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Gadkari in firing line
Australia for N-pact |
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Secure the cyber frontier
Haryana rocked by rapes
Missing ‘mom & pop stores’
Tribune Special
Tawang: Saga of Chinese advance and Indian retreart
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Gadkari in firing line
By
making BJP president Nitin Gadkari as their latest target, India Against Corruption activists Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan have tried to dispel the impression gaining in political circles that they were anti-Congress and pro-BJP. After breaking away from Anna Hazare’s team, the two have embarked on a political career and plan to float a political party next month.
First, they picked up a soft target like Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Then Law Minister Salman Khurshid came on their hit list. Instead of taking the accusations in his stride as his party chief has done, Salman Khurshid first over-reacted, and then, as media reports indicate, threatened Kejriwal and dared him to visit Farrukhabad, his Lok Sabha constituency After hitting the Congress where it hurt the most, the Kejriwal-Bhushan duo trained their guns on Gadkari, who was accused of securing 100 acres of land in Maharashtra with help from former Irrigation Minister Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party. Some suspect the attack has been arranged by Gadkari’s detractors in his own party to thwart a second-term for the chief. Notably, senior BJP leaders came out in defence of their party president. They were rather relieved that the charges were not as damning as they had feared. Nevertheless, these do shake a bit the moral high ground the BJP leaders have occupied in their tirade against the UPA. Being on the threshold of entering politics, Arvind Kejriwal and his colleagues are pursuing a dirtier version of politics. They are more interested in making allegations, generously lapped up by the media, than presenting foolproof evidence in support of their charges before an appropriate authority to carry the battle against corruption to its logical end. The common man does not know whom to believe — the accuser or the accused? We must reform the existing institutions — Lokayukta, the judiciary and the police — so that they take suo motu notice of charges made by public figures to bring the guilty to justice.
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Australia for N-pact The most significant development during Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s visit to New Delhi is the decision the two countries have taken to start negotiations for a nuclear safeguards agreement to pave the way for the supply of Australian uranium to India. Last year her Labour Party had agreed to lift the ban imposed on uranium sale to India because of India not being a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
India’s record as a nuclear weapon power has been impeccable, which helped in getting the Nulcear Supplier Group’s (NSG’s) waiver during the negotiations for the operationalisation of the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal in 2008. Interestingly, Australia had supported India’s case at the NSG, though it declined to sell uranium to this country, citing the NPT factor. But the Australian leadership realised later on that Canberra’s stand on uranium sale to India was not guided by pragmatism. Australia, the world’s third largest uranium producer, needed fresh markets for its product because of a sharp decline in the yellow cake’s demand. The uranium demand fell considerably after last year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. The Australian mining industry, greatly worried about the dampening developments, put tremendous pressure on the ruling Labour Party to take the advantage of India’s plan to meet nearly 40 per cent of its energy needs by generating nuclear power. All this led to the Labour Party deciding to scrap the ban on uranium sale to India last year. As a result, there was a 10 per cent rise in the uranium prices in the world market and Australia was a major gainer in the process. India’s efforts for getting Australian uranium supplies will, however, bear fruit after lengthy negotiations to clinch an agreement. Both sides will have to tread the path cautiously, keeping in view their own national interest and the reaction of the public. But an India-Australia nuclear agreement, once it is signed and operationalised, will bring immense advantages to both countries. India will find it easier to meet its growing energy demand by generating as much nuclear power as it can, and Australia’s earnings through uranium exports will go up considerably. |
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Secure the cyber frontier In the increasingly networked world of today, cyber security is a vital national need. It is indeed heartening that the government has taken steps to enrol the private sector as an ally in its battle to defend the nation from cyber attacks — both within and from outside.
