Shockingly, the then government, led by Jawaharlal Nehru, was warned of a possible attack by China, almost two and a half years before the first wave of Chinese troops overran the border in 1962, but Nehru and the then defence minister Krishna Menon, did not feel the need to take professional military advice, and the result was that India suffered its worst-ever defeat during the Indo-China conflict in 1962.

The Army had flagged about a possible attack from the Chinese. Jawaharlal Nehru, however, viewed the army with suspicion. He did not, ever, pay attention to his army’s submissions and did little to strengthen or bolster the army. There have also been reports that Nehru and his defence minister VK Krishna Menon had then insidiously conspired to discredit General Thimayya (Chief of Army Staff from 1957 to 1961, who ahead of the 1962 Indo-China War), setting in motion a chain of events that contributed to India’s defeat in the Himalayas.

In fact, even before 1959, Nehru wanted to disband the Army. A biography of Major General AA “Jick” Rudra of the Indian Army by Major General DK “Monty” Palit says that shortly after independence, Nehru had said how India does not need a ‘defence plan’. “Our policy is ahimsa (non-violence). We foresee no military threats. Scrap the army! The police are good enough to meet our security needs,” Nehru had reportedly said.

Retired Air Marshal pins the blame of defeat on Nehru

Last year, a video of Air Marshal Denzil Keelor (Retd.), a war-hero of the 1965 India-Pakistan war, had gone viral on various social media platforms, where the retired Air Marshal shared his personal account on how the lapses committed by Jawaharlal Nehru resulted in India facing an embarrassing defeat at the hands of China in the 1962 India-China war.

In the video, Air Marshal Denzil Keelor (Retd.) could be heard speaking about the 1962 India-China war, saying that India lost the war to China because of Jawaharlal Nehru’s failure. He said how Nehru relied on diplomacy and ignored the armed forces, because of which India lost. Keelor had stated that at the time of the war, Indian Army’s soldiers did not even have proper woollen clothing to face the weather and the difficult terrain of the Himalayas.

It is pertinent to note that after presiding over such a colossal blunder, Nehru attempted to gloss over his mistakes and downplay the loss of territory. Dismissing the lands occupied by China as inhospitable and uninhabited, Nehru reportedly said, “In those barren land and mountains of Ladakh and Arunachal, not even a blade of grass grows.”

Jawaharlal Nehru's words pinch our hearts, says Kiren Rijiju

Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru's words in Parliament on the Chinese aggression in Ladakh and Arunachal had really pinched our hearts, and had demoralised our forces and the local people. "Participating in a debate in Parliament over the Chinese aggression, the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had said:

"In those barren land and mountains of Ladakh and Arunachal, not even a blade of grass grows, why Parliament is wasting time," said Rijiju, adding that it is a reality that China took over the entire western part of Arunachal Pradesh, which was a part of Assam in 1962. The Chinese had reached Assam in the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh, and the then prime minister Nehru had stated, "'...my heart goes out to people of Assam', which amounted to surrendering of our territories to the Chinese," said Rijiju.

The Chinese went back on their own and declared a unilateral ceasefire, claimed Rijiju, adding: "This is a part of the history and we must come to term that if anything wrong has happened in history, we should accept it."

He said that he was not creating anything from his own figment of imagination, and he was only stating the facts, adding that the Congress, too, should not be intolerant about accepting something which is a fact. Arunachal people are the most patriotic. They remained solidly behind the nation despite so many Indian soldiers had lost their lives during the 1962 war. We continue to do that and I am proud of that," said Rijiju, a Member of Parliament from the Arunachal West constituency.

"If a former prime minister has made some kind of unsavoury, demoralising remarks, what is wrong in accepting that? My point is that history can't be changed. At same time, factual, historical and all kind of incidents must be brought before the nation. Our next generation has the right to know about the correct historical stories and incidents," he said.

"First Prime Minister of India Pandit Nehru, for whom I have the greatest respect, had caused a great heartburn to the people of Arunachal Pradesh," he added. 

References:

opindia.com - OpIndia Staff
dnaindia.com - ANI