The Real Lessons of 1962

On January 14, 1761, the resurgent dreams of a pan Indian Maratha empire were shattered in the battlefield. The decisive defeat of the Maratha army by an army led by the Afghan Ahmed Shah Durrani virtually paved the way for the British to gradually capture India. On October 20, 1962, the Nehruvian dreams of goodwill and peaceful coexistence were shattered as the Chinese army inflicted a humilating, haunting and tormenting defeat on a 15-year-old nation state called India. India changed for worse after 1761. Did India change for better after 1962? Did we as Indians collectively learn any lessons from the 1962 debacle? Have we taken steps to ensure the following never happens again in India's history-a tearful and anguished Jawaharlal Nehru plaintively addressing the nation even as the Indian government abandoned Tezpur and probably the rest of the entire north east to its fate?

The real lesson we learnt is simple: eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. On balance, India has definitely learnt the lesson as susbequent military conflicts and their outcomes indicate. When it came to national security and the sanctity of borders, naive Nehruvian idealism was quickly replaced by pragmatism. We did realise that a well armed and well trained armed forces is absolutely essential. The 1962 debacle also triggered the quest for a nuclear bomb, a journey that finally culminated in 1974 when Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi was ruling India. After 1962, there has been a virtual consensus that the Indian military must have the latest weapons and the latest technology. This has made a difference, a very big difference. According to army insiders who prefer anonimity, the arrogant Chinese were in for a rude shock in 1986. Used to the fable of cowering, ill equipped and poorly armed soldiers running from a fight. In a series of "border incidents", Indian troops bloodied a few Chinese noses; and bloodied enough of them to persuade the Chinese that a next war, if it happened, would not be a repeat of 1962. India's military performance after 1962 does indicate that we did learn some lessons. The 1965 war with Pakistan was a kind of draw, despite India having being completely by surprise. The 1971 war with Pakistan ended in a historic military triumph, perhaps the first war that "India" won in more than 1000 years. And Kargill in 1999 was both a military and diplomatic triupmh, despite threats of nuclear blackmail by Pakistan.

In diplomacy too, India did learn some lessons, though it took a long time to implement them on the ground. Non-alignment continues to be a mantra, but it is invoked exactly the way Indian politicians invoke Mahatma Gandhi-meaningless words uttered just for the sake of it. I personally think, what the late P V Narashima Roa did after 1991 as Prime Minister should have been done a few decades ago. The collapse of the Soviet Union forced Rao to accept a basic fact that it is diplomatically and strategically foolish to put all eggs in one basket. Since then, India has dramatically increased engagement with the United States, with Japan, with Israel and yes, even with China. Thank heavens for level headed pragmatism replacing wolly headed idealism.

But I think there is one tantalising option avialable to India after 1962 that we failed to exercise. Remember: the Cuban Missile crisis with the Soviet Union and the United States in a nuclear face off was at its peak when China invaded India. No wonder, much of the world paid little attention to this Asian war. And yet, American President John F Kennedy was more than sympathetic; he actually offered concrete help. Mind you, not out of the goodness of his heart and soul. He was more worried about the spread of his mortal enemy Communism racing across Asia if India was defeated and destroyed. Here was a chance for India to forge a strategic alliance with America. It is remarkable, all nations that became allies of the United States after the Second World War (including defeated enemies like Germany and Japan) have been incredible success stories when it comes to the prsoperity and quality of lives of their citizens. Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea are miles ahead of India in every conceivable way. And yes, they are all functional democracies now. Why, even former enemy China agreed to cooperate with America way back in 1973, while India took a few more decades to reach that conclusion. Just imagine where India and Indians would be today if Indira Gandhi had adopted economic policies similar to those adopted by countries like South Korea.

Wishful thinking