SAY SORRY

High time to Say Sorry to India's Chinese Community

Like all the great metropolis of the world , India's Calcutta and Bombay ( now Kolkata and Mumbai respectively) also had a couple of good China towns almost as old as the cities themselves, from  the 18th century till the middle of the 20th century, these Chinese enclaves used to have, at its peak, more than a hundred thousands Chinese  working and living as small traders, shop-keepers, skillful welders, carpenters and fitters for ship-yards, as leather-tanners, shoe-makers, caterers and launderers, dentists, etc. always giving good value for your money, and greatly contributed to the local economy. During and before second world war these China Towns, one near Telati  Bazar-Bentinck Street, the other one in South Tangra of  Kolkata, known locally as 'Cheenapara', and a China town in Peela House In South Mumbai were considered few of the best China Towns of the world then,  very popular among the locals population and  Chinese diaspora around the world.

When the India-China border war erupted on 20th October 1962, the then Indian authority, unfortunately, thought it necessary to round up this India's Chinese community who had been living there peacefully for generations. they were summarily arrested, whether they were Indian citizen-card holder or not, including women, children and infants, then transported as prisoners in special trains to a concentration camp at Deoli in Rajasthan for internment, ( this writer, as a teenager then, was among  the unfortunate internees). their properties taken over by 'The Custodian of Enemy Properties'  for disposal, many more were deported, those who could flee fled  India  in panic. the community was demonized constantly and became easy prey for common thieves, robbers, thugs  and murderers,  many of them lost their lives and properties ,  these China Towns were  badly decimated and India's Chinese community never recovered, the terrible fate suffered by them went largely un-reported , factually the border war that occurred in the remote Himalaya mountain was an un-declared war between India and China, that  war had  absolutely nothing to do with this ethnic Chinese group , they have no say or influence whatsoever over it. except praying for peace.

To this day most of the historians and scholars find it hard to comprehend as to why the then India authority deemed it necessary to spend so much of it's meager resources to victimize her tiny community, of cause, it is the duty of every  Government to safe guard the internal security at all time , specially during war-times. but had not the internal security forces , had a year earlier, already mounted  a tight surveillance on them, and issued draconian orders severely restricted their liberty and livelihood , deported  anyone they did not  like ? But to arrest them whole-sale,  their shops and residences sealed  and confiscated, interned them in the internment camp (for some) as long as five years without any charge or conviction, the longest compared to any other concentration camp in the 20th century. They were thus prosecuted purely because of their ethnicity.

There is now hardly a couple of thousands left of original Calcutta's Chinese, their number is dwindling by the days, most of them who could, re-migrated, mostly into Canada, comparatively a peaceful and prosperous country with lot of respect for human rights, rules of law and fairness, who now genuinely welcomes good and hard-working immigrants.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the unfortunate Sino-Indian border war, and the subsequent terrible fate suffered by the victims, It will be fit and proper for the Indian authority to official express some sort of regret and apology to the members of its own ethnic minority—Kolkata’s Chinese community, specially to those Innocent victims who lost their lives and properties, and some, because of it, still live in poverty. Such graceful act will aptly show the growing maturity of India and Indian democracy. it will  certainly enhance her prestige as a growing great power.                                                                                                                                            

The Governments of USA and Canada had also indulged in similar erroneous and inhuman acts against their citizens of ethnic Japanese and others during second world war, although under a much more severe and provocative circumstances, but these Great Democracies had gracefully apologized and compensated the victims and their descendants and effectively healed their psychological wounds inflicted during one of the darkest period of our human history.

Our camp survivors group based in Canada known as 'Association of India's Deoli Camp Internees, 1962'  (AIDCI) has petitioned Indian authority a couple of years ago for erecting of a memorial at the camp site , but so far got no reply or response . AIDCI is urged widely to press on for its just requests, if necessary, with the help of fair and like-minded persons and groups.

This article is written, never with the slightest intention to degrade or damage the reputation of India, a country where India’s Chinese community was born and existed, they have an un-dying affiliation and cultural link with India, but sincerely  appealing for a fruitful reconcilement between communities and peoples, human err and at times made impulsive decisions that caused  great losses and tragedies  that are preventable , the general public must be made aware of them and justice afforded, so that their recurrence may be prevented  in the  future world of ours.

The democratic India and Govt. ought to consider that by expressing some sort of regret/apology to the victims of this tragic episode, it will not only render an emotional closure to their long sense of loss and suffering, but will also heal their general psychological scars afflicted 50 years ago, it will also earn a grateful appreciations of all Chinese diaspora (numbering about 50 millions) , it will indeed repair and reinforce the traditional friendship and affiliation between Indians and Chinese all over the world.

Mingtung Hsieh ( mingtunghsieh@gmail.com )  

 ( Mingtung Hsieh is the author 
of  the book  “ A Lost Tribe ” )

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