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63-481: The 1967 Indian general election was a landmark election in the history of India. The ruling Congress Party was returned to power with the lowest majority it had had since independence (284 seats). It was defeated in assemblies like Bihar , Uttar Pradesh , Rajasthan , Punjab , West Bengal , Orissa , Madhya Pradesh , Madras , and Kerala . In many states in the north, where it had won narrow victories, its members defected to opposition parties. Consequently,

126-552: A border that, in some places, lay north of the McMahon Line. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, in November 1956, assured India that China had no claims on Indian territory, although official Chinese maps showed 120,000 square kilometres (46,000 sq mi) of territory claimed by India as Chinese. They also allege that Zhou purposefully told Nehru that there were no border issues with India. In 1954, China and India negotiated

189-624: A boundary pillar at the Karakoram pass by about 1892. These efforts appear half-hearted. A map provided by Hung Ta-chen, a senior Chinese official at St. Petersburgh , in 1893 showed the boundary of Xinjiang up to Raskam. In the east, it was similar to the Johnson line, placing Aksai Chin in Kashmir territory. By 1892, the British settled on the policy that their preferred boundary for Kashmir

252-465: A gun, and I'll wave a gun. We'll stand face to face and can each practice our courage. The attacks by China beginning on 20 October 1962 were retaliation for the forward policy. Various border conflicts and "military incidents" between India and China flared up throughout the summer and autumn of 1962. In May, the Indian Air Force was told not to plan for close air support , although it

315-561: A legitimate claim over either of these territories, and thus was not ready to concede them. This adamant stance was perceived in China as Indian opposition to Chinese rule in Tibet. Nehru declined to conduct any negotiations on the boundary until Chinese troops withdrew from Aksai Chin, a position supported by the international community. India produced numerous reports on the negotiations, and translated Chinese reports into English to help inform

378-625: A major setback when, in 1959, Nehru accommodated the Tibetan religious leader at the time, the 14th Dalai Lama , who fled Lhasa after a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule. The Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party , Mao Zedong , was enraged and asked the Xinhua News Agency to produce reports on Indian expansionists operating in Tibet. Border incidents continued through this period. In August 1959,

441-475: A no-confidence motion against the SVD government, but the government survived. The disagreement between Charan Singh and Samyukta Socialist Party became public when SSP decided to launch an agitation of Angrezi Hatao (get rid to English) and during this movement two of its ministers courted arrest. The SSP withdrew from the coalition on 5 January 1968. On 17 February 1968, Charan Singh submitted his resignation to

504-546: A road through Aksai Chin, connecting Xinjiang and Tibet, which ran south of the Johnson Line in many places. Aksai Chin was easily accessible to the Chinese, but access from India, which meant negotiating the Karakoram mountains, was much more difficult. The road came on Chinese maps published in 1958. In 1826, British India gained a common border with Tibet after the British wrested control of Manipur and Assam from

567-568: A self-defence counterattack plan. Negotiations were restarted between the nations, but no progress was made. As a consequence of their non-recognition of the McMahon Line, China's maps showed both the North East Frontier Area (NEFA) and Aksai Chin to be Chinese territory. In 1960, Zhou Enlai unofficially suggested that India drop its claims to Aksai Chin in return for a Chinese withdrawal of claims over NEFA. Adhering to his stated position, Nehru believed that China did not have

630-591: A stable Sino-Indian border. To resolve any doubts about the Indian position, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declared in parliament that India regarded the McMahon Line as its official border. The Chinese expressed no concern at this statement. At the time, Chinese officials issued no condemnation of Nehru's claims or made any opposition to Nehru's open declarations of control over Aksai Chin. In 1956, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai stated that he had no claims over Indian-controlled territory. He later argued that Aksai Chin

693-651: A weakened China along with Tibet in the Simla Convention to settle the borders between Tibet, China and British India. The foreign secretary of the British Indian government, Henry McMahon was the driving force in this conference. After carrying out surveys, the conference drew the McMahon Line . Whilst all three representatives initialed the agreement, Beijing later objected to the proposed boundary and did not ratify it. McMahon decided to bypass

