Deoli had been a prisoner of war camp in the British era
As India went to war with China in 1962, over 3,000 people of Chinese origin were sent to Deoli Prison Camp
Chinese families were picked up from border areas in West Bengal and Assam, suspected of being spies or Chinese sympathisers.
Once upon a time, Deoli prison was used to detain Jawaharlal Nehru.
Today, it is a training centre for the Central Industrial Security Force.
Do you know that Deoli, a sleepy town in Rajasthan, situated 165 km from Jaipur, had detained over 3000 Chinese people during and post 1962 India-China war?
Surprised? But yes, it is a fact that over 3000 Chinese prisoners were kept at Deoli which falls under Tonk district in Rajasthan during the India-China war reported in the year 1962.
The quiet town is also a treasure trove for history lovers and houses a World War II prison camp which was converted into a training centre for Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in 1984.
Deoli, in fact, was established as a garrison town by Britishers due to its strategic location in the year 1854.
The objective of setting it as a garrison town was to keep a watch over Jaipur, Ajmer and Kota.
Later, a prison was set up at Deoli in the 1940s to house Japanese and German Prisoners of War (PoW) which was later used to keep Chinese prisoners too.
Meanwhile, the town also houses the remains of prison, cemetery and church of world war II times here.
In fact, a plaque installed at the gate of the CISF camp reads that Deoli once had housed German, Japanese and Chinese prisoners too.
The senior citizens staying here recall that China had later sent a ship to bring back its citizens in those times.
It needs to be mentioned here that the India-China war lasted from October 10 to November 20 in 1962.
Later on, the Deoli camp was closed in 1968, however, the stories of prisoners still echo the silent lanes here.
People also remember how they used to watch the Chinese prisoners with suspicion.
In fact, a book has also been written on these chain of incidents with the name ‘Deoli Diaries’ which features a collection of interviews with the camp survivors.
It reveals how local people shouted ‘Go Back to China’ when they were brought here while the security personnel saved them from the stones they threw.