Internment of Chinese-Indians

Last updated

The internment of Chinese Indians was the forced relocation and incarceration of 3,000 Chinese Indians in an internment camp in Deoli, Rajasthan during Sino-Indian War in 1962. [1] They were detained without trial as per the Defence of India Act, 1962. [2] The internees were released in a phase by phase manner until the last internee was released in 1967. After the internment, many Chinese Indians (Indians with Chinese ancestry) were resettled with equal rights, and some were deported or coerced to leave India. [3] Nearly all internees had their properties sold off or looted. [4] [5]

Contents

Indian officials openly compare the internment of Chinese Indians with the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. However, unlike the United States, the Indian government has not apologised or offered compensation to the internees. [6]

Background

Chinese community in India

The earliest recorded Chinese settlers in British India arrived in Calcutta in 1780. [7] Because of the long history of tea cultivation in China, the British colonial authorities attempted to lure experienced workers from China to work on the newly established tea plantations in Assam, starting in 1838. [8] Other Chinese migrants were refugees from poverty, famine, and disasters in China. By the late 19th century, the people of Chinese origin had gained a reputation as craftsmen and traders in East India. During World War II and the Chinese Communist Revolution, a large wave of Chinese war refugees settled in Calcutta, Northern Bengal, and Northeast India. [7] Estimates of the ethnic Chinese population in 1962 varied from 20,000 to 60,000. [6]

1962 Sino-Indian War

Following the independence of the Republic of India in 1947 and the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the two countries enjoyed a period of friendly relationship, despite having unresolved border disputes in the areas of NEFA and Aksai Chin. The relationship deteriorated, however, after the construction of a Chinese highway in Aksai Chin in 1957, and India's support of the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule. [9] The hostilities culminated in the brief 1962 Sino-Indian War, resulting in a Chinese victory but no change in the effective boundary between the two countries. The fighting lasted from 10 October to 20 November 1962. [9] On 21 November, China declared ceasefire and withdrew from NEFA, the larger of the two disputed territories, but kept the smaller Aksai Chin. [9]

Anti-Chinese sentiment

After the outbreak of the war, the Indian government and some members of academia systematically portrayed the Chinese minority as untrustworthy and deceitful. [10] : 443  The rising nationalism in India entailed assaults on the ethnic Chinese, including Indian citizens and residents who had lived in India for generations. [10] : 447  Many Chinese schools and media were shut down, and people of Chinese descent were assaulted by mainstream Indians; their property, restaurants, and shops damaged. [10] : 447 

The civil liberties of the ethnic Chinese were curtailed. People of Chinese descent were required to report to the authorities for "registration and classification", and it became harder for non-citizens to meet the residency requirements. The legal definition of foreigners was extended to include Indian citizens of Chinese descent. [10] : 446 

Faced with widespread hostility, many Chinese Indians expressed their support and loyalty for the Indian cause, condemned the Chinese government, and donated to India's defence funds. However, their expressions of support were met with suspicion and contempt. [10] : 447 

Internment and deportation

After its defeat in the war, India passed the Defence of India Act in December 1962, [7] permitting the "apprehension and detention in custody of any person [suspected] of being of hostile origin". The broad language of the act allowed for the arrest of any person simply for having a Chinese surname or a Chinese spouse. [11] Under this law, 10,000 people of Chinese origin were estimated to have been detained from all over India, including Calcutta, Bombay, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jamshedpur, and the Northeast. All of them were accused of being spies, but not a single charge has ever been proven. [7] The internment of Chinese Indians violated both the Constitution of India and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which India was an original signatory. [11]

Starting in November 1962, many ethnic Chinese were given the order to leave India within a month. [10] : 447  About 7,500 people complied and left for various parts of the world, including mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. [10] : 448  People who could not raise travel expenses or were unwilling to leave were imprisoned. [10] : 447  While some were held in local prisons, thousands more were transported across India to the desert prison camp in Deoli, Rajasthan, [11] built by the colonial authorities in 1942 as a POW camp for Japanese, German, and Italian prisoners of war during World War II. [6] The camp housed 7,000 inmates, [7] 60% of whom were children or elderly people. [6] Many POWs, unaccustomed to the hot desert climate, died of heat stroke and related diseases. [7]

In 1964, the Deoli prison authorities announced that all internees would be deported to China. The forcible deportations were arbitrary, resulting in the breakup of many families. In many cases parents were separated from their children and never heard from them again. [7] The deportations stopped after a few months, and the government offered the remaining inmates the option to migrate to China. Some took the offer, but about 2,500 chose to stay and wait for the chance to return home. [7]

