1962: The War That Wasn't

by Shiv Kunal Verma

1993 and 1994, two important books were published: the first, True History of China Border War, written in the old Chinese script, was authored by Professor Yan Xun of the National Defence University of Beijing; and the second, China’s War of Self Defensive Counter Attack with India, also written in Chinese, was published by the Academy of Military Sciences. Apart from giving some details of the operations from the Chinese perspective, both these books reveal the extent to which the Chinese had information about Indian deployment, their strengths and weaknesses, and an almost uncanny psychoanalysis of Indian commanders. Almost all Indian accounts, including those of Brigadiers John Dalvi and Monty Palit, mention this fact. Tashi Sonam, the Tawang-based IB agent during the 1962 clash, was categorical: ‘The Chinese knew everything, Indian deployment almost to the section and platoon level was known to them. Sometimes they knew what the Indians were going to do even before the decision was taken.’