1962: The War That Wasn't

by Shiv Kunal Verma

The most significant factor that needs to be understood is that the Simla Convention of 1914 merely formalized what had in effect been the traditional boundary between the territories of India and Tibet (other than Tawang). It was a recognized and long-established boundary that was not ‘created’, but only confirmed by treaty. If anything, Captain Morshead had provided the scientific data while Captain Bailey had provided the cultural and demographic information to support the validity of the established frontier. The local authorities and inhabitants of the area as well as the governments of the two sides had for centuries recognized the validity of this boundary alignment, and even the People’s Government of China, after they established their control in Tibet, proceeded on the basis that this was indeed the boundary. The same watershed boundary represented by the McMahon Line of 1914 also held good for Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, Kumaon, Garhwal and Kinnaur extending up to the Sutlej River. The frontier beyond the Sutlej was also reasonably well established at the time: Lahaul, Ladakh and the Aksai Chin extending up to the Karakorams.