In October of 1962, at the height of the Sino-Indian border conflict, the Indian government arrested and interned nearly 3,000 people of Chinese descent under the justification that it was a national security measure. Many Chinese-Indians, especially those living in the border region, were imprisoned and later taken to Deoli Camp, which was established as a detention camp during colonial British rule. While many Chinese-Indians had been living in India for generations, some of them even citizens, xenophobic sentiments and rhetoric were widespread.

 

While the internment lasted until 1966 for most internees, the continued anti-Chinese sentiment has had a lasting impact on the Chinese-Indian community and still matters today. After internment, property was seized or marked as "Enemy Property", travel restrictions kept families separated and confined to specific locales, and many were forced to pay to maintain residency permits to continue living in their own home country.

 

Deoli left survivors silently questioning national identity, citizenship, and belonging for nearly fifty years. Though many survivors managed to migrate to Canada, the US, Australia, China, and other countries, there is still a large population of Chinese-Indians that remains legally unprotected in India, which is a primary reason for why survivors did not speak publicly about Deoli for nearly five decades.

 

The Association of India Deoli Camp Internees 1962 was established in 2010 with the mission to find justice through education and awareness about the internment camp.