#bookrecommendation - India's Himalayan Blunder of 1962 and Tibetan Uprising - How they are related?

Himalayan Blunder by John Parashuram Dalvi

History repeats itself, the true embodiment of this concept revealed itself during the May of 2020. On May 5 - 6, violent clash between Indian and Chinese patrols on the northern bank of Ladakh’s Pangong Tso lake. Soldiers exchange blows, throw stones at each other and Chinese troops attack Indian soldiers with nail-studded clubs. A timeline of series of events until end of June are available on Hindustan Times here.

As a nation we need to retrospect and look at the series of events that culminated in the Indo-China war of 1962. A lot of blame has been placed on then Prime Minister of India, Jawaher Lal Nehru, and his Defence Minister, V. K. Krishna Menon. Political historians will debate for decades whether the above duo insulted and ignored then Army Chief, General KS Thimayya.

Brigadier John Parashuram Dalvi's fair account in his book, Himalayan Blunder: The Curtain Raiser of Sino-Indian War of 1962, gives a fair and factual account of not only the contemporary history but explores the roots in events that happened decades earlier. One such event was when the Chinese Army "advanced into Tibet to liberate the people of Tibet".

Tibet - A colossal mistake of British India, Tibet and China

We will begin with the Tibet first and trace the origins of the conflict to a time when India was British India and China was a weak nation. Brigadier Dalvi says in his book that "Tibet had been a buffer zone, and had been vital to British India's strategic defence".

History of Tibet and Britain is crucial to understand the geopolitical context that was passed on from British India to an independent India. In 1904, the British Indian Government of Lord Curzon organized a military expedition, under Colonel Younghusband, against Tibet, with the aim of “forestalling any likely collusion between the Dalai Lama and Russian agents”.

In 1893 Britain had signed a trade agreement with China believing that Chinese authority extended over Tibet, as indeed it once had. By the close of the century, however, with the Qing Dynasty struggling, China's hold had weakened, and Tibet, with a strong political leader in the 13th Dalai Lama, operated as an independent entity. When the Dalai Lama heard of the trade agreement he rejected it, and British suspicions were raised. (source: www.britainssmallwars.co.uk)

McMahon Line

On 26 April 1914 Ivan Chen, the Chinese plenipotentiary, officially communicated the Chinese government stand to McMahon and stated:

With the exception of Article 9 of the draft convention, we are prepared to take the main principles, embodied in the other articles, into favourable consideration.2 And just prior to the signing of the Simla Convention on 3 July 1914 by the British and Tibetan representatives, the Chinese government, once again, conveyed as follows: This government has several times stated that it gives its support to the majority of the articles of the Convention. The part it is unable to agree is that dealing with the question of the boundary. 

And this 'McMahon Line' is what will become the sore pain for modern nations of India and China in the 20th and 21st centuries, long after the colonialism ended, and the painful and ambiguous legacy of colonialism will lead to a full war and numerous skirmishes that continue till today.

McMahon Line

On 25th October 1950 the New China News Agency announced that “The Chinese Army had been ordered to advance into Tibet to liberate the people of Tibet; to complete the unification of China; to prevent Imperialism from invading an inch of the territory of the Fatherland, and to safeguard and build up the frontier regions of the country”. We will pause our discussion on Tibet here.

It's worth stating though that the conflict of Tibet and China continues in the 21st century too, just a few days ago in September of this year, a NYPD cop was arrested by federal agents for acting as an agent of Chinese government, particularly spying at the Tibetan diaspora and for wire fraud, in Queens, New York.

Nehru, Menon and Thamiyya

The India of 1950s was an India seeking it's place in the world and propagating the message of non-alignment. It was also beginning of decades that resulted in the change of world order, perhaps ultimately culminated in the break-up of Soviet Republic. 

The Cold War had already set its root after then end of World War 2 when a weak UK began a subjugated relationship with United States. Although  UK, US and Russia were allied in their war efforts against the Axis powers, but the end of World War 2 resulted in an uneasy alliance which can be aptly seen in the uneasy split of Germany between US, UK, France and Russia. 