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756-796: The Burmese , following the First Anglo-Burmese War of 1824–1826. In 1847, Major J. Jenkins, agent for the North East Frontier, reported that the Tawang was part of Tibet. In 1872, four monastic officials from Tibet arrived in Tawang and supervised a boundary settlement with Major R. Graham, NEFA official, which included the Tawang Tract as part of Tibet. In 1873, the British drew an "Inner Line" as an administrative line to inhibit their subjects from encroaching into

819-588: The Cuban Missile Crisis , China abandoned all attempts towards a peaceful resolution on 20 October 1962, invading disputed territory along the 3,225-kilometre (2,004 mi) border in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line in the northeastern frontier. Chinese troops pushed Indian forces back in both theatres, capturing all of their claimed territory in the western theatre and the Tawang Tract in

882-497: The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence , by which the two nations agreed to abide in settling their disputes. India presented a frontier map which was accepted by China, and the slogan Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai (Indians and Chinese are brothers) was popularised. Nehru in 1958 had privately told G. Parthasarathi , the Indian envoy to China not to trust the Chinese at all and send all communications directly to him, bypassing

945-557: The Himalayas between Burma and what was then West Pakistan . A number of disputed regions lie along this border. At its western end is the Aksai Chin region, an area the size of Switzerland , that sits between the Chinese autonomous region of Xinjiang and Tibet , which China declared as an autonomous region in 1965. The eastern border, between Burma and Bhutan, comprises the present Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh , formerly

1008-486: The North-East Frontier Agency . Both of these regions were overrun by China in the 1962 conflict. Most combat took place at high elevations. The Aksai Chin region is a desert of salt flats around 5,000 metres (16,000 feet) above sea level, and Arunachal Pradesh is mountainous with a number of peaks exceeding 7,000 metres (23,000 feet). The Chinese Army had possession of one of the highest ridges in

1071-478: The Xinhai Revolution in 1911 which resulted in power shifts in China, the fall of Tzarist Russia in 1917 and the end of World War I in 1918, the British officially used the Johnson Line but had lost the urgency to enforce this boundary. They took no steps to establish outposts or assert control on the ground. According to Neville Maxwell , the British had used as many as 11 different boundary lines in

1134-477: The sovereignty of the widely separated Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh border regions. Aksai Chin, claimed by India to belong to Ladakh and by China to be part of Xinjiang, contains an important road link that connects the Chinese regions of Tibet and Xinjiang. China's construction of this road was one of the triggers of the conflict. The western portion of the Sino-Indian boundary originated in 1834, with

1197-588: The "northern branch" of the Kunlun range with the Kilian and Sanju passes as its southern boundary. Thus the Maharaja's claim was uncontested. After the 1862 Dungan Revolt , which saw the expulsion of the Chinese from Turkestan, the Maharaja of Kashmir constructed a small fort at Shahidulla in 1864. The fort was most likely supplied from Khotan , whose ruler was now independent and on friendly terms with Kashmir. When

1260-399: The 1950s, India began patrolling the region. It found that, at multiple locations, the highest ridges actually fell north of the McMahon Line. Given India's historic position that the original intent of the line was to separate the two nations by the highest mountains in the world, in these locations India extended its forward posts northward to the ridges, regarding this move as compliant with

1323-574: The 1966 party leadership contest. The INC suffered setbacks in seven states, which included Gujarat, where INC won 11 out of 24 seats while Swatantra Party won 12 seats; Madras State , where INC won 3 out of 39 seats and DMK won 25 seats; Orissa, where they won 6 out of 20 seats and Swatantra Party won 8 seats. Rajasthan where they won 10 out of 20 seats Swatantra Party won 8 seats, West Bengal where they won 14 out of 40, Kerala where they won only 1 out of 19. Delhi where they won 1 out of 7 while remaining 6 were won by Bharatiya Jana Sangh . The party

