SHILLONG: The 1962 wound was too deep for the scar to disappear in six decades. Even today, their hearts skip a beat when there is news about border clashes.
For the Chinese population in the city that has reduced drastically over the years, fear refuses to subside. The residents, who have become an intrinsic part of the local populace, on Friday, remembered the Indian government’s high-handedness during the Indo-China war of 1962 when The Shillong Times asked them to comment on the Galwan clash two days ago.
Paul Leong was six years old when Assam police picked up the family of seven after the war and put in Shillong jail. They were told they could come back after two days and were not allowed to take any belonging.
“The Indian government under Nehru was rounding up all Chinese residents across the country ostensibly for being potential spies. My oldest sibling (sister) was 11 years and the youngest (brother) was only eight months. About 20 police men came to our house at 2 am,” said Leong, whose family has been living in Shillong for “165 years now”.
Over 7,000 people were corralled into the camp, the man in his early sixties recollected.
“We do not feel secured in India,” was his honest admission.
From Shillong jail, Paul’s family was shifted to an internment camp in Rajasthan’s Deoli. More than five years of their life were blazed in the scorching sun of the desert state.
“After that, we had to spend around eight months in Nagaon prison before returning to Shillong. Meanwhile, my father turned down an offer to go to Canada. We had a restaurant, Chung-fa, in Police Bazar, and plots of land in several localities. He wanted to come back. But everything was gone, auctioned by the state, and we did not have a clue,” remembered Paul, the president of the local Chinese community.
“Many things have changed over the years but the fear remains,” he added.
Many relatives of Paul called him up after the border clash in the Galwan Valley to ask after their safety and well-being.
“We do not want history to repeat,” said 45-year-old restaurateur Steven, who was born and brought up in Shillong.
Steven had heard stories of innocent Chinese citizens, including his grandparents, being taken to the camp and how lives perished inside.
There was a few seconds’ pause when he was asked about the recurring Sino-Indian conflicts, minor or major, over boundaries. “There are trust issues (between the countries). But in today’s world, no one can live in isolation… Yes, I believe if China and India come together and if there is economic cooperation, then the two can dominate the western countries,” he said.
Paul informed that the number of Chinese families has come down to six or seven as many migrated abroad.
Both Paul and Steven contended that conflict “isn’t the way, especially in this time of COVID, economic distress and natural calamities”.
Michael Leong was born in erstwhile Calcutta and shifted to the hill city in 1958. The septuagenarian agreed that diplomatic talks and not war can find a solution. “As a businessman, I would always say that there should be good relation between India and China and there should be good labour (workforce),” he said.
