Sino-Indian War of 1962

Also called: India-China war · Topic: India's External Relations, 1947-1999: Non-alignment, Wars and Nuclear Policy · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "India's External Relations"

Meaning

The Sino-Indian War of 1962 was the war between India and China over their disputed Himalayan border, fought from 20 October to 20 November 1962 [2]. China attacked in both Ladakh (western sector) and NEFA (eastern sector), then declared a unilateral ceasefire. A unilateral ceasefire is one announced by one side alone.

The war matters for three reasons. It showed the limits of Nehru's idealistic foreign policy. It led to India's first national emergency under Article 352. At home it brought the first no-confidence motion and the exit of Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon.

Explanation

Roots of the dispute: two views of one border

• India's view: the border was already settled in colonial times, through British-era maps, treaties and customs.
• China's view: colonial decisions did not count. British India had forced the line on a weak China, so China had never really agreed to it.
• The quarrel was mainly about the two ends of the border:
• Western sector, Aksai Chin (Ladakh): a high, cold, almost empty plateau. China occupied it in 1957-59 and built the Xinjiang–Tibet highway across it in the 1950s. India's objection to this road was one of the main causes of the 1962 clashes [2].

• Eastern sector, NEFA (today's Arunachal Pradesh): India said the border was the McMahon Line, the de facto boundary (the line that works as the border in practice, even though not everyone accepts it) between Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet. It is about 890 km long [3]. China rejected the line and claimed much of NEFA.

• Why China would not leave Aksai Chin: the road was its main supply line into western Tibet.

Road to war (1959-61)

• The Dalai Lama's asylum (March 1959):
• The Dalai Lama fled to India after the Tibetan uprising.
• India gave him asylum.

• China grew suspicious of India.

• First clashes (1959): Longju in NEFA (August), the first armed clash on the eastern border, and Kongka La in Ladakh (October), where Indian police were killed or captured.

• Letters and White Papers: Nehru and Zhou Enlai wrote long letters to each other. India published them in a series of Government of India White Papers (from 1959).
• Zhou Enlai's Delhi visit (April 1960) failed:
• China hinted at a "swap". It would accept the McMahon Line in the east if India accepted Chinese control of Aksai Chin.

• India refused, because it saw both sectors as Indian.

• Forward Policy (from late 1961): India pushed small military posts into areas China claimed, to show it was present on the ground.

• Weakness: the posts were small, hard to supply, and had no strong force behind them.
• China called the policy a provocation and later used it to justify its attack.

The war, step by step

1. First wave (from 20 October 1962, about one week): China attacked on both fronts at once. In the east it took the Namka Chu area and Tawang. During a short pause China offered talks on its own terms, and India said no.

2. Second wave (mid-November): - East: Indian positions at Se La and Bomdila collapsed and Walong fell. Chinese troops came almost to the edge of the Assam plains, and panic spread in Assam. - West: Indian forces held the advance. The best-known stand was at Rezang La, near Chushul, on 18 November 1962. Major Shaitan Singh was awarded the Param Vir Chakra after his death.

3. End of the war: - China declared a unilateral ceasefire on 21 November 1962 [4]. - It pulled back from the eastern sector [4]. NCERT says it withdrew to its pre-war positions. - It kept a large part of Aksai Chin [4], and still holds it today.

• Timing: the war came at the same time as the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962), when the US and the USSR were both busy.
• Colombo Proposals (December 1962): six non-aligned countries suggested ways to keep the two sides apart. They did not lead to a settlement.

In the Constitution and practice

• First national emergency (26 October 1962):
• It was proclaimed under Article 352 on the ground of external aggression.
• It lasted until 10 January 1968, so it also covered the 1965 war with Pakistan.

• Under an emergency, the Centre can make laws on State List subjects. Article 358 suspends Article 19. Under Article 359, the President can suspend the right to go to court to enforce other Fundamental Rights.

• How Article 352 changed after the 44th Amendment Act, 1978:

• Grounds: "internal disturbance" was replaced by "armed rebellion".
• Cabinet advice: the President can now act only on the written advice of the Union Cabinet.
• Parliament's approval: it must now come within 1 month instead of 2, by special majority instead of a simple majority. Special majority means a majority of each House's total membership plus two-thirds of the members present and voting.

