The Chinese in South Asia

Cries of war: Securitization of fluid transnational identities during war (a comparative study of securitization of Chinese Indians and Japanese Americans)

“…The 18th and 19th centuries provided a conducive environment in the form of colonial and manpower networks along with the domestic turmoil and fewer opportunities in China, serving as the catalyst for the major migration of Chinese nationals mostly to South East Asia. Later, a smaller number moved to to South Asia, and the Indian port of Calcutta (Kolkata) served as the major receiver in connecting China with British India (Xing and Sen, 2013), as by then there was a firm imperial division between the British Indian and Chinese territories which was not porous. The Chinese were thereby confined to businesses such as carpentry, tanneries, shoe making, dentistry, beauty parlors, and silk trading in the cities of Calcutta and Bombay (Xing and Sen, 2013).…”

“…Later, a smaller number moved to to South Asia, and the Indian port of Calcutta (Kolkata) served as the major receiver in connecting China with British India (Xing and Sen, 2013), as by then there was a firm imperial division between the British Indian and Chinese territories which was not porous. The Chinese were thereby confined to businesses such as carpentry, tanneries, shoe making, dentistry, beauty parlors, and silk trading in the cities of Calcutta and Bombay (Xing and Sen, 2013). The British also remain responsible for bringing Chinese laborers into India and employing them in the tea gardens of Assam, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong due to their expertise in tea plantation and carpentry.…”

“…The trade promoted by the Chinese Indians flourished along with the population and as per census data collected in 1945 by the British Indian intelligence service there were at least 26,250 Chinese. This number excluded the Chinese who had adopted the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or Taiwan citizenship, Chinese children, the dispersed Chinese force stationed in India during the Second World War, along with the Chinese left behind by the shipping lines (Xing and Sen, 2013). During this period, many inter-ethnic marriages were also common in places like Assam and Darjeeling.…”

War and Control: A Study of Chinese Migrants in Assam in the Late Colonial Period

“…However, the 1962 war and its repercussions attracted the prime focus of the discussions on the community and had been the focus of much academic literature and memoirs (Banerjee 2019; D’Souza and Ma 2020; Li 2011; Marsh 2015). Many scholars have studied the socio-economic and cultural aspects of the migrant community who are settled in Kolkata and other parts (Oxfeld 2007; Pan 2014; Sen 2007; Xing 2011; Xing and Sen 2013). As the 1962 war had a direct and significant impact on the community, we assume there was no continuity with the colonial period.…”