“INDIAN territory under the occupation of China in Jammu & Kashmir is approximately 38,000 sq kms. In addition, under the socalled China-Pakistan ‘Boundary Agreement’ signed between China and Pakistan on 2 March 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq kms of Indian territory in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to China.” This is a statement made by E Ahamed, the then Union Minister of State for External Affairs, in reply to a question asked in Rajya Sabha on March 10, 2011. At that time, Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government was in power. Thus, China grabbed approximately 43,180 sq kms of Indian territory, including approximately 38,000 sq kms in Aksai Chin, and 5,180 sq kms illegally ceded to it by Pakistan. And, such a huge territory was occupied by China by 1963! Since it has been on Parliament record, irrespective of political party in power, it is a fact. Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader, has alleged that China occupied 4,000 sq kms of Indian territory during the Narendra Modi regime. However, he appears to be ignoring a vital fact regarding the Communist China’s grabbing of Indian territory. India has a natural claim over the whole of Aksai Chin in Ladakh (Western Sector) where around 38,000 sq kms is illegally occupied by the Communist China. And, in the Eastern Sector, China claims the whole of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh -- around 90,000 sq kms -- in the erstwhile NEFA. In the Middle Sector, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, around 2,000 sq kms is disputed due to misplaced territorial claims of the Communist China.

 

As per Indian records, the Line of Actual Control (LAC), runs approximately 3,488 kms in length. A few years ago also, in 2020, a controversy had erupted when some Congress leaders alleged that under the Government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India had lost around 5,000 sq kms ofterritory to China.The trigger?Areply by V Muraleedharan, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, to a ParliamentaryquestioninMarch2020.Similar reply was given by Muraleedharan to an unstarred question on June 27, 2019 too. The reply?“Chinadisputestheinternationalboundary between India and China. Indian territory underthe occupation of China in Jammu & Kashmir is approximately 38,000 sq kms. In addition, under the so-called China-Pakistan ‘Boundary Agreement’ signed between China and Pakistan on 2 March 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq kms of Indian territory in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to China.”

 

In2020,followingtheCentralGovernment’s statementthatanall-partymeetingwasbriefed ingreatdetail‘how over the last 60 years, more than 43,000 sq km’ was lost to China, Youth Congress leaders had tried to raise a controversy by pointing out a gap of 5,000 sq kms between this statement and Muraleedharan’s reply in Parliament. But, while hurling political allegations, they ignored the part in the replythat“Pakistanillegallyceded5,180sqkms of Indian territory in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to China”. But, they also forgot that in the year 2011, whenCongress-ledUnitedProgressiveAlliance (UPA) was in power, the same reply with the same statistics as quoted by Muraleedharan was given by E Ahamed, the then Union Minister of State for External Affairs, in reply to a question asked in Rajya Sabha. The exact reply of E Ahamed was, “China disputes the international boundary between India and ChinaintheEasternSectorandclaimsapproximately 90,000square kilometresofIndianterritoryintheStateofArunachalPradesh.Indian territory under the occupation of China in Jammu & Kashmir is approximately 38,000 sq kms. In addition, under the so-called ChinaPakistan‘BoundaryAgreement’signedbetween China and Pakistan on 2 March 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq kms of Indian territory in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir to China.” Isn’t it interesting that during Congress-led UPA Government, it was admitted on record that China was occupying a total of approximately43,180sqkmsofIndianterritory?China could grab the Indian territory because of India’s naivette about the Communist country’sintentions.Theseintentionsbecameclear in the form of 1962 war that China inflicted upon India.

 

TherootsofIndia-Chinaborderdisputedate back to way beyond 1962 war. Why it became proclaimed by 1962 was that the authoratarian Communist leader Mao Zedong came to the power and he wanted to settle every dispute by force. Hence, he first occupied Tibet. Sadly, the then political dispensation in India ledbyPrimeMinisterPtJawaharlalNehru kept on believing China. Later on, it was proven to be a naive behaviour when China resorted to aggressioninLadakhaswellas thethenNorthEasternFrontierAgency(today’sNorth-Eastern States) in 1962. It was not that the then leadership of the country wasnotwarned beforehandaboutthe Communist China’s expansionist and hegemonistic intentions. In 1950s, some of the Chinesemaps incirculationshowed 93,240 sq kms of on North-Eastern frontier of India and 31,080sqkms inNorth-Eastern Ladakhaspart of China. The then Prime Minister Pt Nehru raisedtheissuedwiththeChineseGovernment. The then Chinese Premier Zhou En-Lai said that these maps were ‘of little significance’ as, according to him, those were the reproductions of old maps. But, a visionary leader like the then Home Minister of India Sardar Patel could foresee trouble. In his foresighted advice to Pt Nehru datedNovember7,1950,hehadcautionedwhy India should care about Tibet vis-a-vis threat from the Communist China. Sadly, it was ignored and the need for militarily defending inhospitable territory of India was not felt. After signing of ‘Panchsheel Agreement’ in May 1954, China started showing its teeth. In July 1954, the Communist China registered protest against presence of Indian troops in BarahotiintheerstwhileStateofUttarPradesh in India, and claimed it to be a part of China. The controversy over Chinese maps showing large parts of India as in China continued. In July1958,anofficialChinesepublication‘China Pictorial’ came out with a map showing all of NEFA, large parts of Ladakh, certain areas in UttarPradeshandHimachalPradesh,andeven largeareasofeasternandnorth-easternBhutan as part of China Indiameeklykeptonbringingittothenotice oftheChineseGovernment.Obviouslyemboldened, China again said that the map was a ‘reprint’ of old maps published before 1949.