In 1965, the Indian government began to release the internees. They were allowed to leave the camp in small batches. The last internees were released from Deoli in mid-1967, after four and half years of captivity. [7] However, when the internees were transported to their old neighbourhoods, the local governments often did not know what to do with them and kept them in local prisons, in some cases for more than a year. [11]

Aftermath

After the internees were freed after years of incarceration, many discovered that their properties had been sold off in their absence, but were only offered tiny sums for compensation. Almost all internees had their homes, shops, and factories plundered or taken over by locals. [7]

The Chinese population in Calcutta decreased by half, from 20,000 to 10,000. Those who remained were seen as enemies, and most could not hold any job except in the restaurant, tanning, and shoemaking businesses. [12] Moreover, their movements were restricted. Until the mid-1980s, the Chinese Indians were required to report to designated police stations once a month; until the mid-1990s, they had to apply for special permits to travel more than a few kilometres from their homes. [7]

Reactions

Indian officials openly compare the internment of Chinese Indians with the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. However, unlike the United States, the Indian government has refused to apologise or offer compensation to the internees for their incarceration. [6]

When asked about his opinion on the issue in 2008, Mao Siwei, China's Consul General in Calcutta, replied that China would rather "look forward and not argue too much about the past". [6]

The Indian Chinese Association has been pressuring the Indian government to issue an apology, without success. [6] The Association of India Deoli Camp Internees, a Canadian non-profit group, wrote two open letters to former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh, but did not receive a reply. [11]

In 2004, Rafeeq Ellias recounted the appalling treatment of the Chinese residents in Calcutta in the documentary film The Legend of Fat Mama. [12] The documentary won the Silver Lotus Award for best anthropological/ethnographic film at the 52nd National Film Awards. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sino-Indian War</span> 1962 war between China and India

The Sino–Indian War, also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War, was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispute. Fighting occurred along India's border with China, in India's North-East Frontier Agency east of Bhutan, and in Aksai Chin west of Nepal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internment of Japanese Americans</span> Mass incarceration in the U.S. during WWII

During World War II, the United States forcibly relocated and incarcerated about 120,000 people of Japanese descent in ten concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority (WRA), mostly in the western interior of the country. About two-thirds were U.S. citizens. These actions were initiated by Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, following the outbreak of war with the Empire of Japan in December 1941. About 127,000 Japanese Americans then lived in the continental U.S., of which about 112,000 lived on the West Coast. About 80,000 were Nisei and Sansei. The rest were Issei immigrants born in Japan, who were ineligible for citizenship. In Hawaii, where more than 150,000 Japanese Americans comprised more than one-third of the territory's population, only 1,200 to 1,800 were incarcerated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aksai Chin</span> Region in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Kashmir administered by China

Aksai Chin is a region administered by China partly in Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and partly in Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet and constituting the easternmost portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and China since 1959. It is claimed by India as part of its Nubra district, Ladakh Union Territory.

The following lists events that happened during 1962 in the Republic of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German Australians</span> Ethnic group

German Australians are Australians with German ancestry. German Australians constitute one of the largest ancestry groups in Australia, and German is the fifth most identified European ancestry in Australia behind English, Irish, Scottish and Italian. German Australians are one of the largest groups within the global German diaspora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poston War Relocation Center</span> Detainee camp in Arizona, United States

The Poston Internment Camp, located in Yuma County in southwestern Arizona, was the largest of the 10 American concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China National Highway 219</span> Road in China along the western and southern border

China National Highway 219 is a highway which runs along the entire western and southern border of the People's Republic of China, from Kom-Kanas Mongolian ethnic township in Xinjiang to Dongxing in Guangxi. At over 10,000 kilometres (6,214 mi) long, it is part of the China National Highway Network Planning (2013–2030), and once completed it will be the longest National Highway.

Chinese people in India are communities of Han Chinese and Tibetan origin and settlement. There are permanent communities descended from immigrants and refugees from China as well as an expatriate community in India on a temporary basis.

A long series of events triggered the Sino-Indian War in 1962. According to John W. Garver, Chinese perceptions about the Indian designs for Tibet, and the failure to demarcate a common border between China and India were important in China's decision to fight a war with India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sino-Indian border dispute</span> Border dispute between China and India

The Sino–Indian border dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute over the sovereignty of two relatively large, and several smaller, separated pieces of territory between China and India. The territorial disputes between the two countries result from the historical consequences of colonialism in Asia and the lack of clear historical boundary demarcations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanley Internment Camp</span> Civilian internment camp in Hong Kong

Stanley Internment Camp was a civilian internment camp in Hong Kong during the Second World War. Located in Stanley, on the southern end of Hong Kong Island, it was used by the Japanese imperial forces to hold non-Chinese enemy nationals after their victory in the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941. About 2,800 men, women, and children were held at the non-segregated camp for 44 months from early January 1942 to August 1945 when Japanese forces surrendered. The camp area consisted of St Stephen's College and the grounds of Stanley Prison, excluding the prison itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internment of German Americans</span> Detention during both World Wars

Internment of German resident aliens and German-American citizens occurred in the United States during the periods of World War I and World War II. During World War II, the legal basis for this detention was under Presidential Proclamation 2526, made by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act.

