‘The government is worried about the presence of about seventy hardcore Chinese Communists in India. These people had been acting in favour of China among the Indian Chinese much before the war had begun. The China Review had been carrying propaganda that Indian soldiers had entered Chinese territory. The newspaper has also published fake photographs. The government also found some articles and editorials published in the newspaper as offensive. Local police have seized a few editions of the newspaper and banned the circulation of the same.’

‘Oh! That’s why the newspaper has not come.’

‘Even if it has come, the CID might have seized them. They will harass the subscribers.’

‘Didn’t the Indian government deport the editor of the same newspaper to China because he supported the Kuomintang government, after China went under the Communists?’

‘Yes.’

‘What kind of a government is this? Why doesn’t the government tell us what they want from us? One day the government will arrest and deport us if we don’t support Communist China, another day they will punish us if we do.’

‘Why can’t they understand that the paper had been supporting Red China because India was Red China’s friend?’

‘Hey shhh! We will be put in jail if the CID hears this.’

‘But the paper should not support China after China has attacked India. This is wrong.’

‘Stop discussing this for a moment. What else does the report say?’

‘As a part of security measures, strict vigilance is being maintained on the Chinese in New Delhi. There are three hundred and sixty Chinese in the capital and of them twelve have been expelled from India because of their undesirable activities. The Chinese government is spreading propaganda among the Tibetan refugees and trying to convince them to return. The agents who are engaged in this process have been arrested. Periodic screening of the refugees is going on. Interestingly, the authorities of Palam airport have intimated that in the last three weeks not a single Chinese person has arrived in or left India. Not even a diplomatic courier from China has arrived.’

After a short silence, Yiu Yi’s grandfather said, ‘Let the president of our society call a meeting. Let him invite the important people of Makum. We must express our support for India. Otherwise people will misunderstand us. And so will the government. This is for our good. What else have they written?’

‘In the case of the stateless Chinese of Calcutta, no steps have been taken so far. After thorough examination it has been found that most of them are simple working-class people. They are mostly skilled artisans and factory workers who work independently. The news circulated widely that many Chinese people have left Calcutta, which according to the government is entirely false and fabricated. Some Chinese boys who had been to the Sibpur garden for a picnic were seen having tea at Howrah station. This led to talk about the Chinese leaving.’