets, cakes, foreign alcoholic drinks, antiques, handicrafts, and jeweler. Some Indian shopkeepers displayed antiques, souvenirs, postcards, and old coins in the front of their shops while secretly buying and selling foreign currencies in the back. Their shops were usually located on Catinat (now Dong Khoi) and Charner (now Nguyen Hue) Streets.
During the colonial period, some Cha came from French factories in Pondichery, Chandernagor, Karikal, Yanoan, and Mahe in the French- controlled area of India. Most of these were well educated; some carried French passports, were trusted by the French, and worked in public offices, companies, factories, and the police force. The French consistently gave them higher positions than the Vietnamese. Some Cha produced jeweler and had their shops on Ton That Thiep Street in front of the Cha Temple. This area had many restaurants serving curried goat, chicken, fish, and special Indian cakes. The Turks and Pakistanis lived on Hamellin Street (now Le Thi Hong Gam). They worked as guards, repaired felt hats, and ran restaurants serving rice and curry cooked in the Muslim style. Other Indian restaurants were on Cay Mai Street, near a Muslim mosque on Cho Lon Street (now Nguyen Trai, or on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street near Chuong Duong Port, where the Malay community had a small mosque.
Many Indians, especially the wealthy silk and cloth merchants, left after 1945 and especially after the French pulled out of Viet Nam in late 1954. Some returned to their homeland. Those who had come from the five French land concessions in India followed the French to France or settled in French colonies in Africa and Oceania. Others stayed behind, married Vietnamese, and mixed with the Vietnamese community, completely integrating after two or three generations. However, a small group of Indians still keep their original citizenship.
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