60 years of India-China war: It won’t be a cakewalk for the aggressor again

It’s the 60th anniversary of the 1962 Indo-China War today. Itwas on October 20th in 1962 that China's People's Liberation Army invaded India and inflicted major casualties on the ill-prepared, ill-equipped Indian Army and occupied 14,500 square miles of territory in Aksai Chin.The situation was so grave that Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was compelled to ask US President John F Kennedy for immediate American military aid.

China had chosen an opportune time for the invasion, which it never admits and rather still claims to be a ‘counterattack’, since the Cuban Missile Crisis was brewing around the same time, and the threat of a nuclear Armageddon hogged all global attention and overshadowed everything else.

The battle left deep scars on the Indian military and political class as India’s Fourth Division — famous for its contributions in World War II in North Africa and Italy — was overpowered in a matter of days by the PLA riding on superior firepower, logistics and leadership.

On November 19, 1962, Nehru wrote to Kennedy describing India's “struggle for survival” and a need for “comprehensive assistance if the Chinese are to be prevented from taking over the whole of Eastern India”.

The war ended 24 hours later, with Mao Zedong declaring a unilateral ceasefire and pulling his troops back to a position he had determined earlier. Mao thus unilaterally imposed the border offer he had made to Nehru before the war in November 1959.

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The brief war is seen as an embarrassment by the present Indian leadership and public riding on a wave of economic growth and nationalism. It was also a watershed moment in India’s foreign and security policies and marked a transition from the Nehruvian era to a more muscular and realist nation on the international stage.

Nehru had been seeking a cooperative relationship with China, and the now-ridiculed slogan “Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai,” had become a cornerstone of the bilateral relationship.

The embarrassing denouement also established that defence and military power should have been priorities for Delhi and that moralpolitik was impractical and had precipitated the crisis.

Even 36 years later, in 1998, the war found mention in the letter of then PM A B Vajpayee to US President Bill Clinton, when he cited it to justify acquisition of nuclear arms by pointing to “an overt nuclear weapon state on our borders, a state which committed armed aggression against India in 1962.”

Officially, China still calls its massive attack on India as a “self-defence counterattack” . A book ‘One Hundred Questions on the China-India Border Self-Defence Counterattack’ compiled by Chinese military researchers mentions that on December 3, 1962, less than two weeks after the unilateral ceasefire, the PLA’s General Staff department issued a telegram to all troops on “The Question of Naming the Operation Against the Invading Indian Army,” which stipulated that the war would only be referred to as the “China-India Border Self-Defence Counterattack”.

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The Indian Army is celebrating 60 years of the Battle of Walong, a shining example of unparalleled bravery, guts and sacrifice by the soldiers who fought the Chinese onslaught in 1962. Indian soldiers gave a bloody nose to the Chinese in the 'Battle of Walong'. The bravehearts held back the Chinese troops for 27 days, forcing the Chinese generals to deploy theirreserve division from Tawang to Walong.

Outnumbered and with little ammunition and no resource of any kind, the valiant troops continued to hold their ground in a classic example of fighting till the last man, last round. The Indian Army is holding a month-long celebration to honour the saga of valour and sacrifice that will continue to inspire the coming generations.

However, much water has flown in the Ganga since and India now doesn’t hesitate in challenging China.

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The June 15, 2020 clash in Galwan Valley between Indian and Chinese troops in a hand combat gave the latter a sense of the invigorated response they would have to deal with before daring to do something again.

China had timed the east Ladakh border skirmish once again, when the Covid pandemic was creating havoc and fingers were being pointed at the researches at the Wuhan lab, to divert world’s attention from any culpability.

The economic counteroffensive by the Indian government banning around 280 Chinese apps saying they have been “engaging in activities that are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order” proved the non-military clout it wields now.

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Indian regulators also took control of the local bank accounts of Chinese leading smartphone maker Xiaomi, for breaching local foreign-currency exchange laws.

China is again raising the hype on Taiwan at a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its impact of food, energy supplies has subsumed hauled all attention, even though the US and the West have been steadfast in their support to Taipei.

India is, however, no more an easy cakewalk now, and China knows this well.

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