Taiwanese Australians are Australian citizens or permanent residents who carry full or partial ancestry from the East Asian island country of Taiwan or from preceding Taiwanese regimes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crystal City Internment Camp</span> United States historic place

Crystal City Internment Camp, located near Crystal City, Texas, was a place of confinement for people of Japanese, German, and Italian descent during World War II, and has been variously described as a detention facility or a concentration camp. The camp, which was originally designed to hold 3,500 people, opened in December 1943 and was officially closed on February 11, 1948.

Brigadier John Parashuram Dalvi was an Indian Army officer. During the Sino-Indian War of 1962, he was the commander of the Indian 7th Brigade, which was destroyed, leading Dalvi to be captured by the People's Liberation Army on 22 October 1962.

The Galwan River flows from the disputed Aksai Chin area administered by China to the Union Territory of Ladakh, India. It originates near the caravan campsite Samzungling on the eastern side of the Karakoram range and flows west to join the Shyok River. The point of confluence is 102 km south of Daulat Beg Oldi. Shyok River itself is a tributary of the Indus River, making Galwan a part of the Indus River system.

The Defence of India act and Defence of India rules, 1962 were a set of emergency war-time legislations for preventive detention enacted in October 1962 India during the Sino-Indian War of 1962. It was initially promulgated as a Presidential ordinance, the Defence of India Ordinance, 1962 on 28 October that year under the authority of which the Defence of India Rules were enacted. In December 1962, the Indian Parliament enacted the Defence of India act, 1962 which consolidated the continued application of the ordinance as law. The act consisted of 156 rules that "regulated virtually all aspects of life" including travel, finance, trade, communication, publication etc. and were essentially identical to the Defence of India act, 1939 enacted during World War II. The act suspended the Fundamental rights of any person held under the act, and specifically Rule 30 of the act allowed the government to hold any person in detention without explanation suspending the right under the article 22 of Constitution of India, without the right to representation, and without the provisions of Habeas corpus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political deportation and internment medal</span> Award

The Political deportation and internment medal is a commemorative medal awarded by the Ministry for veterans and war victims of the French Republic to its citizens who were deported or interned by the German occupation forces during World War II.

Longju or Longzu is a disputed area in the eastern sector of the China–India border, controlled by China but claimed by India. The village of Longju is located in the Tsari Chu valley 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) south of the town of Migyitun, considered the historical border of Tibet. The area of Longju southwards is populated by the Tagin tribe of Arunachal Pradesh.

References

  1. ↑ Engineer, Tariq (3 February 2020). "Every country does well by confronting its history". Mumbai Mirror . Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  2. ↑ The Defence of India Act, 1962 (PDF) (51). 12 December 1962. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  3. ↑ Chatterjee, Nilanjana; Chatterjee, Anindita, eds. (2020). Re-theorising the Indian Subcontinental Diaspora: Old and New Directions. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 53. ISBN   978-1-5275-5951-6.
  4. ↑ Gupta, Amit R. Das; Lüthi, Lorenz M., eds. (2017). The Sino-Indian War of 1962: New Perspectives. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. p. 220. ISBN   978-1-138-69320-3.
  5. ↑ Bhattacharya, Jayati; Kripalani, Coonoor, eds. (2015). Indian and Chinese Immigrant Communities: Comparative Perspectives. London; New York: Anthem Press. p. 289. ISBN   978-1-78308-362-6.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Abdi, S.N.M. (22 October 2012). "Without Apologies". Outlook . Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Mazumdar, Jaideep (20 November 2010). "The 1962 jailing of Chinese Indians". Open . Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  8. ↑ Chowdhury, Rita (18 November 2012). "The Assamese Chinese story". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 Calvin, James Barnard (April 1984). The China–India Border War (1962) (Report). Marine Corps Command and Staff College. Retrieved 18 November 2013– via GlobalSecurity.org.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Banerjee, Payal (December 2007). "Chinese Indians in Fire: Refractions of Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality and Citizenship in Post-Colonial India's Memories of the Sino-Indian War" (PDF). China Report . 43 (4): 437–463. doi:10.1177/000944550704300404. S2CID   144452102 . Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Griffiths, James (9 August 2013). "India's Forgotten Chinese Internment Camp". The Atlantic . Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  12. 1 2 Sen, Tansen (13 April 2005). "Go for a Slight Change of Route". The Telegraph . Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  13. ↑ 52nd National Film Awards (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. October 2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.