China's India War: Collision Course on the Roof of the World 1st Edition

This is a very recent book based on new research on the 1962war with China. As newly released sources are used the conclusions are different from books published some 50 years ago.

The book examines Sino Indian relations which have been labeled the New Great Game by the author.In the opening section, the author examines Sino- Indian border dispute in considerable detail. He has exposed China’s claims over Arunachal Pradesh ( NEFA) as spurious and fraudulent. The author finds nothing wrong in LAC which demarcates India’s border with neighboring Tibet. Actually mountain crests or watersheds form a natural barrier and has always been accepted as a yardstick to demarcate borders between nations. McMahon line has followed this principle. Nehru did nothing wrong by establishing military outposts to patrol and assert India’s claim over the region. Concurrently, Lintner has refuted views of Maxwell and Lamb holding India accountable for the Chinese aggression in 1962. In his opinion, China long ago had secretly hatched plans to invade India and it was not an instant reaction to Nehru Forward Policy as claimed by Maxwell and Lamb. Author has supported the arguments by drawing information from Brig John Dalvi’s book The Himalayan Blunder’.PLA had excellent terrain and topographical information of the sectors where it planned to advance. It could come only through HUMINT(Human intelligence) because those days there were no spy satellites and Beijing lacked aerial surveillance capability. Spies disguised as porters were sent to gather intelligence. Beijing carefully calibrated the time for launching the invasion with the outbreak of Cuban missile crisis which diverted the attention of superpowers. So there was a plan, a design behind Chinese moves.Further, the author discusses a wide range of other issues which has affected Sino- Indian relations. Other major sources of irritation are China’s construction of dams in Tibet in the upper reaches of the river (Brahmaputra) which mostly flows through India and her covert support of rebel groups from India’s northeast. Beijing and New Delhi in recent times have vied for power and influence in East Asia, Indian Ocean region. Latter is unwilling to accept Beijing’s tutelage and become a junior partner in the OBOR project. China has also wooed India’s neighbors ( Nepal, Bhutan) trying to wean them away from New Delhi’s influence. My perception is as China grows stronger it will become more assertive and aggressive. Already nations in the neighbourhood are feeling the heat. But I don’t see the prospect of an armed confrontation with India. We live in a globalized world and mutual interdependence on matters like trade rules out such a possibility. However, Beijing will continue to harass and torment India. Recent Doklam standoff ( in the trijunction formed by Indo-Bhutan-Tibet borders) was an exercise in this direction. China and India are destined to remain as rivals; like oil and water which will never mix.The book, on the whole, is overwhelmingly supportive of Indian cause and offers a refreshingly different perspective on Sino-Indian relations.

By 1959, "The Great Leap Forward" had failed miserably in China, leading to wide spread dissent. Furthermore, Dalai Lama the spiritual leader of Tibet, had fled to India. Mao's position was tenuous in the party. His answer, stir up local jingoism by finding a common enemy in India while teaching us a lesson with a quick and decisive battle. This War was thus, a well thought out strategy (planned as early as 1959) and not just a temperamental reaction to Nehru's forward policy of 1962.The Chinese propaganda machine had even employed Neville Maxwell to write a book which obviously lionised Chinese aggression as necessary evil in the wake of Nehu's forward policy. This book is a rebuttal to Maxwell's assertions, which had squarely blamed India for the War. Linter counters Maxwell with facts from now declassified documents in China which indicate to a much more sinister plot to humiliate India. The Chinese aggression began in October of 1962, with the Chinese Army swiftly progressing into Indian territory in a premeditated fashion. Indian resistance quickly collapsed in the wake of overwhelming Chinese heavy artillery firepower. As Chinese reached their objectives, they stopped further ingress, although, India had withdrawn preemptively to the plains. Within a month of this aggression they withdrew from the captured regions and declared unilateral ceasefire, before any US assistance could reach India. Mao had also informed the USSR of an imminent WAR with India and requested their communist brethren not to interfere, which the Russians obliged. A War was thus trust upon on India while China emerged as the leader of the third world and Nehru succumbed to his fate in ignominy.China achieved on its objective. The loss eroded India's position as an Independent sovereign state. Nehru died within a year of the war. The success of this campaign allowed Mao to squash all dissent within China, while he reemerged as the preeminent leader of the CCP. He reign supreme for another 15 years until his death in 1976.It is a brilliantly written book which also gives you a peek into the obscure world of Chinese politics and a view on to Chinese Leaderships (especially Mao) during those periods.Bertil Lintner deserves an award by the Govt of India for publishing India's side of the story.

This book is a logical extension from a long series of works on the exhaustive subject of Sino- Indian border conflict. Despite this fact , the author has provided a new prism to examine & analyze various controversial events from refreshingly new angles. While in my opinion his barely concealable bias against Maxwellian theory of India being the aggressor, partially passes the rigorous test of geopolitical, historical, cultural and traditional rubric, one just can not deny his sincerity in presenting the deductions and inferences from the plethora of facts distilled from volumes of documents & official records.Written in a simple & easily discernible style, it is a must read for all researchers, experts & reporters dealing with geopolitics of Asia in particular, and the world at large.

Neville Maxwell wrote a book - not a treatise- on the subject of 1962 war that India lost hands down. His thesis was that if India negotiated a settlement on the border issue with China and neatly avoided acting on the Forward Policy (incidentally started after May 1961) the war would not have occurred. I have disagreed with the content of the book in its entirety. The annexation of Tibet and military preparation including the surreptitious occupation of Aksai Chin had nothing to do with the forward policy. The present day situation in SCS and arrogance of asserting historical rights - when has building islands on shoals become a historical right? - including dishonouring ICJ ruling and promised negotiations while displaying naval might and preventing freedom of navigation, is worth pondering. This book summarises all events with China’s neighbours with the exception of Pakistan. Thumbs up.

Lintner has written a superbly researched book. This is probably the Untold Story, truthfully told. How and why the events unfolded has been told from convincing and cogent arguments. Neville Maxwell and other pro China interests have vitiated the truth too long. The ever active CIA was watching the situation all the way. It's unfortunate they did not brief Nehru who was living in a completely reality distorted world.Lintner has woven a wonderful tapestry which is gripping.

There are two problems:Major one: How can a book on war be without maps? I feel cheated & would like return the book. (Amazon should withdraw this book from their list!)Minor problem: Font size is so small that I have read it with a magnifying glass!