Exodus of Kazakhs from Xinjiang

Until 1949, Xinjiang, due to its considerable remoteness, was only nominally under Chinese rule. The indigenous inhabitants of this region (Kazakhs, Kyrgyz , Uighurs , Dungans ) throughout history fought for independence with the Manchu authorities, republican China, and then with the Communists. The Kazakhs took part in the uprisings of 1930-1940, and in the Ili uprising of 1944-1949 they played a leading role ^[1] . The Kazakhs have always been a significant political force in Xinjiang, which was dangerous to ignore ^[2] , and the forces wishing to control this region tried to enlist the support of the Kazakhs or suppress them ^[3] .

In the 1930s, there were about 800 thousand Kazakhs in East Turkestan, of which about 100 thousand died in the 1950s as a result of uprisings and the subsequent exodus of Kazakhs to India . ^[4] According to Chinese sources, in Xinjiang lived in Xinjiang in 1937-1943. 4 360 020 people, of which 930 thousand were Kazakhs ^[5] , but by 1953, according to the data of the All-China Census of 1953-1954, this number decreased to 421 thousand people (a decrease of 45%) ^[6] .

The main reason for the outcome is the actions of the Chinese authorities in the person of Jin Shuzhen and Sheng Shitsai to seize Kazakh pastures for further transfer to the Han and Mongols , which was unacceptable for the Kazakhs ^[7] . In addition, the national liberation movements of the peoples of East Turkestan were severely suppressed, many Kazakh leaders were beheaded or executed. In an interview with Husain-taiji ( Kazakh. Құсайын тәйжі ), when asked about the reason that made the Kazakhs leave their homeland, he replied that “it is better to die than live like an animal” ^[8] .

1930s

Due to the reasons listed above, thousands of Kazakhs moved to the neighboring regions of Xinjiang, China - Qinghai and Gansu .

In August 1935, in the town of Koysu, in the house of Zaip-taiji Akypuly ( Kaz. Zayyp A казypuly ), a meeting of Kazakh leaders was held, who decided to demand a special position for the East Turkestans from Sheng Shitsai, but this requirement was not fulfilled ^[9] . After another meeting in 1936 in Barkul, the elders decided to seek help from Muslim general Ma Bufan ^[10] . A group of Kazakhs in 1939 managed to get to Ma Bufan, who wanted to use them in their interests, but they did not agree and were subjected to bloody reprisal ^[11] .

In 1938, 500 Kazakh families moved to Mongolia , 5 thousand Kazakhs decided to get to India through Tibet . The Kazakhs had the idea of ​​leaving India long before these events - in 1906 (version of Khizir-bey Gayretull), 1903 ( Khalifa Altai ) or 1913 (Godfrey Lias). At that time, the Kazakhs fought against the exorbitant taxes of the Manchu authorities ^[10] . The boke batyr, who decided to cross Tibet along with 5 thousand relatives, was beheaded in Lhasa, and his head was put on display in Urumqi in 1904. Some of the surviving Kazakhs returned, and some managed to get to India ^[12] .

1940s

In 1940, two groups of Kazakhs from 200 and 300 families, respectively, went to Tibet. Then they teamed up with the people of Zaipa-taiji and in September of that year reached Tibet, where they fought with the local tribes for a year. During this transition, about 2 thousand Kazakhs died, among whom was Zaip-taiji. In September 1941, 3,039 Kazakhs reached the borders of British India ^[13] , who, after lengthy negotiations, the British sent to Ladakh ^[14] .

Arriving Kazakhs faced many challenges. They were housed in a guarded and encamped tent city in Muzaffarabad . In unusual climatic conditions, exhausted by a long transition, the Kazakhs died in the amount of 10-15 people a day, the surviving cattle died from lack of food. In March 1942, several people led by Eliskhan-Batyr fled from the camp and went to Punjab to Aslam Khan. With his help, they obtained permission to move the Kazakhs to Punjab, and in April 1942 they were transported to the village of Ternava near Rawalpindi ^[15] . The number of Kazakhs did not stop falling - over the year, the number fell from 3 thousand to 1.2 thousand people. There was no natural increase - because of the difficult situation, women could not get pregnant. The authorities allowed to choose places for further resettlement and in 1943 450 Kazakhs moved to Bhopal . In the same year, at the age of 34, Eliskhan Batyr, who headed the Kazakh community, died ^[16] .

In Bhopal, Kazakhs were allowed to open the Kazakh Center and a school where they taught Kazakh, Arabic and Urdu. They were denied a monthly allowance and earned a living by sewing clothes. Since 1944, groups of Kazakhs began to leave Bhopal and move to Lahore, Delhi and Calcutta. Kazakhs who did not take root in India began to look for ways to move from this country. At the Turkish Embassy in Bombay, Kazakhs were refused resettlement - recently emerged from the war ^{[ which one? ] the} country did not have material opportunities for this. Kazakhs began to think about returning to Xinjiang ^[17] . In the end, a group of 40 Kazakh families in 1947 managed to return to Xinjiang ^[18] . In 1948, Kazakhs were forced to leave Delhi, Calcutta and other cities and move to a new Islamic state - Pakistan ^[11] .