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1386-494: The British, who then installed Gulab Singh as the Maharaja under their suzerainty. British commissioners contacted Chinese officials to negotiate the border, who did not show any interest. The British boundary commissioners fixed the southern end of the boundary at Pangong Lake , but regarded the area north of it till the Karakoram Pass as terra incognita . The Maharaja of Kashmir and his officials were keenly aware of

1449-458: The Chinese (although instructed not to by his superiors) and settle the border bilaterally by negotiating directly with Tibet. According to later Indian claims, this border was intended to run through the highest ridges of the Himalayas, as the areas south of the Himalayas were traditionally Indian. The McMahon Line lay south of the boundary India claims. India's government held the view that

1512-653: The Chinese-claimed frontier in Aksai Chin. Indian leaders believed, based on previous diplomacy, that the Chinese would not react with force. According to the Indian Official History, Indian posts and Chinese posts were separated by a narrow stretch of land. China had been steadily spreading into those lands and India reacted with the forward policy to demonstrate that those lands were not unoccupied. Neville Maxwell traces this confidence to

1575-531: The Congress governments fell and they were replaced by Samyukta Vidhayak Dal (SVD) governments. This was a coalition of legislators against the Congress - made up Jana Sangh, Socialists, Swantantra Party and Congress defectors, beside local parties. The first non-Congress government in Uttar Pradesh was formed on 3 April 1967 by SVD coalition with Charan Singh as its Chief Minister. Bharatiya Jana Sangh

1638-544: The Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon since his communist background clouded his thinking about China. According to John W Garver , Nehru's policy on Tibet was to create a strong Sino-Indian partnership which would be catalysed through agreement and compromise on Tibet. Garver believes that Nehru's previous actions had given him confidence that China would be ready to form an "Asian Axis" with India. This apparent progress in relations suffered

1701-609: The Eastern and Western commands: [...] We are to patrol as far forward as possible from our present positions towards the International Border as recognized by us. This will be done with a view to establishing additional posts located to prevent the Chinese from advancing further and also to dominate any Chinese posts already established in our territory. [...] This has been referred to as the "forward policy". There were eventually 60 such outposts, including 43 along

1764-657: The Himalayas were the ancient boundaries of the Indian subcontinent , and thus should be the modern boundaries of India, while it is the position of the Chinese government that the disputed area in the Himalayas have been geographically and culturally part of Tibet since ancient times. The British-run Government of India initially rejected the Simla Agreement as incompatible with the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 , which stipulated that neither party

1827-524: The Indian Ladakh region for centuries, and that the border (as defined by the Johnson Line) was non-negotiable. According to George N. Patterson , when the Indian government finally produced a report detailing the alleged proof of India's claims to the disputed area, "the quality of the Indian evidence was very poor, including some very dubious sources indeed". In 1956–57, China constructed

1890-784: The Intelligence Bureau chief Mullik. The initial reaction of the Chinese forces was to withdraw when Indian outposts advanced towards them. However, this appeared to encourage the Indian forces to accelerate their forward policy even further. In response, the Central Military Commission adopted a policy of "armed coexistence". In response to Indian outposts encircling Chinese positions, Chinese forces would build more outposts to counter-encircle these Indian positions. This pattern of encirclement and counter-encirclement resulted in an interlocking, chessboard-like deployment of Chinese and Indian forces. Despite

1953-644: The Khotanese ruler was deposed by the Kashgaria strongman Yakub Beg , the Maharaja was forced to abandon his post in 1867. It was then occupied by Yakub Beg's forces until the end of the Dungan Revolt. In the intervening period, W. H. Johnson of Survey of India was commissioned to survey the Aksai Chin region. While in the course of his work, he was "invited" by the Khotanese ruler to visit his capital. After returning, Johnson noted that Khotan's border

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2016-463: The McMahon Line excepting the demarcation of the trading town of Tawang , which the Line placed under British-Indian jurisdiction. Up until World War II , Tibetan officials were allowed to administer Tawang with complete authority. Due to the increased threat of Japanese and Chinese expansion during this period, British Indian troops secured the town as part of the defence of India's eastern border. In

