Mission Statement
The Association of India Deoli Camp Internees 1962 (AIDCI) is a not-for-profit corporation registered in Canada in accordance with the Ontario Corporations Act. As a global alliance of the Deoli Internment Camp survivors and their families, the mission of AIDCI is to raise public awareness of their historical plight be developing a network of survivor contacts and by ensuring that those who tragically lost their lives at the camp are not forgotten.
The Sino-Indian War
History
In October of 1962, at the height of the Sino-India border conflict, the Indian government arrested and interned nearly 3,000 Chinese-Indian and Tibetan-Indian citizens under the accusation of being spies or Communist sympathizers. Chinese-Indians, many from the border region, were imprisoned and later taken to Deoli Camp, a detention camp that had been established under the British Raj. While many of these Chinese-Indian citizens had been living in India for generations, anti-Chinese laws were enacted and anti-Chinese sentiment and rhetoric was widespread across mainstream Indian society.
While the internment lasted until 1966 for most internees, the continued anti-Chinese sentiment has had a lasting impact on the Chinese-Indian community. After internment, most citizens were not compensated for the event, property was either occupied by or absorbed by locals during the original owner's absence, travel restrictions were enacted, and many were forced to maintain and purchase residency permits in order to reside in India.
The repercussions of the border conflict have left many Chinese-Indians feeling victimized and disillusioned in terms of their national identity and loyalty to the Indian government.This website is dedicated to raising awareness about the injustices that took place within and beyond the walls of the Deoli Concentration Camp during the 1962 Sino-Indian Conflict.
Though many survivors managed to migrate to Canada, the US, Australia, China, and other countries, there is a large population of Chinese-Indian citizens that remain legally unprotected. The Association of India Deoli Camp Internees 1962 was established to bring justice to this event through pressuring the Indian government for a formal apology to the Chinese-Indian citizens and an acknowledgment of the 1962 internment.
Founding Members
​Andy Hsieh
Ying Sheng Wong
Stanley Wan
Steve Chiu
Tony Lee
Moses Cheng
Peter Cheng
Michael Cheng
​Ming-Tung Hsieh
Sheng Lin
Yeeva Cheng