1962 Sino-Indian Border Conflict: The Catalyst for Kolkata's Chinese Exodus
The 1962 Sino-Indian border conflict resulted in many Hakka Chinese in Kolkata being sent to internment camps. The resulting fear became the primary reason for the mass exodus and decline of the community.
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- 📰 Published: April 18, 2026 at 17:56
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Kolkata Hakka Chinese Feature 1 (CNA Reporter Li Chin-wei, Kolkata, 18th) India and China clashed in a border dispute in 1962, leading to many Hakka Chinese living in Kolkata being sent to "internment camps." Although most were eventually released, the seeds of insecurity were sown, becoming the main reason many Hakka Chinese left Kolkata.
During the British colonial period, the capital of India was in Kolkata. The British extensively built infrastructure such as ports, railways, and roads in and around Kolkata, making it a crucial gateway to eastern and northeastern India, as well as to neighboring Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Southeast Asian countries. In the past, Kolkata was an important channel for exporting commodities like tea, jute, coal, and steel; today, it still plays a key role in trade and logistics.
Speaking of the history of Chinese migration to India, Chen Hsueh-liang, a community leader of the Hakka Chinese in Kolkata, told the CNA reporter that the Chinese who immigrated to India mainly included Hakka people from Meixian who ran tanneries, Cantonese skilled in carpentry, and Hubei natives proficient in dentistry. Many went "wherever there was work," scattering everywhere. It was only the Hakka Chinese who formed a significant force locally because their tanneries were concentrated in Kolkata.
At the beginning of the 20th century, many Chinese migrated overseas to escape war and the Chinese Civil War. Chen Hsueh-liang stated that after early Hakka Chinese succeeded in the leather industry in Kolkata, they attracted more Hakka Chinese from their hometown of Meixian to seek their fortune, increasing the Hakka Chinese population in Kolkata. According to media reports, during the peak period, there were tens of thousands, though exact numbers are not officially recorded.
Unfortunately, in 1962, a fierce border war broke out between India and China over the sovereignty dispute in Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India, which China claims as "South Tibet."
Because of this conflict, many Chinese, even those born in India, were sent by the Indian government to internment camps in Rajasthan, imprisoned for 5 or 6 years; some third and fourth-generation Chinese were even born in these camps.
Hsiung Hsin-ling, a Hakka Chinese in Kolkata, said that when she was young, she often heard elders say that leaving the Chinese community of Tangra in Kolkata felt like going to another country. Elders felt that Tangra had everything, "When they had to leave, they were afraid and needed to prepare themselves mentally."
Another Hakka Chinese, Chen Li-chuan, said her son has lived in Taiwan for many years. He occasionally returns to Kolkata for holidays and to visit relatives, but he is accustomed to the life and freedom in Taiwan and refuses to settle back in Tangra.
Chen Li-chuan once told her son: "Grandpa wants you to come back to Kolkata. He will let you inherit his house and property." However, her son decisively replied: "I can give up all of Grandpa's property. Because I tried everything to escape back then, it's impossible for me to go back."
Liu Kuo-kang, a Hakka Chinese working as a translator in Kolkata, stated that previously, the Tangra area was almost entirely Hakka Chinese, with over 10,000 living locally. "When I was a kid, there were over 1,000 students in our school alone."
Liu Kuo-kang noted that there are fewer and fewer factories and companies run by Hakka Chinese in the Tangra area now. The main reason is that after the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict, many Hakka Chinese felt insecure living there. "Many people, as long as they had the means, immigrated elsewhere."
Liu Kuo-kang told the CNA reporter: "I also hope my sons can go abroad. My eldest son has successfully settled abroad now. I really want to follow him out, but I don't have the opportunity, so I have to stay in Kolkata."
