India could have won 1962 war?
People of India right after its independence take pride in defeating Pakistan in two battles in 1965 and 1971 though it lost some part of Kashmir due to the foolishness of the political powers. However none can forget the shocking defeat of India in 1962 when China backstabbed and attacked the country right after PM Nehru coined the word Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai and even gifted UN membership and also Tibet to the most aggressive neighbour.
However shocking facts are coming out that India could have easily won the war against China but due to the lack of strong political leadership, it ended up losing the war putting a blot on brave Indian army. Indian soldiers fought not only aggressive enemy but also sub zero battle conditions, shortage of supplies of ammunition,artillery,food and lack of strategy.
The war which lasted for just one month resulted in heavy casualties with 1383 deaths on Indian side and 722 on Chinese side. 1,047 Indians and 1,697 Chinese were wounded, and nearly 4,000 Indian soldiers were captured. Most of the casualties were due to the difficult conditions at 14000ft rather than due to the enemy.
War resulted due to the fear complex, insecurity and various other ideas. British marked McMahon line as India China data-border and China never accepted it fully. India and China fought over Aksai Chin region in the Karakoram mountains and relations deteriorated when Nehru offered asylum to Dalai Lama, Tibet Guru which angered Mao Zedong, Chairman of China.
After series of data-border incidents in 1962, heavy firing started on 10 Oct and continued till 19 Nov. China won the war decisively taking over Aksai Chin. Reasons for the loss could be many but everyone knew how the then Home Minister Krishna Menon took the sides of the China though General Thorat and Sardar Vallabhai Patel repeatedly warned him about the imminent clear and present danger.
Army remained under prepared by all means be it strategy, weapons and logistics. Shockingly Indian Air Force which was far more superior to China was never deployed and this destroyed the morale of the forces and the people. For all those peace advocates war with China came as a shocking reminder.
Top serving officers during that time claimed had India used combat jets, it could have easily won the war. Air Vice Marshal AK Tewary some time back said "In the final analysis, the use of combat air power would have turned the tables on the Chinese and the 1962 war could well have been a debacle for China," He added "costly and catastrophic omission" of not using the combat air arm of the IAF was a result of several factors that "impinged on the decision-making process at the highest level", including the "influence" on Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, of Prof PMS Blackett, the then Advisor for Defence who was a Britisher, as well as the counsel of then US Ambassador John K Galbraith who "over-estimated the capability of the Chinese air force in the absence of proper air defence infrastructure in India".He revealed "since IB did not have the first hand knowledge (on Chinese air force capabilities), they sought help from 'our good friends (CIA)"
China and India used to share peaceful relations but the war changed the mindset completely. India's 1962 loss against China is not due to the incompetence of our soldiers but due to the incompetence of the political leaders. Chinese army is not invincible and it got a thrashing by Vietnam. Had India won Tibet would have been liberated and China wouldn't have become such a force.