1950s

On March 28, 1950, about a thousand Kazakh foremen gathered for a meeting in Barkul, to which they were convened by Ospan-Batyr . Most of them decided to relocate to India in order to save their relatives. Ospan-Batyr and Zhanymkhan Tileubayuly decided to stay and continue the struggle against the Communists ^[19] .

Communists everywhere pursuing Kazakhs in December 1950 defeated them at Gazkul ( Gesikou ), forcing them to leave this refuge ^[20] . On December 15, a group of 200-300 families, along with cattle, went through Tibet to India. Due to the fact that with them were people who had previously made the transition through this area, they managed to avoid significant losses. Separately from them a group of 234 people advanced, which went to Lhasa, but by this time the Communists had already managed to seize control of Tibet and they were in danger. This group managed to escape from the ambush and reach Kashmir on August 18, 1951. In September, the remaining groups of Kazakhs from Xinjiang joined them. They were not allowed into Pakistan, and for several weeks they lived a mile from the Pakistani border until the Chinese attacked the camp one night. After what they saw, the firemen gave permission to cross the border, and on October 10, the Kazakhs moved to Pakistan ^[21] .

Further Relocation

The elders of the Kazakhs in Pakistan and India, who were not able to obtain the citizenship of these countries, began to discuss further ways for migration. The first option was to move to Saudi Arabia , where Muslim co-religionists lived. The second option involved relocation to Taiwan , where Dalelhan Zhanaltai and other Kazakhs were already located. The third option was to relocate to the USA - the Kazakhs established good relations with American diplomats and the US authorities promised to place them in California and Texas . The fourth option was to stay in India and Pakistan, and the fifth option was to relocate to Turkey .

The option of moving to Taiwan was rejected due to the fact that the Kazakhs ceased to trust the Chinese, and the USA was abandoned due to the considerable remoteness and another religion - the Kazakhs wanted to preserve ethnic identity among future generations. The Arab countries were too unusual for the Kazakhs, and further it was impossible to remain in India and Pakistan. In addition, in all these countries, Kazakhs could undergo assimilation. Turkey was chosen as the best option, where they spoke one of the Turkic languages ​​and professed Islam ^[22] .

On October 17, 1951, the East Turkestan Association of Kazakh Refugees was created, which was responsible for organizing the relocation of Kazakhs from Pakistan to Turkey, opposing the Chinese authorities, who were campaigning for their return to Xinjiang and all possible assistance to Kazakh refugees in India and Pakistan. On March 13, 1952, the Turkish Cabinet of Ministers by decree No. 3/14595 allowed Kazakhs from Pakistan, India and Saudi Arabia to relocate to Turkey ^[23] .

In October 1952, 22 Kazakh families of 102 people were taken by bus from Pakistani Kashmir to Delhi , then by train they got to Bombay , then by boat they reached Karachi and then Basra ( Iraq ). From Basra by car, they reached the border of Turkey, where they were transplanted by train to Istanbul . On November 12, 1952 and January 1, 1953, the first refugees published an appeal to the Xinjiang Kazakhs, urging them to join them.

A second group of 80 refugees advanced from Kashmir on December 15, 1952. About 350 Kazakhs remaining after the departure of the first group, after 15 months were able to get to Turkey. The last groups of refugees left the camp in Srinagar in 1954. Dalelhan Zhanaltai’s group remained in Kashmir until 1969, never moving to Taiwan ^[24] .

In Turkey

Kazakh refugees were resettled in camps near Istanbul, where they spent a total of 1.5 years. Officially resettled migrants, at their own request, moved to mountain and pasture places in the west of Anatolia.

The list of Kazakhs from camps near Istanbul, settled in various regions of Turkey, compiled by Khyzirbek Gayretulla:

According to other sources, 300 families lived in Salikhli, along with Kazakhs in Develi their number reached 700-800 ^[25] . In the province of Nowhere, 163 Kazakh families lived. All Kazakhs in Turkey were engaged in agriculture and crafts. In the 1960s, they began to move to large cities. Thanks to them, leather production and tailoring of leather goods began to develop in the country. Small manufactories turned into factories, Kazakh shops and ateliers appeared ^[26] .

• Mendikulova G.M. Historical Fates of the Kazakh Diaspora. Origin and development . - Alma-Ata, 1997 .-- 265 p.
• Lias, Godfrey . Kazak Exodus . - London: Evans Bros., 1956.- 230 p.
• Altay, Halife . Anayurttan Anadolu'ya. - Istanbul, 1981.
• Kazakh diaspora // Kazakhstan. National Encyclopedia . - Almaty: "Kazakh encyclopedias", 2005. - T. III. - ISBN 9965-9746-4-0 .