War

China is a threat and will continue to remain one. It’s only possible competitor is India. In 1962, we were not consulted on policy and planning, as is the case even now. This is a far cry from the practice in developed countries, where they seek the advice of defence personnel, not just on strategic issues but also on matters concerning diplomacy.

Our reading of military history has been related to what the West considered important. We read the history of the Second World War from the allied troops’ point of view. We studied the Normandy campaign, the Burma Campaign. China, or its related history, was nowhere in the picture. We should have also studied Tsun Tzu, but we were reading Clausewitz on war. We never anticipated any threat from China. I frankly don’t blame politicians, as they feel that giving sops to public is more important than buying weapons. Because weapons don’t bring votes.

During the war, I was in Bomdila. My unit, 1 Madras, was there for the next few days, without any orders. We were just drifting and nobody was quite clear as to what to do. We also did not have any real information about where the enemy was or what was happening. There was just a feeling of uneasiness. I had pointed out that if the Chinese took the Bailey’s trail, they would easily by pass Se la and reach Bomdila. My fears came true. They bypassed us and reached Bomdila. An alarm was raised and a platoon (about 30 soldiers) were killed. Then a company (about 100 soldiers) was sent. But shelling had started. Bomdila then was so thickly forested, you could hardly see anything.

In that silence, we sent a patrol which came back with the news that the Chinese were present in large numbers. Meanwhile, as we had gone on foot to our position, we had limited ammunition. So our commanding officer decided that we should retreat. The enemy found us and killed around 60 of our men. The rest of us were caught.

They took us to Tibet and lodged us in a monastery. I would accept that none of us suffered any physical torture. I was huffing and puffing till I realised I was at 11,000 feet. There was no water, no cultivation. Everything was brought from the mainland. Soon the Chinese started their propaganda and began telling us how we were wrong and they were right. I remember an incident related to Tibet. At a gathering, our captors told us that Tibet was always part of China. One of our soldiers who was a senior sweeper of the Dogra Regiment, decided to take them on. He asked, “I hear that Tibet always belonged to China. Then why is everything here written in Hindi?” Actually they used the Indic script, and most of the things written in and around the monastery was in that script. It was the last time that they tried any such propaganda.

One of the most important things that rankles the Chinese is the Indian culture. While they proclaim they are the centre of the world, they still get their teachers from India.

We were put in two separate enclosures. There were 24 officers in one enclosure and more than 1,000 soldiers in another. They used to give us black gram with pulses. Occasionally, dehydrated beans too. Our rotis used to be made of flour, and rice was also given. We also used to get black tea with sugar, as there was no milk. The only vegetable we got for six months as Chinese prisoners was cooked radish.

There were no toilets so we used the nearest fields. We had worked out a system to communicate with the soldiers where I used to go with two commissioned officers.

During the incarceration, we got to know of a young soldier who was working as an interpreter, through whatever means, to pass messages from the Chinese to our soldiers. I stopped that immediately. Next day, I was hit with rifle butts by Chinese soldiers as they knew I was the one who had stopped this communication with the Chinese. I was taken to their commandant. I told him I was the one who had passed orders. They could not do anything as by then Indian soldiers had created quite a lot of noise.

In 1963, as our Republic Day approached, we decided to celebrate it. We communicated this to the Chinese and asked for special rations, which was not given. Permission to celebrate was also denied. But we were determined. I managed to get word across to our soldiers that at around 8:30 am on January 26, everyone will stand at attention wherever he is, and sing the National Anthem. Also, that the national Anthem should end with three shouts of “Jai Hind”.

When the first shout started, the Chinese started loading their magazines and bayonets. I was apprehensive that it would lead to the massacre of our men. But that didn’t happen.     

(The views expressed by the author are personal)