Himalayan Blunder
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Himalayan Blunder was an extremely controversial novel penned by Brigadier John Parashuram Dalvi. It dealt with the causes, consequences and aftermath of the Sino-Indian War of 1962, that ended in Chinese People's Liberation Army inflicting a crushing defeat on India. Incidentally, after the book was published, the term Himalayan Blunder, began to be referred as a synonym for colossal failure in Indian politics.
Brigadier Dalvi served in the Indian Army and gives a first person account of the war. After the book was released, it was subsequently banned by the Indian Government.
[edit] Background
Generally, history text books in India hardly analyse the cause and consequences of the 1962 Sino-Indian War. At the best, they try to project China as the aggressor, and present India as a country which was on the receiving end. In general they tend to downplay eventual mistakes committed by Jawaralal Nehru and his closest government associates. In short, history text books present Nehru as an astute politician and a modern statesman. But Himalayan Blunder, critically examines the real causes of the War and accuses Nehru, Krishna Menon and Army General B.M. Kaul of endangering India's security concerns.
[edit] The Content
The book begins with the narration of Brg. Dalvi's days in the National Defence Academy. He narrates an incident where a guest faculty, a retired British official, warning India that China would overrun Tibet. Brg. Dalvi also examines the position of Tibet vis-a-vis India and China. The British, for all their follies had insight into China's imperial ambitions. In order to thwart Chinese designs, they had cultivated Tibet as a buffer state. Expectedly, the Chinese attacked Tibet in 1950 and captured it. India did not protest the Chinese actions at the time. The Chinese began constructing roads from Tibet leading to Aksai Chin near Ladakh. The Chinese had two major claims with respect to Indian territories -
1) Aksai Chin in the northeastern section of Ladakh District in Jammu and Kashmir.
2) British-designated North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), which subsequently was later designated as the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
[edit] The War
When the war broke out on September 8, 1962, Nehru was conspiciously away from India. The Chinese attacked simultaneously on the Ladakh area and NEFA. They managed to capture 11,000 km² of area in Aksai Chin and substantial area in NEFA. The Army Chief, General B.M. Kaul was enjoying a holiday in Europe. Incidentally, B.M. Kaul was promoted to the post of General by Menon, superseding other able officers. According to Dalvi, the Indian Army lacked leadership, equipments for mountain warfare and weaponry. Still it did managed to put up stiff resistance, especially in NEFA, but were routed by the numerically superior Chinese Army. Despite gaining territory, the Chinese army declared a unilateral ceasefire, while still maintaining the status quo'.' Brg. Dalvi, along with other soldiers were taken as Prisoners of War and kept under imprisonment for six months. In the book, Brg. Dalvi feels that the Chinese had all along meticulously planned the attack while officially maintaining a different posture.
Brg. Dalvi also examines the aftermath of Sino-Indian War. The principal culprits of the War according to Dalvi, namely, Defence Minister Krishna Menon and General B.M. Kaul were sacked. The Indian Army equipped itself with modern weaponry and more funds were allocated to defence purchases.
