Makum: The forgotten past of the Chinese community of Upper Assam

Klah Sur

Transcript

00:00The Makum Chinese community exists on the fringes of Indian history, its narrative overshadowed

00:07by the broader events of the 1962 Indo-China War and the surge of nationalism it provoked.

00:14Despite being Indian citizens, many members of this community were forcibly sent to China

00:20amid the fervor of wartime nationalism.

00:23During British rule, tea was discovered in the Singapore Kingdom, adjacent to British

00:28occupied Assam.

00:29To cultivate this new-found resource, the British needed skilled labour and turned to

00:34neighbouring China.

00:35Chinese workers experienced in tea plantations migrated to Assam in 1838, drawn by better

00:42wages than they could earn in their homeland.

00:46These Chinese labourers were not alone.

00:48Workers from various parts of India also came to the tea gardens.

00:52Despite their diverse origins and cultural differences, these communities intermingled.

00:59The Chinese men often married local women, and over generations, they became more Assamese

01:04than their original ethnicity, many even forgetting their ancestral language.

01:10Known as the Assamese Chinese, they became an integral part of the region, contributing

01:16significantly to its prosperity.

01:19Several small Chinatowns or Chinapatis emerged across Assam, with Makum being the largest.

01:25These communities established Chinese clubs, schools, and restaurants, leading comfortable

01:31and integrated lives until everything changed abruptly.

01:35The Indochina War transformed them into aliens in their homeland, which their founder referred

01:41to as Janam Jaga.

01:43The Indochina War of 1962 was a tumultuous period in India's history, severely impacting

01:50the Chinese-Indian community in Makum.

01:52Primarily of Hakka descent, this community had migrated to India in the late 19th and

01:58early 20th centuries, thriving in trades such as tea plantations, tanneries, and restaurants.

02:06However, as tensions between India and China escalated, they found themselves under intense

02:12scrutiny.

02:42As you all know, I am Bijoy's sister-in-law, her name is Janki.

02:58I don't know much about my mother, but I have heard a lot about her.

03:07I have heard a lot about her, but I don't know much about the Chinese-Indian community.

03:19Many Chinese-Indians were detained under trial under the Defense of India Act, with reports

03:25suggesting that between 2,000 and 3,000 were interned in camps, the most notorious being

03:32the Diori internment camp in Rajasthan.

03:34In Makum, Chinese families faced arrest, forced relocations, and the confiscation or vandalization

03:42of their properties and businesses.

03:45Intense interrogation and surveillance isolated and marginalized the community, which had

03:51once been a vibrant part of Makum's social fabric.

04:21The

04:44intermittent and persecution had lasting economic and social repercussions.

04:51owned by Chinese Indians was shuttered or taken over leading to financial ruin for many.

05:21the government.

05:22I have been living in this house since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the

05:28baby.

05:29I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of

05:30the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child,

05:31and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care

05:32of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a

05:33child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking

05:34care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was

05:35a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking

05:36care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I

05:37was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been

05:38taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since

05:39I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have

05:40been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since

05:41I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have

05:42been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since

05:43I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have

05:44been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby

05:45since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I

06:08have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of

06:37the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child,

07:06and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care

07:35of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a

07:36child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been

07:37taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since

07:38I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have

07:39been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the

07:40baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child,

07:41and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care

07:42of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a

07:43child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been

07:45and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care

07:46of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a

07:47child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been

07:48taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since

07:49I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have

07:50been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the

07:51baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child,

07:52and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care

07:53of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a

07:54child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been

07:55taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since

07:56I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have

07:57been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby

07:58since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I

07:59have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of

08:00the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child,

08:01and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care

08:02of the baby since I was a child, and I have been taking care of the baby since I was a

Category

Transcript

Recommended