2079-652: The PLA took an Indian prisoner at Longju, which had an ambiguous position in the McMahon Line, and two months later in Aksai Chin, a clash at Kongka Pass led to the death of nine Indian frontier policemen. On 2 October, Soviet first secretary Nikita Khrushchev defended Nehru in a meeting with Mao. This action reinforced China's impression that the Soviet Union, the United States and India all had expansionist designs on China. The PLA went so far as to prepare

2142-779: The Russian Empire was entrenched in Central Asia, and the British were anxious to avoid a common border with the Russians. After creating the Wakhan corridor as the buffer in the northwest of Kashmir, they wanted the Chinese to fill out the "no man's land" between the Karakoram and Kunlun ranges. Under British (and possibly Russian) encouragement, the Chinese occupied the area up to the Yarkand River valley (called Raskam ), including Shahidulla, by 1890. They also erected

2205-405: The boundary dispute. China and India disagreed on the major watershed that defined the boundary in the western sector. The Chinese statements with respect to their border claims often misrepresented the cited sources. The failure of these negotiations was compounded by successful Chinese border agreements with Nepal ( Sino-Nepalese Treaty of Peace and Friendship ) and Burma in the same year. In

2268-638: The conquest of Ladakh by the armies of Raja Gulab Singh (Dogra) under the suzerainty of the Sikh Empire . Following an unsuccessful campaign into Tibet, Gulab Singh and the Tibetans signed a treaty in 1842 agreeing to stick to the "old, established frontiers", which were left unspecified. The British defeat of the Sikhs in 1846 resulted in the transfer of the Jammu and Kashmir region including Ladakh to

2331-489: The eastern theatre. The conflict ended when China unilaterally declared a ceasefire on 20 November 1962, and simultaneously announced its withdrawal to its pre-war position, the effective China–India border (also known as the Line of Actual Control ). Much of the fighting comprised mountain warfare , entailing large-scale combat at altitudes of over 4,000 metres (13,000 feet). Notably, the war took place entirely on land, without

2394-538: The first route at Shahidulla. The Maharaja regarded Shahidulla as his northern outpost, in effect treating the Kunlun mountains as the boundary of his domains. His British suzerains were sceptical of such an extended boundary because Shahidulla was 79 miles (127 km) away from the Karakoram Pass and the intervening area was uninhabited. Nevertheless, the Maharaja was allowed to treat Shahidulla as his outpost for more than 20 years. Chinese Turkestan regarded

2457-508: The governor Bezawada Gopala Reddy and on 25 February 1968, President's rule was imposed on Uttar Pradesh . 1967 Indian general election Indira Gandhi INC Indira Gandhi INC General elections were held in India between 17 and 21 February 1967 to elect 520 of the 523 members of the fourth Lok Sabha , an increase of 15 from the previous session of Lok Sabha. Elections to State Assemblies were also held simultaneously,

2520-475: The international debate. China believed that India was simply securing its claim lines in order to continue its "grand plans in Tibet". India's stance that China withdraw from Aksai Chin caused continual deterioration of the diplomatic situation to the point that internal forces were pressuring Nehru to take a military stance against China. In 1960, based on an agreement between Nehru and Zhou Enlai, officials from India and China held discussions in order to settle

2583-438: The land revenue or at least on uneconomic lands. But Charan Singh did not want to abolish it as he was worried about the resources. Another constituent in the SVD coalition, Praja Socialist Party called for the release of government employees held in preventive detention for their strikes but Charan Singh refused to budge on this matter and instead succeeded in breaking the strike. On 24 July 1967, Chandra Bhanu Gupta moved

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2646-485: The last general election to do so. The incumbent Indian National Congress government retained power, albeit with a significantly reduced majority. Indira Gandhi was resworn in as the Prime Minister on 13 March. By 1967 economic growth in India had slowed – the 1961–1966 Five-Year Plan gave a target of 6% annual growth, but the actual growth rate was 2%. Under Lal Bahadur Shastri , the government's popularity

