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By APD writer Alice
When tensions erupted at the border, Indians in China have become targets of criticism on social networks.
Thousands of Indian software experts, garment exporters and businesspeople who had lived for years in Chinese cities such as Dalian, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, have been suddenly pulled into the border crisis and criticized as traitors.
Indian and Chinese soldiers have clashed several times in recent months in the Ladakh region, along the LAC, a border that has not been clearly demarcated between the two countries. India and China accused each other of crossing the border and sparking clashes in the area thousands of meters high in the west of Himalayas.
At the peak, on June 15, Indian and Chinese troops clashed for hours in the Galwan valley in Ladakh, using rocks and sticks to fight each other, leaving 20 Indian soldiers dead at least 76 others wounded.
This was the bloodiest clash on the India-China border in the past 45 years. The two sides repeatedly blamed each other but also delivered statements to ease the situation.
In that context, Indians in China, including some getting married to local women, are suffering from guilt and sarcasm for refusing to return home. But even when they are stuck between keyword campaigns like #Indiansunitedagainstchina (Indians united against China) or #Indianswillcrushchina (India will crush China), most Indians still have good reasons to stay in China.
The Covid-19 pandemic in China is no longer a concern. Only 490 Indians have lost their jobs in China on their return flights on June 20 and 29. Unlike many other countries where thousands of Indians wish to repatriate, in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, Shashi Shiraguppi and his Chinese wife, Li Lan, and their two children, felt that life was normal.
"There is no panic. We are completely free and there is no problem with the local government. Neighbors are very friendly and care about our health. Why do we want to go back to India?" Shashi, from Bengaluru, said.
Shashi came to the southern Chinese city 17 years ago and founded the YouTube channel "Shashi4x". For his family, no matter whether the Chinese or the Indians won or lost in the border conflict, no one will benefit from it.
"Please keep the peace during the pandemic," said Li Lan, Shashi's wife.
Except for border tensions, A Kumar, a software expert, said "98% of normal lives" have returned to the port city of Dalian in Liaoning province.
Kumar, who grew up in New Delhi and went to Dalian to work in 2008, said the market was still open, the public transport system resumed and the pandemic was under control. "For us, it is the safest in China when Covid-19 is spreading around the globe,” he added.
Dalian's information technology center now employs 15,000 Indian software professionals.
The locals are friendly and they respect Indians, said V Vijay, who works for an American software company in Dalian.
S A Oviya, who is studying at Dalian Medical University, returned to her hometown Tirupur in India in December 2019. Her father, an assistant ophthalmologist at a public health center, desperately wants his daughter to return to Dalian to complete the course before taking the graduation exam.
She asserted her eagerness to work in China amid the escalation of tensions between China and India. She said it does not make her a traitor to her native country.
"That doesn't make our patriotism lesser," Vijay said.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
