1962: The War That Wasn't

by Shiv Kunal Verma

DHOLA INCIDENT In early September 1962, a Chinese patrol came down the Thagla Ridge to Bridge 3 at the Nam Ka Chu and asked the men at the Assam Rifles post at Dhola to withdraw. According to the Chinese, the post was on their side of the border. The post commander held his ground, and the Chinese retreated. On 8 September, at 8 in the morning, a second patrol of sixty Chinese soldiers, armed with AK-47 rifles, came down the same route. Thinking that the Chinese had returned with intent, the JCO panicked and radioed Lumpu and Lum-la that a force of 600 soldiers was closing in on his position at Dhola. The JCO’s exaggerated reaction set in motion events that would eventually culminate in a full-scale attack by the Chinese. A force of 600 men roughly translates into a full-strength infantry battalion, and therefore it was not surprising that alarm bells started ringing, not just in Tezpur, but in Lucknow and New Delhi as well. The JCO’s word was not questioned or further verified and even though the Chinese remained on the north bank of the Nam Ka Chu, the damage had been done. 7 Brigade ordered the post to hold its position, while additional Assam Rifles troops from Lumpu and Lum-la were told to move immediately to Dhola.