 Sepoys who never returned home
1988  During 1988, I visited Philippines on a Health Ministry Delegation lead by then
Health Secretary Mr. Dhanoa. One day we were invited for dinner by the Indian Ambassador
who was a Tamilian.
As I was chatting with some of the Embassy officials I
learnt that recently, a group of people had been identified in a Filipino village on the
outskirts of Manila. The origin of these people was linked to the soldiers from Madras.
They were brought to Philippines as part of the British Army and had fought in the
Anglo-Spanish war. I was fascinated with the story and wanted to meet them.
 With the help of the Indian Embassy in Manila an exclusive visit was
arranged for me. I went duly escorted by a senior officer of the Indian Embassy to the
little Catholic Church in the village.
It had so happened that two Malayali nuns who were posted
there, were instrumental in discovering the unique origins of these people.
Their story was like this: Philippines has been Spanish
territory for a long time. The British wanted to acquire it as part of the expansion of
their empire. During the course of the wars which were fought to oust Spain, one company
of soldiers (Sepoys) were drafted from a Madras regiment in the last century.
The war continued for many years, during the course of
which, several Madrasi Sepoys fell to the charm of Filipino women. When the war was over,
eighteen Sepoys refused to return to Madras and deserted the army. The passenger ship
returned to India without them. They stayed back and married their sweethearts.
However, they had difficulty in integrating with the local
population for two reasons; firstly, they were Ex-British soldiers and secondly, they were
dark-skinned.
Due to these reasons they lived together in a separate
settlement and formed a community of their own. Today they look like ordinary Filipinos
except that they are several shades darker in complexion. They speak the same language and
wear the same clothes. They eat a little more spicy food than average Filipinos. The only
thing which sets them apart is their knowledge that their ancestors were soldiers from
Madras.
When I arrived in the village, I was received with a warm
welcome and was surrounded by men, women and children. Everyone wanted me to visit their
homes. Some of them showed me faded photographs of soldiers in uniforms. I also saw some
family heirlooms like a medal or a soldier’s belt or a cap.
Some Tamil recipes like sambar and payasam (milk and rice
dessert) seem to have survived but otherwise normal Filipino food is eaten routinely.
 While they had met Indian nuns who had come from a Madras-based convent earlier,
they saw someone from Madras for the first time in their lives. They could find a link to
their ancestral homes. The nuns reported the existence of these very special people to the
Indian Ambassador (the present Foreign Secretary of India was then Ambassador of
Philippines).
The first reaction of the Indian embassy was that it could
not be true. However, the Indian Ambassador did a lot of research work and was able to
obtain confirmation from the Tamilnadu Archives (erstwhile Madras Record Office) that a
company from Madras did participate in the Anglo-Spanish war and did not return home. The
missing Sepoys were mentioned in the ‘despatches to England from Fort St.
George’, the seat of the then British Government in South India. Hence, the story was
found to be true.
Meeting these wonderful persons was a great experience for
me. After partaking of their hospitality of tea, cakes and sweetmeats and amidst much
hugging and kissing and shaking of hands, I parted from them with moist eyes.
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