Overview

"Makam, which means ""golden horse"" in Cantonese, is a fictionalized historical account of the Chinese Assamese people in North-East India. The novel, by award-winning writer Rita Chowdhury, documents the struggles, suffering, and tragedies of the Chinese Assamese over the past two centuries, culminating in their wrongful expulsion from India during the 1962 Sino-Indian War. Based on interviews with more than one hundred Chinese Assamese, Chowdhury's moving narrative blends nineteenth century history with the tragedy of 1962, revealing how the Chinese were brought to India decades earlier by the British in order to work as laborers on the tea plantations. Once there, the Chinese married into different communities and began to speak with a mix of their native and local languages. However, during the Sino-Indian war, the Chinese Assamese, though now completely assimilated, were brutally and unjustly forced to leave India because of their Chinese origins. Around fifteen hundred Chinese Assamese from Makum, a small town in upper Assam, were imprisoned as spies and prisoners of war, before being deported to China. The untold story of this terrible incident created an uproar in India when this book was first published."

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9789381017654

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In her powerful book, the scholar and novelist Rita Chowdhury brings out the pain, horror, and tragedy of those lost years.... the book traces the history of this forgotten and shameful chapter in the history of India. (Sanjoy Hazarika, Guardian)

"""In her powerful book, the scholar and novelist Rita Chowdhury brings out the pain, horror, and tragedy of those lost years.... the book traces the history of this forgotten and shameful chapter in the history of India."" (Sanjoy Hazarika, Guardian)"""

Author Information

Rita Chowdhury is a senior lecturer at Cotton College, Guwahati. Deepika Phukan's published works include Moments, an English translation of a collection of classic Assamese stories, and The Plum Tree, a collection of short stories. She lives in Guwahati.

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