India @ 68 - A visual chronology of post-Independence India 1962 – Friends, brothers and enemies After the 1959 Tibetan Uprising and India’s decision to grant refuge to Tibetans fleeing the Chinese occupation of their homeland, India’s relations with China were simmering. They finally came to a boil over disputes concerning two border areas – Aksai Chin on the border of Kashmir and Xinjiang, and Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India, a consequence of the Chinese refusal to accept the McMahon Line that was drawn in 1914 as the historical border between China and British India. Skirmishes and hostilities escalated as the Chinese built up troops and reinforcements in two places along the disputed border. The Chinese aggression was timed to coincide with the Cuban Missile Crisis in which the United States and the Soviet Union were involved, as this meant both powers would not involve themselves with the happenings in southern Asia. Nehru’s Forward Policy and assertion of the McMahon Line as the boundary was criticized and he lost standing for failing to foresee China’s motives. Defense Minister V K Krishna Menon resigned accepting responsibility for India’s lack of military preparedness. The war called for a review of India’s foreign policy – from ‘brotherly’ ties with China, Nehru began to look west.
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 04:14:40 +0000
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