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The liberation of Bangladesh

A summary

Jayant Prasad, Dec 3, 2021: The Times of India

Bangladesh was the product of the ineptitude of Pakistan’s military establishment, the selfishness of West Pakistan’s political elite, the liberation struggle of the people of Bangladesh, and India’s brilliant military campaign.

India’s leadership was clear that the thrust of the effort in the liberation of Bangladesh had to be internal, even if the Indian army delivered the final coup de grace. The chief martial law administrator and commander of the eastern command of the Pakistan army, Lt Gen AAK ‘Tiger’ Niazi, surrendered to the joint command of the Indian army and the Mukti Bahini on the afternoon of December 16, 1971, almost to the hour on the 13th day of the War of Liberation of Bangladesh.

A summary of the events

1

Sushant Singh, June 18, 2020: The Indian Express

The last military skirmish between India and China took place at Nathu La in September 1967. Before it escalated to artillery guns and threats of fighter jets, there was a scuffle between the soldiers of the two armies.

As reports of deaths of Indian soldiers in a violent faceoff on Ladakh border emerged, many took solace from the fact that no rounds were fired during the physical clash with the Chinese soldiers.

While this certainly makes these deaths more brutal than being shot and killed, it also gives hope that an escalation to kinetic means – rifles, howitzers, rockets, missiles and fighter jets – can be avoided between the two nuclear neighbours.

The history of the conflict between the two sides, however, splashes some cold water on such hopes.

The last military skirmish between India and China took place at Nathu La in September 1967. Before the skirmish escalated to artillery guns and threats of fighter jets, there was a scuffle between the soldiers of the two armies.

The clash eventually left 88 Indian soldiers dead. More than 300 Chinese soldiers were killed.

In the weeks and months ahead of the clash, the Indian side had decided to fence the border with three layers of barbed wire. Work started on August 20, 1967.

On August 23, about 75 Chinese in battle dress, carrying rifles fitted with bayonets, advanced slowly towards Nathu La in an extended line, and stopped at the border. The Political Commissar — identifiable by a red patch on his cap, and the only one who could speak some English — read out slogans from a red book, which the rest of the party shouted after him.

The Indian troops were “standing to”, watching and waiting. After about an hour, the Chinese withdrew. But they returned later, and continued their protests.

On September 5, as the barbed wire fence was being upgraded to a concertina coil, the Political Commissar had an argument with the Commanding Officer of the local infantry battalion, Lt Colonel Rai Singh. Thereafter, work stopped.

Work was, however, resumed on September 7. This provoked about 100 Chinese soldiers to rush up, and a scuffle ensued. Beaten down by the Jats, the Chinese resorted to stone-pelting, and the Indians responded in kind.

2

Sonal Rana , September 7, 2018: The Stateman

The Nathu La and Cho La clashes are of extreme importance for India because they were a redemptive comeback for the Indian Army after the defeat in 1962 India-China War

India and China have had a series of fluctuating relations. Besides the full-fledged 1962 war, there exist several minuscule and also serious combats. The Nathu La and Cho La clashes of 1967 between India and China also constitute this bloody array of violence and bloodshed.

The Nathu La and Cho La clashes began as a result of China’s claim over India’s protectorate state-Sikkim. The Nathu La clashes commenced on 11 September 1967, when several attacks from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were recorded on the Indian posts at Nathu La. However, the attacks stopped on 15 September 1967, after Chinese casualties skyrocketed. The Cho La military duel, on the other hand, got under way, and persisted till the end of 1 October 1967. India distinguished itself as the victor in both the instances. But what was the reason, or rather the multiple reasons, behind these two military events?

A major contributor to this inter-country battle is speculated to be the apparent dispute between India and China regarding the disputed border land in Chumbi valley. In addition to the disputed border, India and China have always been at loggerheads with one another, and the reasons are endless.

The Nathu La and Cho La clashes are of extreme importance, for India at least, because the war was a redemptive comeback for the Indian Army after the shockingly shameful defeat in the 1962 India-China War. The Indian Army, after the war of 1962, made every possible attempt to establish a dominant military presence in the world, so much so that it is said to have grown by a staggering 200 per cent following the despicable conquest.