2709-402: The leapfrogging encirclements by both sides, no hostile fire occurred from either side as troops from both sides were under orders to fire only in defense. On the situation, Mao commented, Nehru wants to move forward and we won't let him. Originally, we tried to guard against this, but now it seems we cannot prevent it. If he wants to advance, we might as well adopt armed coexistence. You wave

2772-569: The original border proposal, although the Simla Convention did not explicitly state this intention. British India was partitioned in 1947 and split into India and Pakistan while the Chinese Civil War resulted in the formation of People's Republic of China in 1949. One of the most basic policies for the new Indian government was that of maintaining cordial relations with China, reviving its ancient friendly ties. India

2835-583: The region, as their claims shifted with the political situation. From 1917 to 1933, the "Postal Atlas of China", published by the Government of China in Peking had shown the boundary in Aksai Chin as per the Johnson line, which runs along the Kunlun Mountains . The "Peking University Atlas", published in 1925, also put the Aksai Chin in India. The use of Johnson line or Macartney-MacDonald line

2898-472: The region. The high altitude and freezing conditions caused logistical and welfare difficulties. In past similar conflicts, such as the Italian Campaign of World War I , harsh conditions have caused more casualties than have enemy actions. The Sino-Indian War was no different, with many troops on both sides succumbing to the freezing cold temperatures. The main cause of the war was a dispute over

2961-487: The summer of 1961, China began patrolling along the McMahon Line. They entered parts of Indian administered regions and much angered the Indians in doing so. The Chinese, however, did not believe they were intruding upon Indian territory. In response the Indians launched a policy of creating outposts behind the Chinese troops so as to cut off their supplies and force their return to China. On 5 December 1961 orders went to

3024-615: The trade routes from Ladakh. Starting from Leh , there were two main routes into Central Asia: one passed through the Karakoram Pass to Shahidulla at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains and went on to Yarkand through the Kilian and Sanju passes; the other went east via the Chang Chenmo Valley , passed the Lingzi Tang Plains in the Aksai Chin region, and followed the course of the Karakash River to join

3087-622: The tribal territory within its control. The British boundary, also called the "Outer Line", was defined to mark the limits of British jurisdiction. But it was not significantly different from the Inner Line in this region. By 1873, it was clear that the British treated the Tawang Tract as part of Tibet. This boundary was confirmed in a 1 June 1912 note from the British General Staff in India. In 1904, in order to skew Tibet away from Russian influence, an Anglo-Tibetan treaty

3150-825: The use of naval or air assets by either side. As the Sino-Soviet split deepened, the Soviet Union made a major effort to support India, especially with the sale of advanced MiG fighter aircraft. Simultaneously, the United States and the United Kingdom refused to sell advanced weaponry to India, further compelling it to turn to the Soviets for military aid. China and India shared a long border, sectioned into three stretches by Nepal , Sikkim (then an Indian protectorate ), and Bhutan , which follows

3213-760: Was a military escalation of the Sino–Indian border dispute . Fighting occurred along India's border with China, in India's North-East Frontier Agency east of Bhutan , and in Aksai Chin west of Nepal . There had been a series of border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibetan uprising , when India granted asylum to the Dalai Lama . Chinese military action grew increasingly aggressive after India rejected proposed Chinese diplomatic settlements throughout 1960–1962, with China resuming previously banned "forward patrols" in Ladakh after 30 April 1962. Amidst

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3276-555: Was already under Chinese jurisdiction and that the McCartney-MacDonald Line was the line China could accept. Zhou later argued that as the boundary was undemarcated and had never been defined by treaty between any Chinese or Indian government, the Indian government could not unilaterally define Aksai Chin's borders. In 1954, Nehru wrote a memo calling for India's borders to be clearly defined and demarcated; in line with previous Indian philosophy, Indian maps showed

3339-530: Was also ousted from power in nine states, while losing governance in Uttar Pradesh one month after the election. Sino-Indian War Chinese sources: Indian sources : Indian sources: Chinese sources: The Sino–Indian War , also known as the China–India War or the Indo–China War , was an armed conflict between China and India that took place from October to November 1962. It

