By the late 19th century, the people of Chinese origin had gained a reputation as craftsmen and traders in East India.
[9] The hostilities culminated in the brief 1962 Sino-Indian War, resulting in a Chinese victory but no change in the effective boundary between the two countries.
[9] On 21 November, China declared ceasefire and withdrew from NEFA, the larger of the two disputed territories, but kept the smaller Aksai Chin.
[9] After the outbreak of the war, the Indian government and some members of academia systematically portrayed the Chinese minority as untrustworthy and deceitful.
The legal definition of foreigners was extended to include Indian citizens of Chinese descent.
[11] Under this law, 10,000 people of Chinese origin were estimated to have been detained from all over India, including Calcutta, Bombay, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jamshedpur, and the Northeast.
[6] Many POWs, unaccustomed to the hot desert climate, died of heat stroke and related diseases.
[7] The deportations stopped after a few months, and the government offered the remaining inmates the option to migrate to China.
[11] After the internees were freed after years of incarceration, many discovered that their properties had been sold off in their absence, but were only offered tiny sums for compensation.
Until the mid-1980s, the Chinese Indians were required to report to designated police stations once a month; until the mid-1990s, they had to apply for special permits to travel more than a few kilometres from their homes.
However, unlike the United States, the Indian government has refused to apologise or offer compensation to the internees for their incarceration.
[11] In 2004, Rafeeq Ellias recounted the appalling treatment of the Chinese residents in Calcutta in the documentary film The Legend of Fat Mama.