Surabhi Sanghi, a peer tutor of history at Ashoka University, elaborates on the same: “The Nathu La and Cho La battles were India’s so-called comeback into the world-avenue of military consciousness. As much as I’m tempted to add that both the sides fought just as fiercely, I’m also aware that India stood unbeatable. China was embarrassed enough to disclose heavily tampered figures of their casualties, as well as monetary loss while India held on to candour.”

The battle of Nathu La is now making a reappearance into the present psyche through cinema. Paltan, an adaptive film by JP Dutta encircling the two 1967 Indo-Chinese wars, is all set to release in theatres countrywide on 7 September 2018. The star cast includes Jackie Shroff, Arjun Rampal, Sonu Sood and Sonal Chauhan among others.

Lessons from the 1967 conflict

Sutirtho Patranobis, July 1, 2017: HIndustan Times

The current India-China standoff along the frontier in Sikkim is similar to one in 1967 that led to four days of bloody clashes between the soldiers of the two countries.

The bloody clashes between Indian and Chinese troops nearly 50 years ago at Nathu La in Sikkim, the scene of an ongoing standoff, are a grim reminder of how the unsettled border of the two countries has triggered hostilities.

The fighting that erupted on September 11, 1967 was preceded by months of accusations from both sides about incursions and territorial intrusions.

The language used by China at that time to warn Indian authorities was strikingly similar to the aggressive narrative emanating from Beijing five decades later. It even included references to the 1962 border war, which was fresh in the minds of military commanders on both sides at the time.

“The Chinese Government must tell the Indian Government in all seriousness: You must draw lessons from your past experience, stop provocative activities along the China-Sikkim border and cease all your calumnies against China, otherwise you are bound to eat the bitter fruits of your own making,” said a note handed over by China’s foreign ministry to the Indian embassy in Beijing on April 11, 1967.

On September 10, a day before hostilities broke out, the foreign ministry issued another terse warning , calling Indian leaders “reactionaries” who were “component part of the worldwide anti-Chinese chorus currently struck up by US imperialism and Soviet Revisionism in league with the reactionaries of various countries”.

The message, sent to New Delhi through the Indian embassy, said: “The Chinese Government sternly warns the Indian Government: the Chinese Border Defence Troops are closely watching the development of the situation along the China-Sikkim boundary. Should the Indian troops continue to make provocative intrusions, the Indian Government must be held responsible for all the grave consequences.”

The external affairs ministry countered the Chinese allegations with its own version of events, saying China’s troops had violated agreements.

“The Chinese Government is well aware that the Sikkim-Tibet border is a well-defined international border and has been recognised as such by China. By launching an armed attack the Chinese Government is seeking to build up tension at a point on the border which has never been in dispute,” the external affairs ministry told Beijing in a note.

The initial clashes in 1967 lasted four days. While the 1962 war was a debacle for New Delhi, the Indian Army proved more than a match for the Chinese five years later. According to an account of the clashes written by Maj Gen Sheru Thapliyal, who was posted in Sikkim at the time, the Indian side lost more than 70 soldiers while the Chinese casualties were more than 400.

“We gave them a bloody nose,” a former Indian diplomat told Hindustan Times.

A second round of clashes erupted at Cho La on October 1, 1967, leading to more casualties. But Indian troops stood their ground and forced the Chinese soldiers to withdraw at Cho La.

Since then, the border in the Sikkim sector has remained free of violence. In 1967, Sikkim was a protectorate of India and it joined the Indian union as a state in 1975. China recognised the frontier in the Sikkim sector in 2003.

The last bullet fired along the China-India frontier was in the Arunachal Pradesh sector in October 1975 , when border patrols from the two sides accidentally came face-to-face amid dense fog at Tuhung La and an Indian soldier was killed. This is often cited by Indian politicians and diplomats to drive home how calm the boundary with China is, say, compared to that with Pakistan.