Shiv Kunal Verma
Galwan will now forever have the same ring to it as Nam Ka Chu. Judging from the initial reports, the tactics adopted by the PLA were similar to what the Chinese did after the cease-fire had been declared in November 1962, when their ‘terror squads’ hunted down and killed the retreating Indian troops in NEFA, among them the Se La brigade commander, Brigadier Hoshiar Singh.
They say we learn from History — that we have never learnt from History. In the context of the Indo-Sino relations, this couldn’t be truer. Some 58 years after getting our tail tweaked, we are once again in a similar position. At a time when the world is staring at multiple crises, the Chinese have chosen to light the fire on our northern borders. Now that it has been started, India must play to win. As Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw once said to gentleman cadets at the Indian Military Academy, “There is no place for a loser. If you lose, do not come back – even your gharwali will not look at you.” That couldn’t be more true!
In 1962, whether it was Nam Ka Chu, Bumla, Nuranang, Walong, Rezangla or Galwan, the men fought with tremendous ferocity and bravery. Unfortunately, instead of reinforcing them and taking the fight to the Chinese, the command structure repeatedly crumbled. Indian casualties galloped when the men were ordered to withdraw… not so much when they stood their ground and fought. ‘Terror Squads’ were then sent out by the PLA to hunt and kill the retreating soldiers after the ceasefire.
The Indian Army can take care of the borders in conventional conflicts… but the unorthodox tactics adopted by the PLA are to keep India off balance. Part of the tactic is to fan the fear psychology. To make matters worse, the threat to India has always come from within. Ever since the Chinese got active, many ‘experts’ are behaving like a troop of twittering macaques at the sight of a leopard. It is sickening to see so many shamelessly painting the picture of a 9-foot Chinaman.
We have now been left with no option but to take the fight to the Chinese. It is not necessarily with bayonets, rifles and missiles that we need to fight… we must fight them with everything we’ve got. For that, we have to get our house in order… those not in power must not see this as Modi’s Waterloo a la Nehru, but stand together and shut the gates of Fortress India just this once. The government too cannot make this an election issue but a fight to take on the neighbourhood bully. We do that and half our battle is won!
China, ever since it became the PRC under Mao, has ridden rough shod over India which since 1962 has adopted a submissive posture. The world that had been exhausted by WWII and unlikely to challenge Chinese expansion, Mao pulled off the largest real estate heist by annexing first Sinkiang and then Tibet. As a result, post-Independent India suddenly had as its northern neighbour China, the border extending over 3500 km of the most hostile terrain on the planet.
Militarily, India failed to hold the Chinese in 1962 for a variety of reasons… most of which are brought out in my book1962: The War That Wasn’t. At that time, India was too busy fighting for survival after the 200 years of colonialism had ravaged the country, to be aware of the country’s frontiers, let alone worry about it. As a result, even after the military skirmish in 1962, few knew why we had fought the Chinese. India’s then panicky leadership was just grateful that the Chinese themselves went back to the McMahon Line.
The story is different now. Several decades later, the history is known and the facts are indisputable. What China did then was plain and simple armed robbery–take what you want and ruthlessly kill those in your way! They wanted Sinkiang and Tibet… they took it. They then needed the Aksai Chin to link these two… they took it.
Regardless of how we now deal with the situation on the border, we as a nation would simultaneously need to revisit some key issues. Today, in the comity of nations, China is striving to be seen as a ‘responsible’ country and has repeatedly said it respects the ‘mechanisms’ that are in place for a dialogue to sort out problems. So, for a change, let us start the fire! If we do not do that, India’s runt status in the face of Chinese aggression will keep haunting us and we will keep debating where various claim lines are!
Let us revisit these key issues now… McMahon Line (1913/14), the ceding of the Shaksgham Valley by Pakistan to China, Aksai Chin, even Tibet… we put the facts before our people and also the rest of the world and ask China to walk the talk… take the matter to the International Court of Justice.
A whimpering India groveling at the feet of the US is a threat to Xi Jinping’s China and it is their natural instinct to rub the Indian nose further in the dust. We the people need to see the situation with this historical perspective and then take on the Chinese with facts. We must also remember that all the Chinese records pertaining to boundary accords are with the Taiwanese Government, and not with the PRC. Those maps and agreements tell a very different story from what Mao and his successors would have us believe. This will probably also apply to other regions occupied by China.
For a start, the government must start a global campaign placing the facts before the rest of the world. Simultaneously, the narrative needs to be understood by our own people. Take the markets away in real terms, it will hurt our northern neighbour a lot more.
At the end of the day, geo-politics is a game of perceptions and we are dealing with an adversary that today has unlimited resources. China does not shy away from investing in ‘perception management’. After the Communists came to power in Nepal, for example, the first thing the Chinese did was to buy out most of their media companies.
In many ways, we are our worst enemies, having systematically weakened our own security apparatus over the years. It is worth remembering the PLA got its nose bloodied by the Vietnamese Border Guards when it last tried to venture forth into someone else’s land. Our country’s motto is ‘Satyameva Jayate’. So let’s fight this war by this non-violent means as well and be prepared to fight if we have to. Tweak the dragon’s tail and let’s see what happens. Conventional wisdom tells us if you stand up to a bully, he quietly goes home. Otherwise he will always continue to have his knee on your neck.
The writer is the author of the ‘1962: The War That Wasn’t’ and ‘The Long Road to Siachen: The Question Why’.