The world over, governments and the private sector work together to patrol the increasingly chaotic cyber space, and it’s high time the Government of India did so too. The ‘Recommendations of Joint Working Group on Engagement With Private Sector On Cyber Security’ prepared by the government lays down the parameters on which both sectors can work together. The government is reacting to the misuse of cyberspace facilities that had triggered the mass movement of people from the Northeast who were working or studying in other parts of the country. The government is doing well in setting up various groups and committees that will enable it to move swiftly as and when the need arises. However, fire-fighting is only one aspect of the problem. What is needed is to train personnel and build expertise. The nation needs to develop expertise in dealing with cyber security. Private enterprise will help cut the red tape, and add the necessary verve as well as cutting-edge technology/training needed to combat cyber threats. It has been estimated that India needs over five lakh cyber security professionals, something that is simply not available right now. To fulfil this need, cyber security needs to be immediately introduced in the academic curricula of professional colleges. The government must also take effective steps in training the police and other law enforcement agencies in the various aspects of cyber security. Only then would they be equipped to deal with cyber-crime investigation and cyber forensics. A world of caution is in order here, as in any such endeavour: the government must ensure that the democratic rights of freedom of speech and privacy of the citizens are not violated. India is a leading provider of IT talent to the world; it needs to secure itself even as it continues to embrace cyberspace.
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If you can't be in awe of Mother Nature, there's something wrong with you. —Alex Trebek
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Haryana rocked by rapes
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large number of rape cases in Haryana in the recent past have rocked the state. Since September 9, when a Dalit girl in a village in Hissar district was gang-raped, as many as 21 rape cases have occurred in the state. As stressed editorially in The Tribune (October 10), “Instead of hiding behind some data, the callous bureaucrats should read the fine print behind crimes against women and treat them with sensitivity.” It further emphasises the point (October 11) by pointing out that “you will find the entire discourse of the state and the law and order machinery revolving around seeking justification for such crimes…When such insensitivity exists among those who are supposed to take care of the vulnerable sections of society, it explains why crime against women continues to be on the rise.” It is an open secret that the law-enforcing agencies in Haryana have become dysfunctional and are amenable to all kinds of socio-political pressures and economic allurements. One cannot expect speedy action from this decrepit structure against criminals. This understanding drove the father of a girl, a victim of gang-rape in Hissar district, and a similarly placed girl in Jind district to commit suicide. The quality of the administrative structure in
Haryana, undoubtedly, has contributed to the menace of mass rapes in the state. However, its roots are deeper and the problem needs sociological analysis to grasp the essence of the phenomenon. Haryana is a male-dominated society with strong patriarchal structures. Woman has always been treated as an inferior creature here. The common male perception about women in Haryana’s rural hinterland is very painful. There are many adages denigrating woman popular in the folklore in the state. If a woman tries to argue to stress her individuality she is dubbed as one whose “sir phir gaya
hai” (her mind has gone astray). The male often says, “Jo jiada bolti hai wohi pitati hai (the one who speaks too much gets beaten up). The highly skewed sex ratio in Haryana is an important contributory factor. Haryana’s record in this respect is the worst not only in India but also in the whole world. Even Sub-Saharan African countries often afflicted with civil war, epidemics and famine have a better record than
Haryana. According to the 2011 census, the child sex ratio in Haryana is 830 girls for 1,000 boys. Many a youth has to bear the curse of chronic bachelorhood. In every big village in Haryana there are several hundred young men with no prospect of getting married. To meet this deficit the girls are bought from distant places and sold in
Haryana. They are mere commodities to satiate male lust. Unemployment has further added woes to the youths. The failure of law and order machinery, the pain of bachelorhood and unemployment make a lethal cocktail which has thrown up a large number of lumens in society for whom crime is a major occupation, especially with regard to women. Some khap leaders in Haryana have suggested a novel solution to deal with the problem. Lower the age of marriage and the problem would disappear. The suggestion is bizarre, to say the least. A six-year-old girl was gang-raped in Gurgaon recently. Should the girls aged six be married off? A good number of the girls raped so far are teen-agers. There are instances of married women raped by married men. In Kaithal district, a five-month pregnant woman was raped by two men. In the Hissar rape case, four of the rapists are married. Early marriage involves the risk of early childbirth which causes death of many such mothers, according to the Human Rights Watch. The khap panchayats claim to be the custodians of social morality. On the slightest deviation from the marital norms set by them, they have been organising the social boycott of families and often creating mass frenzy resulting in the cases of honour killings. Why don’t they apply the same standard to deal with rapists in the state? By following their logic, they should have banned the entry of the rapists in their respective villages and approached their families to disown them, failing which such families should have been
