Frenemies on Film: Rescreening the Sino-Indian War of 1962

Abstract

Abstract In 1962, China and India engaged in combat over a border dispute. The battle was short, but the Chinese community in India faced long-term consequences. In addition to registrations, mandatory permits for domestic travel, and disqualification from government jobs, some Chinese were taken to an internment camp in Deoli, Rajasthan. Many languished there for years while their homes were forcibly occupied and their businesses gutted. The last decade has seen a resurgence on the part of survivors, journalists, activists, and filmmakers in reinvestigating that harrowing history. Drawing from written, oral, and visual sources, including propaganda films produced by the government, this article retraces the events of that era and attempts to raise questions about the roles of the state and civic society in the “othering” of a marginalized group during wartime.