I genuinely want to know what Indian members here think about the 1962 war. Please be frank, my feelings won't be hurt and I'm not likely to get offended. I really want to get the Indian perspective on it as a student of history and perspectives.
Was the 1962 war a result of China stabbing India in the back?
What was the sequence of event that lead to the war?
Was Nehru's fault?
Do Indians think there are parallels to the reported incursion recently?
Thanks in advance for any reply
I have changed your sequence of questions to make it more chronological and logical:
What was the sequence of event that lead to the war?
Claims and counterclaims from both sides as to what really began the war.Indian perspective : Indian army tried to push back PLA squatters in one sector of AP (Chinese South Tibet). There was a routine here of PLA troops occupying Indian claimed territory and Indian troops pushing them back. Not much shooting so far. Arguments between the troops on where China ends and India begins. Steadily between 1958 to 1962 PLA patrolling and squatting gets progressively more aggressive. One such incident results in full scale PLA invasion across AP at multiple sectors.
Root cause: China does not accept McMahon Line as international border. As the demarcation was done in 1914 by Tibetan Government when Tibet was free. According to China , Tibet has always been a part of China and therefore agreements made by any Tibetan government is null and void. Maps from as far back as the Yuan dynasty in 1300 AD are produced to "prove" this. But the Yuan dynasty was founded by the Mongols so can Mongolia today claim China as its own?
The ratcheting up of tensions followed by a massive offensive means that the PLA had already concentrated and built up forces in those sectors and in the Aksai Chin area further north. Creating a flash point incident was therefore in China's interests. The coordinated strike caught the Indian defenders by surprise. India just did not expect an attack and therefore had not really built up much defenses in those sectors. Overall the Indian armed forces had not been built up since independence in '47 with the civilian government not prioritizing defense.
Was Nehru's fault?
Yes. As the PM since 47 till 62 , for 15 years , when the war took place he holds highest responsibility. For the criminal neglect of the Indian armed forces he and his government are culpable. He may have been India's PM but he was her defacto Foreign Minister too. He set the direction and tone for relations with China. He was a founding member of NAM and the policy of "equi-distance" from the superpowers. Perhaps if he had not kept such distancing policies China may have bitten more than it could chew eg. the Korean war and US involvement. AT the very least Indian troops may not having been fighting with outdated enfields when their PLA counterparts had Russian assault rifles. He should have seen it coming but he was blinded by his own hubris. Zhou Enlai in particular took him for a ride. When the war started he still believed that the out-manned, out maneuvered , out gunned Indian army could be a match for the PLA fresh out of fighting the US- UN. He vastly overestimated the Indian army's capability while underestimating the PLA. He died a broken man as he deserved to.
Was the 1962 war a result of China stabbing India in the back?
Yes. But China acted in its own self interests. Mao and Zhou never bought Nehru's "Indians - Chinese brothers and comrades in arms" BS. They were realists and pragmatists. Nehru was a dreamer and naive. Mao and Zhou had earned their bones risking their necks fighting the Nationalists during the long march. Nehru got handed the PM ship because he was close to Gandhi and political maneuvering within the congress party. Perhaps with a leader like Subhash Bose things may have been different.China may have stabbed India in the back but India had provided China the opportunity to do so. India's culpability is therefore more.
Do Indians think there are parallels to the reported incursion recently?
Yes. But there is more to it than meets the eye. India does not have territorial claims on China in AP. India accepts Chinese sovereignty over Tibet (A big mistake I think - Blatant appeasement and feeding the war mongerers) This is not the first time that such incidents have happened since 62. There were other incidents like the 87 Sumdorong Chu clash. Since India does not claim Chinese territory and the incidents happened on Indian territory it begs the question who is responsible? So why is the Chinese leadership doing these things?
Consider the "string of pearls" strategy to constrain India in the southern ocean. The build up of Pakistan, formenting the maoists in Nepal and in India itself. Support and aid to Sri lanka , B'desh and Burma. Pressuring the Australian government from selling uranium to India. The competition in Africa to garner mines and raw materials. This is a simple strategy to ensure the economic and military supremacy of China in south and east Asia. The constant tension is also part of a probing strategy to keep the pressure up to keep its only real competitor in Asia off - balance both militarily and economically.
This also serves to inject nationalism into the Chinese populace , the CCP's domestic constituency. Expect the ratcheting to notch a level up if China's economic hot balloon blown up on government spending and cheap exports deflates. The CCP in short wants to hold on to power and will invent demons and imaginary enemies to distract the people. The CCP is astride a galloping tiger and is finding it difficult to hold on and can't get off. So there are both internal and external dynamics at play.
The thing that has changed fundamentally since 62 is that the Indians underestimate themselves and the Chinese overestimate themselves.