ostracised. The argument of lowering the marriageable age on grounds of girls reaching the biological age at 15 or 16 tends to put the blame on the girls for their rape. On reaching the biological age they are supposed to invite the male for fornication which later on is passed off as rape. One Congress leader has lent weight to this argument by suggesting that 90 per cent rapes in the state are consensual. This worldview is in tune with the recent decision of some khap panchayats in western UP prohibiting girls from using mobile phones, wearing jeans, going to market alone, etc. Lowering the marriage age would deprive the girls of higher education and jobs. This is what the khaps want, to make the girls galley slaves in the four walls of their houses. A holistic approach is needed to tackle the problem in its totality. The present development model based on GDP,
FDI, etc, and building some industrial hubs which are fast becoming unmanageable monstrous habitats — Gurgaon provides an apt illustration — leaving the bulk of the population languishing in poverty and squalor has to be given up. The crisis in agriculture has to be tackled to make small landholding so viable as to provide occupation to a family’s youths by diversifying it through setting up cottage and agro-industries and promoting dairy and animal husbandry and other agriculture-related activities. Unfortunately, the state is depriving peasants of their traditional occupation without providing any alternative, especially in the NCR region. Peasants in this region these days can be heard complaining: “Sarkar hamare khood bikwane par tuli huai
hai” (the government is bent upon selling off our land.) The nexus involving land speculators, builders and property dealers on the one hand and our political and bureaucratic elite on the other is too evident now to need elaboration. This would prove ruinous in times to come. The law and order agencies must be whipped to shed off their complacence and corrupt practices. Over and above all this, the problem relates to civil society, which is at present fragile in the state. Haryana needs a powerful social reform movement to confront and overturn its patriarchal structures. This is a challenge to all those who are genuinely worried at the present state of affairs in the state.n
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Missing ‘mom & pop stores’
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experienced shopping in American mega malls, the current Indian furore over FDI in retail has my heart-felt support. Over there, one badly missed the cosy and a little desi stores of home. Memories of the neighbourhood kirana shop — with its all-pervading smells of
rajma, dal and rice — or haggling with the talkative “lalaji” of Gupta General Stores or picking up throwaway-priced, pirated CDs in the cubby-hole “Raju DVD Mall” tugged at the Indian heart. In the sprawling American stores, wandering through the long, silent lines of stacks stuffed with global goods — pushing your cart through multiple, confusing choices and finally queuing up to pay hurriedly to a harried cashier with the swish of a plastic card — always left me with the feeling of human disconnect. Even the most glittering goodies of the world would not make up for the impersonal transaction. In American malls, the only place where one can perhaps expect some interaction is at the grocery stores. The butchery section is always a place for warm exchanges, and one sure way to trigger a conversation is to ask the butcher — usually a plump and jolly fellow — for some fresh fish. Sure enough, you are in for an impassioned discourse on the various types of fish available, their special
flavours, the best cuts and how to cook them! No wonder, I ate a lot of fish and got smart about American ways. Another place to strike a chat is to saunter to the wine section, pick up a good one and then ask for some matching cheese. Many of the stores have tasting sessions, where you can have wine and conversation with a sommelier — pretend to prefer only Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons or whatever name you can drop — even if you can barely distinguish between a red and white wine. Even going to the chain bookstores in America — fast dwindling in numbers — is an equally solitary pursuit. Though the shelves are laden with books, nicely price-tagged and strikingly displayed — if you talk about a particular book, the smart salesperson can only run the computer for answers. Contrast this to my local bookstore owner-cum-sales person, an avid reader himself, whom I can call up anytime and confer about the new Rushdie release or an old Naipaul or Pico
Iyer. He will not only know the contents, style and price, but also make a very reliable recommendation, knowing my reading tastes. The experience at our neighbourhood Dayal Kirana Store is even more intense. The other day, when a housewife came charging in and fuming at the rising rajma prices, the seasoned Dayal Sahib remained a picture of perfect calm. He understands her anguish too well, and most graciously gifted a free “jharoo” along with her monthly order. When the neighbouring Gupta General Store got into ‘reform mode’ and changed the name to Gupte Shoppe, Dayalji too re-named the good old atta-dal place to Dayal Mall, adding cheese and chocolates to the inventory, to establish the French connection! Both happily still remain father-to-son run stores, which know their clientele from generations. And thank God for that. While the sensex and the corporates celebrate the coming of
Wal-Marts or Farmer Joes, let me have my retail therapy of Guptaji and
Dayalji.
