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62 PoliticsinIndiasinceIndependence The Chinese invasion, 1962 Two developments strained this relationship. China annexed Tibet in 1950 and thus removed a historical buffer between the two countries. Initially, the government of India did not oppose this openly. But as Frankly...my“ more information came in about the suppression of Tibetan culture, impression(ofZhouEnlai) the Indian government grew uneasy. The Tibetan spiritual leader, the wasveryfavourable.….the Dalai Lama, sought and obtained political asylum in India in 1959. Chinesepremieris,IbelieveChina alleged that the government of India was allowing anti-China “ agoodtypeofmanand activities to take place from within India. trustworthy. A little earlier, a boundary dispute had surfaced between India and China. India claimed that the boundary was a matter settled in colonial time, but China said that any colonial decision did not apply. In a letter, December 1956he main dispute was about the western and the eastern end of the long border. China claimed two areas within the Indian territory: Aksai-chin area in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir and NEFA (North Eastern Frontier Agency). Between 1957 and 1959,ed the Chinese occupied the Aksai-chin area and built a strategic road there. Despite a very long correspondence and discussion among top leaders, these differences could not be resolved. Several small border skirmishes between the armies of the two countries took place. Around this time, while the entire world’s attention was on the Cuban Missile crisis involving the two superpowers, China launched a swift and massive invasion in October 1962 on both the disputed regions. The first attack lasted one week and Chinese forces captured some key areas in Arunachal Pradesh. The second wave of attack came next month. While the Indian forces could block the Chinese advances on the western front in Ladakh, in the east the Chinese managed to advance nearly to the entry point of Assam plains. I heard Finally, China declared a unilateral ceasefire and its troops withdrew it from my to where they were before the invasion began. Ji cried in public when The China war dented India’s image at home and abroad. India Lata Mangeshkar sang had to approach the Americans and the British for military assistance “Ai mere watan ke logo…” to tide over the crisis. The Soviet Union remained neutral during after the 1962 war. the conflict. It induced a sense of national humiliation and at the same time strengthened a spirit of nationalism. Some of the top army and the then Defence Minister, V. Krishna Menon, had to leave thete cabinet. Nehru’s own stature suffered as he was severely criticised for his naïve assessment of the Chinese intentions and the lack of military preparedness. For the first time, a no-confidence motion against his government was moved and debated in the Lok Sabha. Soon thereafter, the Congress lost some key by-elections to Lok Sabha. The political mood of the country had begun to change. Reprint 2026-27