After the panchsheel agreement, dream of Nehru to work with China in a global level to emerge as a global player began to take shape. Nehru was of the view that the success of Panchsheel border question also got settled. Little did Nehru know that his actions would lead indi China war.
Causes of 1962 war:
1. In 1950, the survey of India had created a boundary between India and China. The Eastern Sector of the boundary was designed as for McMahon Line but demarcated as 'un-demarcated' and the Western and Central sectors boundary was demarcated as 'undefined' and a colour-wash was used. After Panchsheel, Nehru ordered the survey of India to publish new maps and show the boundary demarcated clearly. The survey of India in 1954 published new maps. In the new maps, the words 'un-demarcated' and 'undefined' were dropped. The boundary in the east was now firmly established as per McMahon Line. The colour-wash on the boundary in the Western and Central sectors was also removed and a firm line was established. The boundary in the Western Sector in Kashmir was based on Johnson Line and India showed Aksai Chin as a part of Indian Kashmir as per Johnson Line. Thus, India unilaterally showed Aksai Chin as a part of Indian territory as per the Johnson Line and it is this that acted as the first seed for the conflict. Through these new map issued in 1954, Nehru indirectly conveyed that India's territorial integrity is non-negotiable. Even when India published these maps, China did not respond. In 1954, China established their own maps. In the Chinese maps, they showed Aksai Chin and NEFA as a part of China. Nehru took up this issue with China in 1954. China responded by saying that the Chinese maps are old maps and the PRC has not yet revised those maps. This response by China came as a surprise to India.
2. After India came out with new maps in 1954, Nehru asserted that India established check posts along the inter Frontier and the check post will act as a symbol of India state their integrity. After China issued maps in 1954, China strongly protested the Indian check posts. China asser that Indians have transgressed deep inside Chinese territory, India responded by asserting that Indian posts were within the Indian territory and not in China.
China even complained that the boundary line in Middle or Central sectors shown by India is not accurate as the boundary passes in Central Sector through Himalayan passes and all these passes are located inside China. This issue emerged as the second point of friction.
3. The border issue emerged in full proportion after 1957. In 1957, China officially announced that construction of Xinjiang-Tibet road that passed via Aksai Chin. India was shocked that China had secretly constructed a road in Aksai Chin, which was claimed by India as per Johnson Line-1865. The Indian army patrol team was dispatched to Aksai Chin to get the exact coordinates of the road The patrol team was captured by the Chinese and was released only after intervention by Indian MEA. The 1957 Aksai Chin road was the third point of friction.
4. In 1958, a Chinese magazine called China Pictorial printed a Chinese map on pages 20 and 21. In the map, the NEFA and Aksai Chin were shown by China as a part of Chinese territory. India protested to the map in the Chinese magazine by showing the Indian region as a part of China. The MEA of India sent a note to China asserting that China cannot show such a map as Zhou Enlai had asserted that the maps used by China are old maps and PRC has not revised them. So China cannot show old maps as shown in the magazine.
The Chinese responded in 1958 by asserting that the magazine has shown old maps (this was the old stand by China repeated) but a fresh survey was needed and only after the fresh survey can the map be changed. This was entirely a new approach by China and it had never said this earlier that it announced now. This came as a big blow to India as India had assumed nce 1954th Indian boundary was non negotiable and fever Nehru took up the manner du with China In December 1958, Nehnu wrote a letter to China mentioning the acts above.
The zim of Nehru was to make China accept the McMahon Line as the border i was in January 1959 China responded and clarified the position China express tremendous dissatisfaction in the way India unilaterally demarcated the borders China reiterated that they had earlier Informed India in 1954 that the Chinese need time to revisit old mups The Indians on the other hand unilaterally showed Aksai Chin as a part of India without consulting China. The Chinese used for the first time in 1939 in their response that the Chinese consider the McMahon line aleyal because the Chinese representative Iven Chang in Simla Convention had net ratified the Simla Convention and therefore the Chinese had rejected the McMahon Line China asserted that the McMahon Line is an imperialistic design of the British and as China did not accept the Simla Convention.
McMahon Line cannot be considered legally accepted by China. China indirectly convey that China cola eft the McMahon Line provided India displays accommodating attitude on Aksai Chin. The Chinese response was a big blow to India. India had assumed that McMahon Line is the border This response emerged as the fourth point of friction.
