(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Every nation has its moments of triumph and disaster. India's first great moment of triumph came on August 15, 1947, when it gained its independence from British rule, largely through non-violent means, thanks to its charismatic leader, Mohandas Karamchand ("Mahatma") Gandhi. But disaster followed only 15 years later, in the Himalayas.
There, on the long border between India and China, Chinese troops decisively defeated the Indian forces facing them. The 50th anniversary of that defeat is presently being marked in India with considerable introspection and some breast-beating.
What went wrong between these two developing countries, the most populous in the world?
Relations began deceptively well in the late 1940s, in the wake of the end of the Second World War. Colonialism was in retreat and India and China were coming into their own as sovereign, independent powers.
Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, had genuinely warm feelings towards China. This was the era of "Hindi Chini bhai bhai" (Indians and Chinese are brothers). China's leader, Mao Zedong, though he cleverly played along with Nehru, was actually contemptuous of him and his policy of non-alignment. He was a hard-nosed and ruthless realist, not a dreamy idealist like Nehru.
The first hard knock for New Delhi came in 1950, when the Chinese army invaded Tibet, a country with a long and proud tradition of independence. The heavily outnumbered Tibetan army was no match for the Chinese. Beijing wasted no time in bringing their own nationals in great numbers into the vast and sparsely populated territory (today, the Chinese outnumber the Tibetans).
The British had wisely kept Tibet as a buffer between India and China, even keeping a small token British military force in Lhasa, Tibet's capital. With India's independence, the British naturally withdrew that force. India did not replace it.
It was a cardinal mistake and a virtual green signal for China to do what it wanted with a hapless Tibet, even though many advisers had warned Nehru of China's expansionist designs. Nehru ignored them. He was such a dominating personality that few dared question his decisions. China's refusal to accept the boundaries with India on the specious pretext that 'imperialists' had drawn them should have been a warning to him.
Reality finally dawned in 1959, when Tibet's revered spiritual head, the Dalai Lama, fled to exile in India, along with his close followers (since then, the Tibetan diaspora has grown and has a large presence in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala and New Delhi. Moreover, to Beijing's discomfiture, the Dalai Lama has received a Nobel Prize for Peace).
After that, Sino-Indian ties rapidly deteriorated. "Hindi China bhai bhai" became "Hindi Chini bye bye".
Meanwhile, the Indian army, with such a proud fighting record during the Second World War, had been downsized and demoralised, with budget cuts and a Defence Minister, V.K. Krishna Menon, who was openly hostile to the top army brass. China, on the other hand, had a much more powerful army that had been battle-hardened by the Korean War.
The scenario for disaster was set and New Delhi walked into Beijing's trap by initiating the first offensive move, when Nehru ordered the Indian army to clear Chinese troops from Indian territory. That was the signal for China to attack all along the border.
The war, which started on the night of October 19, 1962, lasted just over a month, with the poorly-armed and ill-clad Indian troops suffering defeat after defeat in the high Himalayas.
Then, when the plains lay open for a Chinese advance into India's heartland, Beijing did the inconceivable: It announced a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew its troops to their original positions. As Mao would relate later, he had wanted to "teach India a lesson".
The debacle led to Menon's resignation. But it also shattered Nehru and his policy of non-alignment, since he had asked desperately for Washington's help at the height of India's debacle. He suffered a stroke soon afterwards and died two years later. His iconic place in pre-independent and post-independent India's history is assured. However, he badly misjudged China and India suffered for it.
Yes, the war with China, 50 years ago, traumatised India. Yet, like most traumas, India learnt its lessons. Its army is now one of the most powerful in the world, more than a match for China's. Above all, India is now full of self-confidence, thanks to over two decades of steady economic growth, ready to take on the best in the world.
Rahul Singh is the former Editor of Reader's Digest, Indian Express and Khaleej Times
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