Tuesday, 19 May 2015

Makum- The “Meeting Point” of India and China in the Yesteryears



























A beautiful place at first glance and a peaceful green surrounding prevailing around, Makum is a small town based in Assam’s Tinsukia district. The meaning of the name Makum in Chinese language is “meeting point” and the Chinese connection of this town can leave anybody feeling devastated and heart wrenched as the past of this place was not as pleasant and peaceful at a time as it seems now. The tearful days the Chinese origin people had to suffer in this place at once is history today and at the same time, shows up as a mournful past as well.

It is this Makum that remains a quiet witness of the Sino-Indian War of 1962 which had destroyed the peaceful living of the place and compelled the Chinese origin people to leave this place and escape to China. While 16 such Chinese origin families are still there in Makum who has everything to say about the mournful past and shed tears stating what painful past they and their kins had to go through.

Kaushalya Dutta Baruah, a resident of Makum, speaking about her past and the early years in the town, states, “When I was a small girl, the then Makum was a heavenly abode where the Chinese origin people dwelled peacefully with the other locales. My earliest childhood memories include playing with my friends who were mostly Chinese-origin descendants. Many of the descendants of pure blooded Chinese had married people from other communities such as tea tribes, Ahoms, Marwadis etc. Everybody lived in unison and harmony.”

It was in the early 19th century when the Chinese people had migrated to the neighbouring nation to Assam, they had found a beautiful place to settle and live happily with the locals. Such was a time when Makum was popularly known as “China Colony” with a flourishing Chinese population of around 2000 people.

keywords: Assamese news paper Khabar, Assamese Daily Newspaper, Assamese Newspaper Online, Online Assamese Paper, Dainik Janambhumi Newspaper, Assamese Newspaper

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