5. As explained in earlier section that Tibet add a very well-defined the relationship with China through the Qing dynasty period from 1644 to 1912. In 1724. Chinese seize the opportunity to provide Tibet with Ambans after tribal invasion China also incorporated two regions of Tibet pamed Amdo and Kham into western China and renamed the area Qinghai. This upset Tibetan In 1912 when Qing dynasty collapsed the lie.
Dalai Lama left India in Darjeeling and went back to Chase. The Tibetans crushed Ambans and Dalai Lama resumed control again and ruled till 1933 In 1935, Tenzin Gyatso became the new Dalai Lama. Meanwhile China was under imperial control of Japan till Second World War. Only in 1949, Mao Zedong defeated the nationalist aid by Chiang Kai-Shek and removed the kuomintang (Kum regime and replaced it with communist regime.
After PRC was born in 1949, it now decided to liberate Tibet from the control of Dalai Lama so that socialist revolution can be done in Tibet. In 1951, when the army of China (PLA) reached Tibet, it decided to crush a small Tibetan army. After crushing the small Tibetan army, China said that they will respect the autonomy of Tibet. In 1951, China and Tibet signed a 17-Point Agreement. Under the 17-Point Agreement, it was decided that the land that is held privately by Tibetans shall be taken away by the state. This upset the Tibetans as the Tibetans have owned a lot of private estate.
The socialist revolution in Tibet began from peripheral areas of Kham and Amdo that China had occupied from Tibet in 1724 as part of western provinces. Thus China said that Kham (in Sichuan province after 1949) and Amdo (in Qinghai province after 1949) will be from where the communist system will begin. Here the farmers will act on communist lands. All barley and crops produced would be acquired by state and some will be redistributed as for communal principles. Unfortunately, the grains acquired by Chinese state left Tibetans with no grains. This upset the people of Amdo and Kham to this extent that in 1956 they formed resistance groups to arm themselves to fight back China. The CIA of the US assisted these rebels covertly to wage a war against China. As the rebels fought China, there was exodus of people from Amdo and Kham to Lhasa.
The Chinese PLA continued to suppress the rebels. In 1956, Dalai Lama on his visit to India told Nehru about his desire to put up an asylum in India. This visit generated suspicion in China as China began to think that India and CIA are working together to destabilise Tibet. By 1958, the number of resistance fighters and rebels grew almost 1 lakh. Dalai Lama sent delegates to convince the guerrillas not to fight. The guerrillas convinced the Dalai Lama delegates to join the resistance. The delegates indeed ended up joining the resistance. By 1959, a lot of religious leaders from Amdo and Kham began to go missing. The people of Tibet began to feel that the Chinese were killing their leader to target Dalai Lama.
6. In 1959, captain Adhikari of Assam rifles was told to establish a military post in NEFA regon near McMahon Line at a place called Long. Long was claimed by India and China both. The moment India established a military post at Longju, China attacked the post. Nehru wrote to China that Longju is Indian territory, China refuted Indian claim and asserted that India should refrain from establishing military posts in disputed areas.
This again became a six friction between the two. China wrote back telling India that India unilaterally cannot declare borders special when McMahon Line is illegal and also unilaterally it cannot declare a firm boundary in Western and Middle sectors when no such boundary ever existed that was mutually agreed.
7. After the discovery of Xinjiang-Tibet Road, IB Chief B. N. Mullick told Nehru to establish forward posts on the border with China. On 21 October 1959, an Indian army team led by Havildar Karan Singh reached Kongka La to establish a post. The Chinese ambushed the entire team. In November,China wrote back to Nehru that the two sides should maintain status quo and withdraw their troops 20 km from actual control position of McMahon Line.
Nehru wrote back saying that China retreat from Longju. If China does that, India will also not occupy Longju. Nehru also asserted that in the Middle and Eastern Sector, both sides should refrain from sending troops to border areas. China wrote back to Nehru saying that Western Sector cannot be deemed as an acceptable boundary and China invited Nehru to China to negotiate. Nehru immediately could not travel to China due to state visit by the US and USSR lined up. In February 1960, Nehru invited Zhou Enlai for talks Zhou decided to come to India for seven days.
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