Sino India War.docx

SINO-INDIAN WAR The Sino-Indian War was a war between China and India that occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. China’s perception of India as a threat to its rule of Tibet was also one of the most prominent reasons for the Sino-Indian War. India initiated a Forward Policy in which it placed outposts along the border, including several north of the McMahon Line, the eastern portion of a Line of Actual Control proclaimed by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in 1959. Unable to reach political accommodation on disputed territory along the 3,225 km long Himalayan border, the Chinese launched simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line on 20th October 1962, coinciding with the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Sino-Indian War is notable for the harsh mountain conditions under which much of the fighting took place, entailing large-scale combat at altitudes of over 4,000 metres. The war was also noted for the non-deployment of the navy or air force by either the Chinese or Indian side. Towards the end of the war India increased its support for Tibetan refugees and revolutionaries, some of them having settled in India, as they were fighting the same common enemy in the region. The war that began on 20th October 1962, continued for about a month. The standoff between approximately 10,000-20,000 Indian troops and 80,000 Chinese troops ended on 21st November after China declared a ceasefire. LOCATION (Border) China and India shared a long border, sectioned into three stretches by Nepal, Sikkim (then an Indian protectorate), and Bhutan, which follows the Himalayas between Burma and what was then West Pakistan. A number of disputed regions lie along this border. Aksai Chin- It is administered by China as part of Hotan County which lies in the south western part of Hotan Prefecture of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, but is also claimed by India as a part of the Ladakh district of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Aksai Chin covers an area of about 37,244 sq. km and area is largely a vast highaltitude desert. China National Highway 219 runs through Aksai Chin connecting Lazi and Xinjiang in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Arunal Pradesh - It is the largest among the North-east Indian states commonly known as the Seven Sister States. China claims the northern part of the state as a part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The NEFA (North-East Frontier Agency) was created in 1955, the re-emergence of the

issue was a major cause of the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Tawang- Tawang district is one of the 16 administrative districts of Arunachal Pradesh. The area is historically Tibetan territory and is claimed by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China as a part of South Tibet. THE WAR The cause of the war was a dispute over the sovereignty of the widely separated Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh border regions. Aksai Chin, claimed by India to belong to Kashmir and by China to be part of Xinjiang, contains an important road link that connects the Chinese regions of Tibet and Xinjiang. China's construction of this road was one of the triggers of the conflict. From 1959 forward, border skirmishes broke out along the disputed line. In 1961, Nehru instituted the Forward Policy, in which India tried to establish border outposts and patrols north of Chinese positions, in order to cut them off from their supply line. The Chinese responded in kind, each side seeking to flank the other without direct confrontation. The summer and fall of 1962 saw increasing numbers of border incidents in Aksai Chin. One June skirmish killed more than twenty Chinese troops. In July, India authorized its troops to fire not only in self- defence but to drive the Chinese back. By October, even as Zhou Enlai was personally assuring Nehru in New Delhi that China did not want war, the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) was massing along the border. The first heavy fighting took place on October 10, 1962, in a skirmish that killed 25 Indian troops and 33 Chinese soldiers. On October 20, the PLA launched a two-pronged attack, seeking to drive the Indians out of Aksai Chin. Within two days, China had seized the entire territory. The main force of the Chinese PLA was 10 miles (16 kilometres) south of the line of control by October 24. During a three-week ceasefire, Zhou Enlai ordered the Chinese to hold their position, as he sent a peace proposal to Nehru. The Chinese proposal was that both sides disengage and withdraw twenty kilometres from their current positions.

Nehru responded that the

Chinese troops needed to withdraw to their original position instead, and he called for a wider buffer zone. On November 14, 1962, the war resumed with an Indian attack against the Chinese position at Walong.

FINAL BATTLE (Result) After hundreds more deaths, and an American threat to intervene on behalf of the Indians, the two sides declared a formal ceasefire on November 21 ending a month-long birder battle. The Chinese announced that they would withdraw from their present positions to the north of the illegal McMahon Line. However, the isolated troops in the mountains did not hear about the ceasefire for several days and engaged in additional firefights. Prime Minister Nehru was roundly criticized at home for his pacifism in the face of Chinese aggression, and for the lack of preparation prior to the Chinese attack. In the end, China retained actual control of the Aksai Chin region. CASUALITIES The war lasted just one month but killed 1,383 Indian troops and 722 Chinese troops. An additional 1,047 Indians and 1,697 Chinese were wounded, and nearly 4,000 Indian soldiers were captured. Many of the casualties were caused by the harsh conditions at 14,000 feet, rather than by enemy fire. Hundreds of the wounded on both sides died of exposure before their comrades could get medical attention for them. AFTERMATH According to the China's official military history, the war achieved China's policy objectives of securing borders in its western sector, as China retained de facto control of the Aksai Chin. After the war, India abandoned the Forward Policy, and the de facto borders stabilised along the Line of Actual Control. The aftermath of the war saw sweeping changes in the Indian military to prepare it for similar conflicts in the future, and placed pressure on Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who was seen as responsible for failing to anticipate the Chinese attack on India. Indians reacted with a surge in patriotism and memorials were erected for many of the Indian troops who died in the war. Arguably, the main lesson India learned from the war was the need to strengthen its own defences and a shift from Nehru's foreign policy with China based on his stated concept of "brotherhood".

https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/politics/why-the-india-china-war-happened https://www.indiatoday.in/india/video/no-political-pressure-or-interference-fromcentre-j-k-governor-on-sajad-lone-1397169-2018-11-27