1962 - The Victory That Was Possible

'If we had sent a few airplanes (into Tibet), we could have wiped the Chinese out.'


'And everything could have been different in the 1962 War.'


These were the words of the wing commander Jag Mohan Nath who was deployed in the air force in 1962 and he and the air force strongly believed that their involvement could have turned the tables around for India. 


Can you imagine an India where more than 5000 soldiers' lives would have been saved (not to mention the countless other lives that we continue losing due to the constant cross-border issues at the Galwan valley)? An India where the Aksai Chin region, a highly strategic vantage point for China against India, could have stayed with India? Where possibly even the Indo-Pak 1965 war could have been avoided completely? 


Exactly 59 years ago the lyrics aye mere vatan ke logon zara aankh mein bhar lo paani jo shaheed hue hain unki zara yaad karo qurbani had got the entire nation, the then prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and several other ministers to tears as Lata Mangeshkar sang this melody at the National Stadium on republic day, just a year after the ill-fated botched encounter with China. 


Today after 72 years since first celebrating our republic day, the BJP government has decided to add this soulful melody as the tune to which the republic day’s beating retreat ceremony(to be performed on 29th January to mark the end of Republic Day week celebrations) will be performed instead of the usual Christian hymn ‘Abide With Me.' This hymn was probably another colonial hand-me-down that we continued to use even after our independence from them and surprising as it seems, this obvious decision of including an ‘Indian Patriotic Song’ in one of the acts of the closing ceremony of one of India’s most coveted national days took more than 7 decades to come through. Although it must be admitted that the choice of the song couldn’t be more apt. After all which song really has the power to strike the chord with 138 crore people’s hearts the way this song does, right?


This song, however, is a poignant reminder of India’s tragic past with China. 

Jab desh mai thi diwali woh khel rahe the holi. Jab hum baithe the garhon mai woh jhel rahe the goli. The war that spanned from 20th October to 21st November which was precisly during the time when India celebrated Diwali, had our soldiers on 14000 ft fighting a well-equipped enemy in mere cotton and light sweaters. 


Nevertheless, India could have still won the war with China in spite of the 3:1 advantage that China had, had PM Nehru approved the use of air force for combat purposes rather than using them as just logistical support for the army.


The chapters of our and China’s history books would have a completely different story had India's political leaders forged more understanding and faith in the military.

(right) Wing commander Jag Mohan Nath with (left) the then air chief marshal.

‘They did not believe me there was no Chinese air force.'


'Can you imagine what would have happened if we had used the IAF at that time?'


'The Chinese would have never dared do anything down the line.'

Wing commander Jag Mohan Nath who was posted for reconnaissance purposes (manual intelligence gathering via small aicrafts) in the Aksai region and Tibet recounted the topsy turvy bureaucratic decisions made by the then Nehru government that paved the unfortunate path for India’s humiliating loss. 


Now here’s the real deal, the movement of the Chinese troops was being tracked by the wing commander’s team a year before the war, in the Aksai Chin region. They would take their sorties to the mountainous regions at low altitudes, get pictures and report to the defense minister. These findings were also sent to the military adviser to the prime minister, Lieutenant General BM Kaul and indirectly even to the prime minister which means that Delhi always had a clear view of China’s intentions well in advance. But despite the information, for a year, there was absolutely no action, no preparation, and no strategies formulated by the authorities! What existed was a perpetual state of denial; and on 20th October 1962, the bubble finally burst.


High altitude warfare is no joke and our soldiers back then lacked even the fundamental necessities to protect them from the unforgiving and harsh weather conditions, let alone fight a battle against an enemy that had outnumbered them thrice in number. In this dire situation, the government’s decision to deplane a combat aircraft that was on its way to aid the soldiers and their operations at Ladakh because they believed that China could potentially bomb Delhi and Calcutta proved to be as futile as PM Nehru’s illusion of the ‘Hindi Chini bhai-bhai’ philosophy.


With no landing strip in Tibet for the aircraft, no fuel and supply parts of combat aircraft, and a mere rifle gun being used against a hefty combat aircraft, the Chinese lacked heavily in all aspects regarding battling the Indian air force.

Long story short, neither did China have a proper air force nor did they possess any weapon to counterattack any attack from India’s airforce. Whose side do you think the odds were favoring?


"We could finish them off in no time,” said wing commander Jag Mohan Nath in an interview, but alas, these words, this assurance, and a potential victory got lost in the sands of time. The lack of countenance and faith shown by the then government in the military proved to be one of the worst debacles in the history of India. What remains unchanged is that India was and is never weak to tackle China.


Nevertheless, India has emerged stronger and has risen like a phoenix post the 1962 loss. The only silver lining you could say is that the synergy between the three armed forces and the government has improved and as a nation, we are now more confident and vigilant than ever.



Koyi sikh koyi jatt-maratha

Koyi gurkha koyi madrasi

Sarhad pe marnewala, har veer tha bharatwaasi
Jo khoon gira parwat par, wo khoon tha hindustani
Jo shaheed huye hain unki, zara yaad karo kurbani

 

Long time no see! Yes, but today couldn't have been a better way to say hi again! Happy Republic Day to all of you. Like always we hope you found out and learned something that you didn't know before about our gallant forces. Do let us know in the comment section below about how you liked the article!

Until next time,
JAI HIND!
Stay safe, stay happy
Adios! 


Comments

  1. Very well researched and emotionally charged article. Great to read such article on the 73rd Republic day!

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  2. Great...Manasi....Very well researched and beautifully written. It's a pleasure to read such a nice article on the Republic day!

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  3. Hey Manasi, what is ur age ? Ur depth shows u have keen interest in indian history..keep it up.well written..

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    1. Not much :') but thanks a lot for your kind words, keep a look out for our forthcoming articles as well!

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  4. Excellent Manasi, This is definitely an eye opener for many like us.
    Thank you and God Bless you .

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    Replies
    1. Glad that the purpose of this article is getting fulfilled :) We want all our fellow Indians to know what is the real truth!

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  5. फ़ारच अभ्यासपूर्ण मानसी!!! Keep it up!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much and than you for ardently reading all our write ups!

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  6. History repeats itself. PM refused to permission to army to retaliate when Taj Hotel incident occurred.

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  7. Great point of view and beautifully described the situation.
    Keep up, hope to see your next blog soon.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for reading! Will get back with another story soon!

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  8. Really an amazing blog, Manasi !!!

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