3402-494: Was among the first nations to grant diplomatic recognition to the newly created PRC. In 1950, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) invaded Tibet , which the Chinese governments regarded as still part of China. Later the Chinese extended their influence by building a road in 1956–67 and placing border posts in Aksai Chin. India protested against these moves and decided to look for a diplomatic solution to ensure

3465-506: Was assessed as being a feasible way to counter the unfavourable ratio of Chinese to Indian troops. In June, a skirmish caused the deaths of dozens of Chinese troops. The Indian Intelligence Bureau received information about a Chinese buildup along the border which could be a precursor to war. During June–July 1962, Indian military planners began advocating "probing actions" against the Chinese, and accordingly, moved mountain troops forward to cut off Chinese supply lines. According to Patterson,

3528-447: Was at Brinjga, in the Kunlun mountains, and the entire Karakash Valley was within the territory of Kashmir. The boundary of Kashmir that he drew, stretching from Sanju Pass to the eastern edge of Chang Chenmo Valley along the Kunlun mountains, is referred to as the " Johnson Line " (or "Ardagh-Johnson Line"). After the Chinese reconquered Turkestan in 1878, renaming it Xinjiang, they again reverted to their traditional boundary. By now,

3591-536: Was boosted after India prevailed in the 1965 War with Pakistan , but the war, along with the previous 1962 War with China , put a strain on the economy. Internal divisions were emerging in the Indian National Congress while its two popular leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri had both died. Indira Gandhi had succeeded Shastri as leader, but a rift had emerged between her and Deputy Prime Minister Morarji Desai , who had been her rival in

3654-645: Was defined by the Viceroy Lord Elgin and communicated to London. The British government in due course proposed it to China via its envoy Sir Claude MacDonald in 1899. This boundary, which came to be called the Macartney–MacDonald Line , ceded to China the Aksai Chin plains in the northeast, and the Trans-Karakoram Tract in the north. In return, the British wanted China to cede its 'shadowy suzerainty' on Hunza . Following

3717-461: Was major constituent in this coalition with 98 MLAs, followed by Samyukta Socialist Party having 44 MLAs, Jan Congress having 21 MLAs, Communist Party of India having 14 MLAs, Swatantra Party having 12 MLAs, Praja Socialist Party having 11 MLAs, Republican party having 9 MLAs, Communist Party of India (Marxist) having 1 MLAs and 22 Independent MLAs. One of the constituent of SVD coalition, Samyukta Socialist Party wanted to completely abolish

3780-408: Was neglected by the colonial administrators and by 1947, when India gained independence , the British left the government of India with high ambiguity about the settled border to the North. The Indian government choose to lay claim to Aksai Chin after 1947. On 1 July 1954, India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru definitively stated the Indian position, claiming that Aksai Chin had been part of

3843-450: Was the "Indus watershed", i.e., the water-parting from which waters flow into the Indus river system on one side and into the Tarim basin on the other. In the north, this water-parting was along the Karakoram range. In the east, it was more complicated because the Chip Chap River , Galwan River and the Chang Chenmo River flow into the Indus whereas the Karakash River flows into the Tarim basin. A boundary alignment along this water-parting

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3906-489: Was to negotiate with Tibet "except through the intermediary of the Chinese government". The British and Russians cancelled the 1907 agreement by joint consent in 1921. It was not until the late 1930s that the British started to use the McMahon Line on official maps of the region. China took the position that the Tibetan government should not have been allowed to make such a treaty, rejecting Tibet's claims of independent rule. For its part, Tibet did not object to any section of

3969-426: Was written called the Convention of Lhasa . This treaty alarmed the Chinese which started displaying power by crushing rebellions and erecting flags and boundary stones in the Lohit Valley which were mostly removed by the British by 1910. Such aggression from the Chinese conveyed to the Colonial administration that the Tawang tract could serve as a route of invasion in the future. After the 1911 Revolution , UK sat

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