The Generals of the Indian and Chinese army met on the LAC to settle the border dispute.
Lieutenant General Singh, the 14 Corps Commander of the Indian Army, sat across the table from Major General Lin, commander of the South Xinjiang Military District (SXMD) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army at a Chinese military camp near the Line of Actual Control to discuss the dispute along the LAC. The Generals and their aides sat across each in a very hostile, tense and caustic atmosphere. The aides of each side scanned across the table carefully looking at body language and for any signs of weakness from their counterparts.
The two generals sat eyeball to eyeball, glaring at each other in disdain and in silence, separated by their respective national flags in front of them. The Indian General could no longer contain himself and blurted out: “’Ok, what’s on the menu?”. Major General Lin with a well-controlled snigger brought out a file marked top secret. He carefully and guardedly opened the file whilst eyeing the Indian General and his aides. The Chinese Aides were on edge too, their eyes darting on the Indians and ready for a reaction of any kind. The Indian side was becoming more tense, wide eyed and angry.
The Indian General was looking more expectant and the mood of the Indian contingent became more relaxed; they had come far and were hoping for some appetising victory.
Major General Lin started reading from his file, very firmly and confidently, his proposal:-
Gentleman, this is what I offer you:-
King prawns with almonds and Cashew nuts as a starter
Scallops with Garlic or Ginger Sauce
Sweet and Sour fried Chicken
Special fried rice with Pork ribs plum sauce
Beef with Almond and Nuts
And special Chinese wine.
Suddenly
Lieutenant General Singh's expression changed from one of victorious glee to one of exasperation. “No!No!No!” He shouted , “ We will not tolerate beef”. The look on the Indian General’s face had turned to one of a lyncher in a vigilante group and the Chinese contingent were taken aback.
Major General Lin was a tough and experienced negotiator and knew the Indian weakness and demanded: “OK , what can you offer?”. General Singh was startled by this demand for a counter offer and presented his meek proposal: “I can offer Dhaal” . By now the Chinese General was becoming impatient and couldn’t believe what he had heard and demanded again : “’What can you offer us?”. The Indian general responded again in a very quiet and timid voice “Dhaal”. Major General Liu Lin had regained his composure as he could hardly control his laughter and demanded: “ We will only accept Dhaal with Byriani and you must withdraw from 20000 Sq Km of occupied land and we will remove beef". There was a sigh of relief from the Indian contingent who happily accepted and signed the proposal.
Once New Delhi got news of the agreement there was a big furor and public outcry and the Indian PM wanted to know why such a poor agreement was made and why the Indian general hadn’t demanded Canton Chow Mein and General Tso’s chicken. A meeting of defense ministers was then scheduled to renegotiate the deal in Moscow.