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Tribune Special
Razang La, at 18,000 feet across the cold, barren landscape of Ladakh, bears testimony to one of the most decisive battles fought against the Chinese during the winter of 1962. The men have long gone, having laid down their lives facing fearsome odds, but they have left behind a legacy of what is officially recognised as a "rare battle in military history" with the fighting being "hard and bitter". It was here that men of 13 Kumaon had made their last stand against an overwhelming number of attackers. Located in eastern Ladakh near Chushul (see map below), Rezang La is described in official documents as an isolated hill feature which is important because it dominates the lifeline to the Chushul garrison - the road link to Leh. Occupation of this feature would have enabled the Chinese to cutoff the single road to Leh, isolating the garrison and its vital airstrip. Access to the pass and the ridge would have given the Chinese an access to Point 18,300 to its north, a position deemed to be vital for the overall defence of the sector. On October 27, 1962, 114 Brigade under 3 Himalayan Division was moved for the defence of Chushul. As part of the brigade, 13 Kumaon was deployed along the southern flank with one of its companies, commanded by Maj Shaitan Singh, later decorated posthumously with the Param Vir Chakra, at Rezang La. Building up for battle The defences were occupied only in the last week of October, with the winter making defence preparations very difficult. According to official excerpts of the battle, a general shortage of snow clothing made matters worse and digging in the hard rocky surface proved difficult, forcing troops to pile up stones above the ground level to prepare firing positions. None of the equipment of the Indian Army was designed for operating in sub-zero temperatures. The Chinese had concentrated a regiment and a battalion of troops, along with heavy mortars and artillery support in that sector. Barring incidents of mortar firing and patrolling, the real Chinese attack in the Chushul sector commenced on November 18, with simultaneous attacks being launched in the east. Prior to this, the commander of 114 Brigade, Brig (later General) TN Raina and the battalion's commanding officer, Lt Col HS Dhingra, had visited C-company several times to assess its preparedness and it was made clear to Maj Shaitan Singh, who came from a long line of soldiers from the erstwhile Jodhpur State Forces, that in the event of an attack, the company had to hold on its own to the very end if need be. In their coordinated attack on Chushul defences, the Ministry of Defence's official history of the war states, the Chinese appeared to have used nearly two battalions against Rezang La, which due to the unavailability of resources, was without artillery support and had to depend only on light 3-inch mortars held by 13 Kumaon's C-Company holding the fort. In view of its isolated position, the company had to be prepared to face the enemy from all directions. At about 4 am on November 18, forward observation posts detected Chinese troops approaching. Soon, a battalion sized force attacked Rezang La from two directions, approaching the Indian positions through nullahs that led up to hill tops. The defending troops opened-up with every thing they had and the Chinese became sitting ducks in the nullahs to mortar fire and hand grenades. After about half an hour of intense firing, the first Chinese attack disintegrated. The Chinese thereafter opened up artillery fire, which though not effective, broke telephone lines and damaged the company's radio, leaving the company totally on its own and unable to call up reinforcements. REPEATED cHINESE
ATTACKs After the first attack failed, the Chinese resorted to a simultaneous attack from the rear and the southern flank under the cover of an intense artillery barrage and what then followed was intense combat at close quarters. Wave after wave of Chinese troops came in and many were cut down by the Kumanonis. As the Chinese regrouped and attacked again, they brought down concentrated medium machine gun fire on Indian positions, wiping out two platoons. The Chinese then brought up a 57 mm recoilless gun and targetted trenches one by one. As he picked up new positions and re-deployed the remnants of his company, Maj Shaitan Singh and two others were hit by MMG fire. Enemy fire swept