 

This time, in 1958, there was a subtle addition too -- the Chinese said that they had not yet undertaken ‘a survey of their boundaries, nor consulted the countries concerned and they would not make changes in the boundary on their own.’ This should have made Chinese intentions clear. But, it was not to be the case for the then Indian leadership, which enthusiasticallychampionedthecauseofgettingthe Communist China international recognition as well as a place in the United Nations. When Pt Nehru wrote to Zhou En-Lai, the latter replied that border issue was not raised at the time of signing of ‘Panchsheel Agreement’ as then ‘the conditions were not ripe for settlement.’ The implied meaning of ‘not ripe for settlement’had probablymissed theattention of the Indian leadership. But, some of the exceptional military leadersofthe time readbetweenthe lines. In 1959- 60,LtGenSPPThorat,thethenGeneralOfficer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern CommandoftheIndianArmy,preparedawellstudied appreciation of the magnitude of the ChinesethreattoIndian borders in theEastern Sector and had made projections about his requirements to meet that threat. But, as the records state, the then leadership at the Army Headquarters as well as V K Krishna Menon, the then Defence Minister, paid little heed to Lt Gen Thorat’s appreciation. It may be a coincidence or not, but just as Rahul Gandhi has made a statement recgarding Chinese occupation of Indian territory in September 2024, the Communist China had provoked a clash at a place called Dhola in Kameng Frontier Division in early September 1962.Then,uptoOctober20,1962,theChinese used the time for military build-up. Everyone knows that the then Indian leadership’s miscalculated political bravado cost India dearly in military and territorial terms both. Also, it created a thorn in the flesh forever.

 

The war of 1962 was fought by brave Indian men but, as has been pointed out in many an assessment that came outlater, there was no higher direction of war available to the Indian troops. Besides, they fought unprepared forthe higher altitudes, and also were starved of even the basic good military supplies required for war in such inhospitable terrain. There were reports that ‘personality clash’ betweenV KKrishnaMenon,thethenDefence Minister, and Morarji Desai, the then Finance Minister, had starved the defence services for funds. Just as China inflicted a war on India, it unilaterally declared a ceasefire in the secondhaldofNovember1962.Ithadjustdemonstrated its strategy of ‘four feet forward, two feetbackward’,intheprocessoccupyingproverbial ‘two feet’ of Indian territory. But, before the unilateral ceasefire by the Communist China, a heated debate had takenplace inIndianParliament. FrankAnthony, nominated Anglo-Indian Parliamentarian of the time, had said in a debate on November 8, 1962, over‘Proclamation of Emergency and Aggression by China’ that, “I said in 1950 and I repeated it in August this year that it is part of a premeditated plan of Communist expansionismto‘liberate’ SouthandSouth-EastAsia with India as the principal prize and objective. I said that in 1950 and I said it again in 1962.

 

I pointed out, despite what some personshave saidaboutLadakhthatitwas inhospitable, that a blade of grass could not grow there, that the Chinese are not morons. They are anythingbutmorons;theywenttoLadakh not because it is inhospitable, not because it is destitute without even a blade of grass, but they went there in order to be able to contrel some of the principal passes into India.” Ignoring such warnings for years together even after getting independence from the British, cost not only PtNehru a damage to his personal image within India but also a huge territory to the country. The following statements from the official history of 1962 war are tellinginthisregard,“Indiawhiletacitlyaccepting the Chinese occupation of Tibet through a treaty in 1954, failed to obtain any quid pro quo on the border issue... The state of drift continued on the basis of the belief that the Chinese threat was a distant one, not imminent”.

 

Evenafterthe 1962war, China keptfomenting trouble attheborders inthe form of standoffs. The Indian Governments prior to 2014 did not adopt a daring approach while dealing with China when it came to boundary disputes. Surprisingly,inAugust2008,IndianNational Congress and the Communist Party of China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) providing the two parties ‘the opportunitytoconsulteachotheronimportantbilateral,regionalandinternationaldevelopments’. The MoU was signed between Xi Jinping, currently President of China and then VicePresident,andRahulGandhi, thethenGeneral Secretary of Congress party. Against this backdrop, Rahul Gandhi may have to offer more answers than he can raise questions regardingwhy andunderwhomdid India ‘lose’ 43,180 sq km of Indian territory? The buck stops there...