#ArthExplained: The #IndiaChinaWar 1962 - More than a border dispute?

(Thread by Abhishek Sharma @sharmaaa15)

Duration of the war: 20 Oct 1962 - 21 Nov 1962

Locations: #AksaiChin, North East Frontier Agency ( #NEFA) [today's Arunachal Pradesh], #Assam

Death Toll: 722 #PLA soldiers killed, 1400 wounded (Source: The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies)

1383 #Indian soldiers attained #Veergati, 1047 wounded, 1696 went missing and over 400 were taken as prisoners of war.

Result: Chinese victory

#PMNehru had decided that India and China were the natural socialist brothers of Asia. He decided to leave India's borders unmanned.

It was the era of #HindiChinibhaibhai and #Panchseel accords, so, for him there was no need to protect it.

He was, clearly, wrong.

1950 The #ChineseCommunistParty (CCP) annexed #Tibet

By 1957, the Chinese side was quietly making a highway between Tibet and Xinjiang that went right through Aksai Chin, right under the nose of Indian government.

1958 - The CCP published that showed #Ladakh and NEFA as a Chinese territory, a part of south Tibet.

Nehru wrote angry letters to #ChouEnlai, the premier and he responded that the MacMohan line was not valid.

1959 - The #DalaiLama fled to India in March and was granted asylum.

From 1959 to 1961, there were continuous skirmishes between border patrols and attacks on Indian posts which lead to the deaths of Indian Soldiers. The war finally began on 20th October 1962. PLA captured NEFA, Tawang, Bomdila, Tezpur in 4 days.

Nehru had stated,
"My heart goes out to the people of Assam," which meant that the north east was on its own.

General Thimayya, the then Army Chief, had requested an equipment upgrade and redeployment of troops near the China border. Army units were using the .303 Enfield pea shooters from WWI and had asked for Belgian FN4 automatic rifles. Yet, Nehru ignored these requests.

3 October 1962 - Menon promoted Brij Mohan Kaul, an officer very close to Nehru, to the rank of Lieutenant General. With zero field experience, he superseded 12 senior officers and was put incharge of defending NEFA (Now Arunachal Pradesh).

18 October - Kaul complained about chest pain and was sent to Delhi. On 20 October, the Chinese attacked. Indian troops were leaderless and outnumbered. The Indian Army defended and held their ground in Ladakh. The Chinese took control of Tawang (NEFA) by 25 October.

It would have been strategically beneficial to create a defensible position at #Bomdila for the resupply from Assam, but, Kaul insisted that the Army defend Sela La much ahead of Bomdila.

14 November - the Chinese went around Sela La, cut off Indian troops from behind and massacred our troops. Bomdila fell soon.

PM Nehru didn't deploy the #AirForce and #IndianNavy as well, fearing that China would retaliate, but the Indian Air Force and Navy were much more powerful than the Chinese counterparts. The terrain was also in favour of India as the Tibetan plateau is at a higher altitude.

The #Ceasefire:

CCP achieved their objectives, and on 19th November, they declared a unilateral ceasefire. PLA moved beyond the #MacMohanLine in NEFA, China captured the Aksai Chin and this is how India lost 45000 sq km of its territory.

During the war, #CommunistParty of India ( #CPI) declared that donating blood to Indian soldiers was Anti Party. A Pro-India stance was an Anti Party activity for Communists of India. #CommunistCommunistBhaiBhai?

References:
-The Land of the Seven Rivers by Sanjeev Sanyal @sanjeevsanyal
-Himalayan Blunder by John Dalvi
-The Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies
-Google Images, Swarajya, TOI