Oral History As Alternative History: Chinese Community Of Assam During Sino-Indian War, 1962

Abstract

“In all history there is no war which was not hatched by the governments alone, independent of the interests of the people, to whom war is always pernicious even when successful.”–Leo Tolstoy

Wars may create winners and heroes, but they also generate suffering and sacrifice. Apart from loss of lives of soldiers, there are other chapters of suffering which deserves to be a part of any discussion of war. Most of the writings on South Asian history are dominated by elitist history, where the subalterns are obscured. The Sino-Indian war of 1962 is no exception. Even though it is a widely researched topic, the existing works have failed to incorporate the sufferings of marginalized section of society. The Chinese community living in Assam had to face harsh consequences when war broke out between India and China. Being a minority, their sufferings never found a mention in official records. Moreover, they could not initiate steps to record their history. In the absence of written histories, oral history provides an opportunity to rewrite the past by incorporating the experiences and contributions of all sections of society. This paper is an attempt to recover the history of Chinese community in India through the application of oral history. Particular emphasis is given to Sino-Indian war of 1962, as it was a watermark event in the history of Chinese community in India.