• Duration: the emergency must be renewed every 6 months. In 1962 it lasted until revoked.

• Parliamentary accountability:

• J.B. Kripalani moved the first no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha in August 1963. This motion asks the House to declare that it has lost faith in the Council of Ministers.
• If such a motion passes, the government must resign. This is because the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha under Article 75(3), meaning the ministers stand or fall together.

• This motion was defeated.

• 1963 by-elections: the Congress lost key seats. Ram Manohar Lohia (Farrukhabad), J.B. Kripalani (Amroha) and Minoo Masani (Rajkot) entered the Lok Sabha.

• Resignations: Defence Minister V.K. Krishna Menon left the cabinet (November 1962). Army Chief Gen P.N. Thapar and Lt Gen B.M. Kaul (IV Corps) resigned or were retired.
• Defence modernisation:
• A Department of Defence Production was set up in November 1962 for research, development and production of defence equipment [5].
• A Department of Defence Supplies followed in November 1965 to plan import substitution, meaning making at home what India was buying abroad [5].

• Defence spending rose sharply. Money was taken away from planned development, which put pressure on the Third Five-Year Plan (1961-66).

• Non-alignment under strain: India asked the US and Britain for military help. The Soviet Union stayed neutral, which shocked India.

• Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report (1963): an internal Army review written by Lt Gen T.B. Henderson Brooks and Brigadier P.S. Bhagat. It blamed both political and military leaders. It is classified "Top Secret" and has never been officially released.
• National mood: Lata Mangeshkar sang "Ae mere watan ke logo" (written by Kavi Pradeep) on 27 January 1963, and Nehru wept as he listened. Chetan Anand's film Haqeeqat (1964) showed Indian soldiers fighting in Ladakh.

Don't confuse with

• Aksai Chin vs McMahon Line: Aksai Chin is in the western sector (Ladakh) and China still holds it. The McMahon Line (about 890 km) is the eastern border between Arunachal and Tibet. China withdrew from the east after the war.
• 1962 emergency vs 1975 emergency: the 1962 emergency was declared on the ground of external aggression. The 1975 emergency was declared on the ground of internal disturbance. Because of its misuse, the 44th Amendment (1978) replaced "internal disturbance" with "armed rebellion".
• Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report vs a commission of inquiry: it was an internal Army review, not a parliamentary or judicial commission. It has never been officially released.
• Forward Policy vs Panchsheel: Panchsheel was the earlier approach of peace and friendship ("Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai"). The Forward Policy (from late 1961) was the military push of posts into areas China claimed.

Prelims Hooks

• War dates: 20 October to 20 November 1962 [2]. China's unilateral ceasefire came on 21 November 1962 [4]. The war overlapped with the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• First national emergency: 26 October 1962, under Article 352, on the ground of external aggression. It lasted until 1968.
• First no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha: moved by J.B. Kripalani in August 1963. It was defeated.
• NEFA → Arunachal Pradesh: became a Union Territory in 1972 and a full state in 1987.
• Department of Defence Production: 1962. Department of Defence Supplies: 1965 [5].
• Trap: in 1962 the USSR stayed neutral, and India asked the US and UK for help.

Mains Points

• Limits of idealism (GS-I):
• Nehru trusted Panchsheel and Asian solidarity.
• He then ran the Forward Policy without the military strength to back it.

• Lesson: diplomacy needs force behind it. The defeat led to rearmament and, later, to India's nuclear thinking.

• Was non-alignment a failure?

• Critics say that asking the US and UK for arms broke non-alignment.

• Defenders say non-alignment never meant refusing help in a crisis, and India kept its freedom to choose. It soon got Soviet MiGs as well.

• Accountability and civil-military relations:

• Democratic accountability worked: the first no-confidence motion, resignations of ministers and generals, and opposition wins in by-elections.
• But political leaders interfered in military decisions, such as Krishna Menon's choice of commanders, and higher defence planning was weak.
• The Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report has been kept secret for over 60 years, which raises questions about transparency.
• Link these points to later reforms such as the Kargil Review Committee (1999) and the post of Chief of Defence Staff.

Related concepts

• Aksai Chin
• North-East Frontier Agency
• Forward Policy
• Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report

Read more

• China II: the boundary dispute and the war of 1962