the area, decimating Indian troops. All this while a handful of those still remaining continued to man their mortars and light machine guns until they were finally overwhelmed. According to one historical excerpt, as a jawan was disabling his mortar, he was hit in the arm by Chinese soldiers about 20 yards away from his command post. He went into the command post with a rifle and shot the first Chinese to enter. This was followed by several grenades being hurled into the post, ending the last of the resistance at Rezang La. legacy of valour The battle's official history states that of the 112 men deployed at Rezang La, only 14 survived. When the list of Prisoners of War came through, there were four names from 13 Kumaon on it. Months later, when teams went to the area to collect the mortal remains of the war dead, they discovered that the bodies were still in the trenches or lying ahead of them, with multiple bullet or bayonet wounds. The Chinese casualties are officially estimated at 500, while other sources put it between 500 and 1000. In 1963, when the Red Cross teams went to recover the bodies, they saw the place littered with field dressings and blood marks indicating heavy casualties suffered by the enemy. The Chinese have acknowledged that they suffered their highest casualties during the 1962 war at Rezang La. Major Shaitan Singh's citation for the nation's highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy states: "On 18 November 1962, the Chinese forces subjected the company position to heavy artillery, mortar and small arms fire and attacked it in overwhelming strength in several successive waves. Against heavy odds, our troops beat back successive waves of enemy attack. During the action, Major Shaitan Singh dominated the scene of operations and moved at great personal risk from one platoon post to another, sustaining the morale of his hard-pressed platoon posts. While doing so he was seriously wounded but continued to encourage and lead his men who, following his brave example, fought gallantly and inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. For every man lost to us, the enemy lost four or five. When Major Shaitan Singh fell, disabled by wounds in his arms and abdomen, his men tried to evacuate him but they came under heavy machine-gun fire. Major Shaitan Singh then ordered his men to leave him to his fate in order to save their lives." The battle for Rezang La lasted about five hours. Besides the Param Vir Chakra, eight Vir Chakra and four Sena Medals were awarded for gallantry. Shortly after the war C-Company, 13 Kumaon was designated by a special gazette notification as the Rezang La Company. Today Rezang La lies on the Lice of Actual Control and is recognized as No Man's Land. At the site where the battalion headquarters of 13 Kumaon was located during the conflict, stands a memorial dedicated to the gallant soldiers. |
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Tawang: Saga of Chinese advance and Indian retreart Flaws in India's 'forward policy' of locating troops north of the disputed MacMahon line, were exposed in Kameng frontier division of Arunachal Pradesh. Within days of the attack, the well-prepared Chinese had overrun the Indian defences. Thousands of Indian Army soldiers and officers were killed, captured or wounded while some even shame-facedly took refuge in neighbouring Bhutan. Interspersed in this mayhem, some units showed flashes of military, bravado and tenacity. However, over all, the largely unhindered Chinese advance and India's retreat remains one of the saddest chapters in military history. The Indian leadership took a stand "Chinese must be evicted by force". The Eastern Army Command sent a message asking Indian troops "to engage Chinese patrols that came within the range of their weapons". Brig John Dalvi, Brigade Commander of the 7th Infantry Brigade, asked for logistics to support his troops. Eastern Army Commander, Lt Gen LP Sen, shared his opinion that eviction of the Chinese was not possible with existing logistics. Brig Dalvi wanted logistics in place. The top echelons were keen to press ahead. The differences are aptly summed up by Maj Gen DK Palit in his well-documented book 'War in the Himalaya'. Palit, then the Director Military Operations, says "Senior commanders were ignorant of both the terrain and logistical difficulties." Bringing in supplies and ammunition was not easy. Only a jeep track