GK 101 Lecture 3, Unit 1

Indias Wars Post-Independence

Indo-China War 1962: Background

Conflict basis was on border dispute in 2
fronts Aksai-Chin (West) and Tawang (East)
Borders drawn up during British time
Macartney-Macdonald line, McMahon line
India gives asylum to Dalai Lama
India erects outposts across Chinese LoC
India makes clear its support for Tibets cause
during and after 1959 uprising

Minimal Warning Signs

Nehrus proclamations of British lines as
official border not disputed by China
Burmese PM warns Nehru about Zhou Enlai
After asylum, Mao gets Xinhua to produce
reports of Indian expansionists in Tibet
In 1959, 10 Indian soldiers killed
Krushchevs support irks Mao, suspects all
Zhou offers to withdraw from Arunachal in
return for Aksai Chin

Lead-up to the War

Chinese prepare for war to:
Show their willingness to resist territory gain
Humiliate Nehru and damage his prestige
Expose Krushchevs duality in supporting India

Cuban Missile Crisis ensured US-USSR away

Sympathy for India turns to suspicion of being
bred in the British ways of imperialism

Events of the War - 1

Summer 1962: incidents continuously occur
Probing action to gauge Chinese, test Soviet
support, woo the US
Occupation of Thag La Chinese occupy seats
overlooking Indian outposts
Indian reaction slow, troops carrying 35kg packs
Senior troops not convinced territory was Indian

3 October: Zhou Enlai promises no war

10 October: Sikh regiment patrol of 50
surrounded by 3000, 25 casualties

Events of the War 2

20th October: China attacks Arunachal, 3
regiments overcome 1 battalion, run to Bhutan
25th October: China takes Tawang
24th October: China takes Aksai Chin in West
Zhou Enlai stops fighting to make new offer to
Nehru, Nehru refuses on 14th Nov, US backing
China reach Aksai Chin claim line on 28th Nov,
reach Tezpur (Assam) in the east

Fallout of the War

Unilateral ceasefire and withdrawal by China,
boundaries re-drawn as per conquest
No use of navy or air-force, barely a war
Pakistan gets cozy with China, renegotiates its
own disputed border
Indias focus on economic development,
ignoring military, backfires
Indias intelligence failure, poor estimation of
military might, exposed

Questions - 1
Nathu La, Khardung La, Rezang La what is the
meaning of La?
Mountain Pass
Who was the founding father of the Chinese
Peoples Republic, also called Chairman?
Mao Zedong
Which Lata Mangeshkar song on the China war
moved Jawarharlal Nehru to tears?
Ae Mere Watan ke Logo

1965 Pakistan War - Background

Started with Pakistans attempted occupation
of desert area in the Rann of Kutch
Conflict resolved in June 1965, Pakistan
awarded 350 sq.km. instead of 3500
Pakistan turns eye to Kashmir, thinks war can
be started by some infiltrators
Operation Gibraltar, Pak President believed
India could not withstand a lightning attack

Events of the War 1

30,000 Pakistani soldiers dressed as Kashmiri
civilians cross into Kashmir
Sep 1: Pakistan launches Operation Grand
Slam to capture Akhnoor in Jammu
India lets loose air force on superior tanks,
begins attack on Punjab border
India in striking distance of Lahore airport, US
calls for temporary ceasefire

Events of the War 2

Both India and Paks premier divisions suffer
defeats at Sialkot and Amritsar
Pak held 210 sq.km. of desert land, India held 790
sq.km. of fertile land
IAF and PAF both lose 50+ aircraft, Pak loses 800
more men than India
IAF deployed in the East to thwart China, attack
never came, leaving Pak alone
Pak holding of Khem Karan pushed back in Battle
of Asal Uttar

Fallout of the War

Neutral assessments state India won the war,
but not decisively enough
US and USSR broker peace, LB Shastri signs
Tashkent agreement to withdraw forces
India miscalculated Pak presence in Sialkot,
could have won if not miscalculated arms
Pak miscalculated Kashmiri dissatisfaction, war
game feedback was totally wrong

Fallout of the War 2

India regains lost prestige out of China loss
Defeat led to arms race between India & Pak
US neutrality convinced Pak to depend more
heavily on China thereafter
China advises Pak to not attack Kashmir for
20-30 years, strengthen economy & military
Dissatisfaction in East Pakistan starts over
obsession with Kashmir

Questions 2

Who was the President of Pakistan during war?

General Ayub Khan
Which country does Tashkent belong to today?
Uzbekistan
Tanks named after which American General were
blown up in Khem Karan?
General George Patton area called Patton Nagar

Assignments
3 of each department, different for each
assignment
At least 1 with home computer access
Departmental points to be accumulated
Peer rating & teacher rating
Language correctness worth only 20%

Assignment Topics
Sukumar Sen
Mao Zedong
Dalai Lama