Before India got its independence from the British, the later brought hundreds of men from China to work in tea gardens. These men soon became a part of Assamese society and some even married local women.
Based on a report by The Times of India, However, after the 1962 India-China war, these men were either sent to detention camps in Deoli, Rajasthan or were deported back to China so they do not become spies. Later, a few men in those detention camps were released and they mostly settled in Upper Assam areas of Makum, Digboi, Panitola and Tinsukia.
These people consider themselves citizens of India and their names were also included in Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC). They also speak the local language well and eagerly look forward to exercising their right as citizens of the biggest democracy in the world.
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According to a social worker in the area, there are 16 Assamese Chinese families in Makum, with a total of 30 members and across the state, there are less than 50 families.
One of these residents said that for them “Assamese Chinese” is just a tag and nothing more.
Makum falls under the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha constituency where voting was held in the first phase on April 11.