Author: Shiv Kunal Verma
Genre: History
Published: 2020
BookMarks
We died, unsuccoured, helpless
We were your soldiers, men of bravery and pride
Yet we died like animals, trapped in a cage with no escape
Massacred at will, denied the dignity of battle
With the cold burning flame of anger and resolution
With the courage both of the living and the dead,
Avenge our unplayed lives
Redeem the unredeemable sacrifice In freedom and integrity
Let this be your inheritance
And our unwritten epitaph
The book is a tale of how the India-China war/conflict of 1962 was lost, not on the battlefield itself but much before through a combination of blind belief, lack of planning, poor co-ordination, and at times sheer incompetence of some of those in command. It is also a harrowing tale of bravery of the soldiers at the frontier who despite all odds - a well-prepared enemy, lack of supplies, incoherent leadership, kept fighting till the last breath. The sheer absurdity of the situation is highlighted by the fact that the Indian side wasn’t even aware of the unilateral ceasefire announced by the Chinese for more than a day!
A few interesting facts gathered from the book in no particular order
- Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report - a detailed study commissioned by Army Headquarters to document the events of October-November 1962 in NEFA still remains classified despite multiple government changes
- The Indian soldiers referred to the Chinese as afeemchis [opium smokers]
- Hari Pal Kaushik, then twenty-eight years old fought in the war, was part of Gold Medal winning Hockey team at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. (he would win another gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964).
On Politics & Indian Top brass
Many countries that had become independent after World War II fell prey to military coups (the most pertinent example being Pakistan). In view of this, India’s politicians and bureaucrats pushed through mindless measures that systematically downgraded the status and influence of the army.
In an interview with the Times of India in 1968, while discussing the Chinese invasion, Krishna Menon said: ‘We did not realize that whenever China had had a powerful government she has been expansionist. Secondly, China had come into power through violence and force and nothing else; she had been at war for thirty or forty years, and the bulk of the world’s people were in sympathy with the exploits of the Red Army. Thirdly, China wanted to show both us and the world that she was the largest nation.’ On the other hand, Menon was to admit that during this period ‘the pressure upon me from all sides was not to increase the Army efficiency and strength but to cut it down’
On China
- At the time of independence, India’s official position was that it recognized Tibet as an independent country while also recognizing the fact that it was under Chinese suzerainty.
- As per the author India grossly over-estimated Chinese military power. Gen. Thimayya (the first and only Indian officer to command a fighting brigade during the World War II) is quoted as “Whereas in the case of Pakistan I have considered the possibility of a total war, I am afraid I cannot do so in regard to China. I cannot even as a soldier envisage India taking on China in an open conflict on its own. China’s present strength in manpower, equipment and aircraft exceeds our resources a hundred-fold with the full support of the USSR, and we could never hope to match China in the foreseeable future. It must be left to the politicians and diplomats to ensure our security.”
- The Chinese knew everything, Indian deployment almost to the section and platoon level was known to them. Sometimes they knew what the Indians were going to do even before the decision was taken.
Even according to Chinese records, at no stage had there been any action that pitted more than an Indian infantry company against at least four to five times the number of Chinese troops.
On Warfare
It must be appreciated that in the early stages of any war the attacker will always have the initial advantage over the defender because he can choose the time and place for the attack and can therefore apply all his strength at any given point. Therefore, he will get into the defender’s territory and make penetrations. If this happens the defender must not lose heart because he will have his say when he has located the main thrust and moves his reserves to meet it -very likely on ground of his choosing. There he will give battle, stabilize the situation, and then steadily push the enemy back. This process may take a long time, but there is no other answer to it when one is on the defensive.The fear of the unknown plays a great part in conditioning the behaviour of men, even if as soldiers they are meant to be able to face uneven odds at times. Those who had earlier combat experience were perhaps even more tense, with images of past encounters in their minds, knowing that they must put up a brave front. Patriotic ideals recede into the background, what now counts is the next man and JCOs and officers. They’re in it together and while fear has a numbing effect, a conscious effort has to be made to conceal it.
Overall, not an easy read – politicians dilly-dallying, generals not taking decisions, local commanders moving away from the field of battle, soldiers battling it out till the last breath. As the book concludes “No amount of post-war rationalizing can cover up the fact that there was a total collapse of command and control.”
Previously on BookMarks: The Bhagavad Gita for Millennials