The 65-year-old Liu Kuo-kang said helplessly that with fewer and fewer Hakka Chinese in Tangra, even the schools can't stay open. "For us old Hakka Chinese still here, this is probably it for this life. We are just resigning ourselves to fate, taking it one day at a time." (Editor: Chen Yen-chun / Chou Yung-chieh) 1150418
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Kolkata Hakka Chinese Feature 1 (CNA Reporter Li Chin-wei, Kolkata, 18th) India and China clashed in a border dispute in 1962, leading to many Hakka Chinese living in Kolkata being sent to "internment camps." Although most were eventually released, the seeds of insecurity were sown, becoming the main reason many Hakka Chinese left Kolkata.
During the British colonial period, the capital of India was in Kolkata. The British extensively built infrastructure such as ports, railways, and roads in and around Kolkata, making it a crucial gateway to eastern and northeastern India, as well as to neighboring Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Southeast Asian countries. In the past, Kolkata was an important channel for exporting commodities like tea, jute, coal, and steel; today, it still plays a key role in trade and logistics.
Speaking of the history of Chinese migration to India, Chen Hsueh-liang, a community leader of the Hakka Chinese in Kolkata, told the CNA reporter that the Chinese who immigrated to India mainly included Hakka people from Meixian who ran tanneries, Cantonese skilled in carpentry, and Hubei natives proficient in dentistry. Many went "wherever there was work," scattering everywhere. It was only the Hakka Chinese who formed a significant force locally because their tanneries were concentrated in Kolkata.
At the beginning of the 20th century, many Chinese migrated overseas to escape war and the Chinese Civil War. Chen Hsueh-liang stated that after early Hakka Chinese succeeded in the leather industry in Kolkata, they attracted more Hakka Chinese from their hometown of Meixian to seek their fortune, increasing the Hakka Chinese population in Kolkata. According to media reports, during the peak period, there were tens of thousands, though exact numbers are not officially recorded.
Unfortunately, in 1962, a fierce border war broke out between India and China over the sovereignty dispute in Arunachal Pradesh in northeastern India, which China claims as "South Tibet."
Because of this conflict, many Chinese, even those born in India, were sent by the Indian government to internment camps in Rajasthan, imprisoned for 5 or 6 years; some third and fourth-generation Chinese were even born in these camps.
Hsiung Hsin-ling, a Hakka Chinese in Kolkata, said that when she was young, she often heard elders say that leaving the Chinese community of Tangra in Kolkata felt like going to another country. Elders felt that Tangra had everything, "When they had to leave, they were afraid and needed to prepare themselves mentally."
Another Hakka Chinese, Chen Li-chuan, said her son has lived in Taiwan for many years. He occasionally returns to Kolkata for holidays and to visit relatives, but he is accustomed to the life and freedom in Taiwan and refuses to settle back in Tangra.
Chen Li-chuan once told her son: "Grandpa wants you to come back to Kolkata. He will let you inherit his house and property." However, her son decisively replied: "I can give up all of Grandpa's property. Because I tried everything to escape back then, it's impossible for me to go back."
Liu Kuo-kang, a Hakka Chinese working as a translator in Kolkata, stated that previously, the Tangra area was almost entirely Hakka Chinese, with over 10,000 living locally. "When I was a kid, there were over 1,000 students in our school alone."
Liu Kuo-kang noted that there are fewer and fewer factories and companies run by Hakka Chinese in the Tangra area now. The main reason is that after the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict, many Hakka Chinese felt insecure living there. "Many people, as long as they had the means, immigrated elsewhere."
Liu Kuo-kang told the CNA reporter: "I also hope my sons can go abroad. My eldest son has successfully settled abroad now. I really want to follow him out, but I don't have the opportunity, so I have to stay in Kolkata."
The 65-year-old Liu Kuo-kang said helplessly that with fewer and fewer Hakka Chinese in Tangra, even the schools can't stay open. "For us old Hakka Chinese still here, this is probably it for this life. We are just resigning ourselves to fate, taking it one day at a time." (Editor: Chen Yen-chun / Chou Yung-chieh) 1150418
Stand with the facts, every contribution you make is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the CNA "First Hand News" APP for instant breaking news.
The text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, broadcast, transmitted, or used without authorization.