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Since Galwan in Ladakh is much in news, it is useful to recall that in 1962, the first fight in that area took place at Galwan on the first day of the war on 20 Oct 1962. The Alpha Company of 5 Jat battalion was outnumbered and outgunned. https://www.ndtv.com/video/shows/india-matters/recalling-1962-50-years-on-251438
The Indians led by then Maj Shrikant Hasabnis (in pix), were deployed in an isolated pocket without adequate logistics support or possibility of any reinforcement reaching them in time. They were overrun in no time by a numerically superior Chinese force.
Maj (later Lt Col Hasabnis) was taken prisoner along with other braves. He spent over seven months in the PoW camp. The scars run deep. Even when I interviewed him in 2012 (50th anniversary of the 1962 war), he had not forgotten the hurt.
"Memories are very deep. I don't think they will be erased from my memory at all," the veteran had said to me in that chat. The documentary I did for NDTV ( https://www.ndtv.com/video/shows/india-matters/recalling-1962-50-years-on-251438) has his byte. Look for his interview from 2.10 onwards. He must be 90 now, living in Pune.
There's an interesting aside here. His son Lt Gen SS Hasabnis (pix) is currently Indian Army's Deputy Chief. Speaks volumes of the family's love for the uniform, I suppose. The son, a Para Engineers officers, has also served in Ladakh in the first decade of this century.
Now of course the situation has changed completely. India has a fully-equipped, accalamatised brigade permamnently deployed in the area. The road connectivity is excellent and India has the full visibility on what's happening beyond and near the Line of Actual Control.
