During a recent meeting with the Davao Historical Society, we discussed the need to address the gaps in our local history. While we have extensive records on figures like Datu Bago and his resistance to colonization, the American and Japanese periods, and post-World War II reconstruction, there is notably little written about the Indian community that settled around San Pedro Street.
The story of the Indian community in Davao City begins in the early 1900s, coinciding with the rapid economic development spurred by American colonial rule. While historical narratives often focus on the massive influx of Japanese migrants who worked on the abaca plantations, other enterprising groups also arrived to participate in the growing economy. Indian immigrants, primarily from the Sindhi region (encompassing parts of modern-day Pakistan and India), established a distinct presence. They were not typically plantation laborers but rather shrewd traders, merchants, and money lenders.
Pribhu Balchand, born in Davao City whose family owned Lila’s Bazaar—one of the city’s first department stores—recalled that the community clustered around San Pedro Street, the primary center for commercial activities. Their contributions were foundational to Davao’s development as a major commercial center.
In an interview, Pribhu who is now in his 80’s, said that his father came to the Philippines in 1919, to work in a retail store in Ormoc, Leyte. He went back to India to get married in 1939 and left his store under the care of his cousin. Unfortunately, the store was no longer operating when he came back with his bride. He then moved to Cebu City and found employment at a retail store which led to his travel across the Visayas and Mindanao where he was tasked to open branches until he arrived in Davao City in the early 1940s.
There were already Indian business owners here, Balchand said, and their family was one of the merchants along San Pedro Street.
Their businesses were mostly in retail and textiles. They established numerous small textile shops, dry goods stores, and businesses specializing in ready-to-wear clothing. These shops were essential for providing affordable consumer goods to the growing population and quickly became the city’s main textile suppliers. Furthermore, many community members acted as informal money lenders and providers of credit. In an era when formal banking institutions were scarce and inaccessible to many locals and small merchants, the credit extended by Indian businessmen was vital. This small-scale financing fueled local commerce and entrepreneurship, allowing countless Davaoeño families to start and sustain small businesses.
This early community formed an integral part of Davao’s commerce, contributing to the city’s transformation into a vibrant commercial hub during the first half of the 20th century. Even after World War II, when much of the city’s infrastructure and business community were devastated, the Indian merchants quickly reorganized their trade networks, helping to restore the flow of goods and credit. This crucial effort played a significant role in the city’s economic recovery.
The role of the Indian community is not as prominently highlighted in the city’s history as other migrant groups, but their quiet, critical role in trade and commerce deserves a proper and prominent place in our historical records. The facts regarding this community’s history are supported by authoritative works, including Macariu D. Tiu’s Davao: Reconstructing History from Text and Memory and confirmed within the broader context of Sindhi migration studies by scholars like Claude Markovits.