existed only till Bomdilla located some 160 kms north of Tezpur in Assam, further north the journey was on foot and the mountains tracks were unsuitable for load carrying soldiers. Indian troops had made a strong beginning on October 10 when the Chinese attacked Tseng Jong just north of the river Namkha Chu. A single company, about 120 men, from 9 Punjab, retaliated. Some 77 Chinese died (as reported by the Peking press at that time). The Punjabi's won three Mahavir Chakra (MVC) and two Vir Chakra (VrC). The Company Commander, Maj MS Chaudhary, died of wounds, his sepoy Kanshi Ram overpowered a Chinese with bare hands and snatched his automatic rifle. Despite a good start, the Punjabis were asked to withdraw from Tseng Jong. The Chinese stepped in and started probing around Tsangle and 'Bridge 5'. indians under fire At the first light of October 20 Chinese opened up a full attack all along the Namka Chu. Within the first few minutes Indian telephone lines broke down, leaving the units to act on their own. The Chinese had used the gaps in the Indian defences and occupied positions at the rear of the Indians, sandwiching them. Resultantly, an entire company of 2 Rajput was wiped out while the 1/9 Gorkha Rifles (GR) had been overrun within the first few hours. The enemy guns now turned towards "Tsangle" and "Bridge 5", while the Indian radio frequencies had been jammed so the gunners did not even get a signal from their superiors to fire. The Rajputs suffered the worst. A total 282 of were killed. The 'History of the conflict with China' produced some thirty years after the war by the Historical Division of the Ministry of Defence, says "The unit fought a heroic battle, literally to the last round". All officers excepting Maj Gurdial Singh were killed. He led another charge, was taken prisoner of war (POW), and later awarded an MVC. The Gorkhas, like the Rajputs, were also attacked from the rear. By then the 7 Infantry Brigade lost links with its units. Brig John Dalvi was taken prisoner on the afternoon of October 21 -- and entire Brigade had disintegrated. Elsewhere, the Chinese had attacked the Assam Rifles-held post at Khinzemane. A five-hour battle ensued following which Col Rattan Singh and 24 others were taken prisoner. Some miles away Second Lieutenant GVP Rao of Artillery was fighting a losing battle, Chinese had attacked in huge numbers. Rao and his men fought on till the last bullet. He died and got an MVC. On the night of October 20, Maj Gen Niranjan Prasad, GOC, 4 Infantry Division, told his superiors that the Indian frontline had been wiped out. The next morning the Division's tactical headquarters was asked to withdraw from Zimithang and locate South, at Tawang. The Chinese broke up their force into two. One headed to Tawang and the other to get the Lumpo ridge vacated. Zimithang was taken over on the night of October 22-23 and Lumpo was under Chinese control by 9 am on October 23. Elsewhere the Chinese targeted Bum-La before they entered Tawang, here the 1 Sikh covered itself in glory. Subedar Joginder Singh held back the invaders. With no ammunition left, Joginder Singh was asked to withdraw. He and his men responded by advancing with only the bayonets fixed to their guns. The Subedar was wounded and taken POW. He died in enemy custody. "Subedar Joginder Singh and his men mowed down the first wave, and the enemy was temporarily halted by the heavy losses it suffered. Within a few minutes, a second wave came over and was dealt with similarly", read the citation for the Param Vir Chakra - the highest war-time gallantry honour -- awarded to him. Another company of 1 Sikh led by Capt Haripal Kaushak stood firm. They "proved to be an iron curtain for the enemy", says the 'History of the Conflict with China'. The Chinese had moved into Tawang unopposed on October 23. Lt Gen Sen, ordered withdrawal of troops to Bomdila located further south. Lt Gen BM Kaul was appointed the new IV Corps Commander on October 29 while Maj Gen AS Pathania replaced Maj Gen Niranjan Prasad as the GOC 4 Infantry Division. Yet again the Chinese sneaked in south of the Se La pass and cut lines of communication of the 4 Infantry Division. Indian field units reporting rapid road construction and Chinese movement were admonished for 'exaggerated' reports about enemy movements. On November 17 the second attack commenced at Nuranang. The 4 Garhwal Rifles held positions with tenacity and won two MVC -- Lt