Why did many Kazakh people leave Xinjiang for Kazakhstan in 1962?

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Pagoda near Tian Lake — Xinjiang Pagoda close to Tian Lake, Ürümqi, Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, China.

In 1962, a mass exodus of ethnic Kazakhs from the Xinjiang autonomous region into the Soviet Union (specifically Kazakhstan) was driven by two primary factors:

Food Shortages: The region suffered from severe food shortages caused by the radical policies implemented during the Great Leap Forward (1958–1960), which disrupted local agricultural and pastoral life.1
Sino-Soviet Tensions: The breakdown in relations between China and the Soviet Union in the early 1960s created a volatile political environment, which, combined with the economic hardships, prompted the migration.1

This exodus resulted in significant political instability and heightened ethnic tensions along the border area at that time.1