Nehru wanted a neutral India, a non-aligned India. It was perhaps a tight rope that Nehru had to walk; as he wrote to US President John F Kennedy to help with arms, ammunition, air transport and jet fighters as India fought the Chinese offensive in 1962.

Brigadier Dalvi in his book states "China began patrolling Ladakh in 1951, at the time when she was involved in Korea and weak". And by 1954 China had been linked by two major roads with Tibet, capable of carrying heavy traffic. As there were no other heavy vehicles except Army lorries, these roads were clearly for military use. And this was the era when Nehru proclaimed "Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai".

Although Army didn't share the complacency that Nehru and Menon shared. An article here shows how Nehru and Menon conspired against General Thimayya, which eventually led to a dysfunctional polity with a disjointed military strategy. If it were left to Nehru perhaps the Indian army could have been "scrapped" in in 1947 itself!

Sardar Patel's Warning in 1950

A sick Sardar Patel wrote to Nehru in 1950, only a few days before his death, "that the Indian ambassador to China was being fooled and he was being fed the idea that the Chinese would solve the Tibetan issue through dialogue." (source: Sardar Patel: The Man Who Saved India by Hindol Sengupta)

Sardar Patel's last letter to Nehru were ominous and prescient, "The undefined state of the frontier and the existence on our side of a population with affinities to Tibetans or Chinese have all the elements of potential trouble [. . .] Recent and bitter history also tells us that Communism is no shield against imperialism and Communists are as good or as bad imperialists as any other."

China did sign the "Panch Sheel" agreement with India in 1954. India gave up her ‘extra territorial’ rights in Tibet such the military escorts in Gyantse and Yatung; post offices, telegraph and telephone services and 12 rest houses. (source: Indian Defense Review) And China was the main beneficiary while India thought the border issue was resolved. 

First Himalayan Blunder and an Indifferent & careless Indian Government (1954 - 2013)

And in 1954 we had our first border incident at Bara-Hoti, Uttar Pradesh border with Tibet; "the first Himalayan Blunder" as Indian Defense Review article calls it. And even with this warning, the Indian side took no steps to solidify its position. No roads were build, no strengthening of intelligence and no reconnaissance to monitor other hotspots. 

It's the same indifference that echoes the words of Former Defence Minister of India AK Antony admitting before the Indian parliament in 2013 that for years even after Independence, India didn’t develop the border with China. There was no construction of roads or airfields. Says, he has no hesitation in admitting the TRUTH. Dalvi echoed the same sentiment for India's preparation in 1954 and AK Antony expressed the same (helpless and careless) sentiment in 2013! 

In meantime, China began survey-work for a road through Aksai Chin in 1951 and announced its completion in six years. The road through the uninhabited plateau was of critical strategic importance to Beijing, allowing to maintain logistics for its garrisons in Tibet through Xinjiang. It even printed a map in it's magazine, China Pictorial, showing large tracts of India as Chinese. (I tried hard to find the July 1958 issue of China Pictorial online but couldn't. I did locate other issues here).

1959 - Tibetan Uprising & Escape of Dalai Lama

It was in 1959 thousands of Tibetan women silently surrounded the Potala Palace of Dalai Lama, followed by armed uprising which was easily squashed by Chinese army. Followed by escape of Dalai Lama to India. Asylum to the Dalai Lama was an unfriendly act in the eyes of the Chinese and further strained Indo-China relations. Incidents at Longju, Dhola and Ladakh followed with India slowly bleeding territory to China.

17 March 1959: Thousands of Tibetan women surround the Potala Palace, the main residence of the Dalai Lama, to protest against Chinese rule and repression in Lhasa, Tibet

More to come

All the above set stage for 1962. And we will talk about that in our next few posts as we go through the subsequent chapters from Brigadier Dalvi's epic book. #ThankYouforReading