Col BM Bhattacharjea and Rifleman Jaswant Singh, besides seven VrC. The 62 briagde had been withdrawn to south of the Se La. By now the Indians were virtually being pushed down the Himalayas with the Chinese in hot pursuit. the lost advantage On November 23, the Chinese announced a ceasefire. The Rajputs, headed by Lt Col Bhramanand Avasthy, did not know of this and were retreating with 300 odd men when they came under attack. More than a hundred Chinese were killed and the entire lot of the Rajputs was wiped out at battle now known as the 'Last stand at Lha-Gyala Gompa'. Baring a lone shepherd not a single man survived to cite the valour of Lt Col Avasthi and his men, hence no battle honours. His daughter Neeharika Naidu, who was only nine years in 1962, says, "A shrine has come up at the place where people come and worship and pay homage to my father". Maj Gen DK Palit writes in his book, War in the High Himalay "The civilians set the pace, but the Army went along, beguiled by the conviction that the Chinese would not call our bluff." Such was the confusion that 2 Sikh Light Infantry was withdrawing when it met with the frontline defences of 1 Sikh who did not even known about the withdrawal. With communication lines snapped, 4 Sikh LI and a section of 7 Mahar MMG unit were left to fend for themselves. When attacked these two small units were butchered. Some of them managed to save themselves by escaping into Bhutan. It was decided to pull out of Bomdila. There was little the brigade commander could do. There were no mines and just a handful of troops to defend Bomdila, which the Chinese took over on November 18. Elsewhere the 62 Brigade commander Brig Hoshiar Singh was ambushed and killed on November 27. Such was the condition that on December 1 -- a good fortnight after the withdrawal -- some 2,291 ranks were still missing. Tomorrow:
Military balance For earlier parts of the series on the 50th anniversary of the Sino-Indian war log on to
www.tribuneindia.com |
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The 1962 war saw some decisive battles with troops displaying
tremendous courage and some even going beyond the call of duty. Rezang
La in the west and Tawang in the east are two prominent places where
military history is etched in blood 
Flaws
By this time, Maj Shaitan Singh had to take a decisive step. He had three choices - Hold on to his position and fight on, break out towards the rest of the battalion though at the risk of additional casualties or to surrender and save the lives of his remaining men. The officer also knew that if he abandoned the fight, the Chinese would get easy access to Point 18,300, making it impossible for the rest of the battalion to secure the area and thereby having an adverse impact on the brigade's defensive plan. With his company strength down to just that of a platoon, he resolved to stay put in an effort to buy more time for the brigade. The decision, according to available information, was taken knowing that he would be able to hold on only for a limited period and would eventually be overrun.
The debacle in the Kameng sector aptly illustrates the confusion and lack of planning. It was in August 1962 when the Chinese crossed the MacMahon line to counter the Indian moves and occupied the Thag La ridge north of Tawang. The lone Indian post at Dhola, created as part of the Forward Policy, was attacked. It signalled the Chinese were not averse to crossing the MacMahon Line -- a thing which they had not done since the 1914 Simla conference with the British and Tibetans. 
Strangely the Indian side wanted to be north of Bomdila. Strategically, the Indians could have just dug themselves in at Bomdila located at 10,000 feet and stopped the enemy. South of Bomdilla was a steep downward gradient that led to the Assam plains. The Chinese had no means to transport its guns across Se La and their supply lines were getting affected. By now the Chinese were not pursuing the retreating Indian Army, the indication was they were regrouping, a tactic they used in the 1952 Korean war. Indians had taken defensive positions at Se La (14,600 feet), Dirang and Bomdila. At Dirang the 7 cavalry was holding fort with its Stuart tanks which deterred the Chinese. The task was to stop the advance on the Bomdilla-Dirang road. The 7 cavalry provided covering fire to the troops to extricate themselves. On November 18 Bomdila had fallen without much of fightback.