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{{pp-semi|small=yes}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict= Sino-Indian War
|partof= [[Cold War]]
|casus= '''Chinese''': Indian military incursions north of the [[McMahon Line]] (Chinese view)<ref>[[Zhou Enlai]]: "But if your (Indian) troops come up north of the McMahon line, and come even further into Chinese territory, how is it possible for us to refrain from retaliating?" "[http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/70143.pdf China]", USA Department of State.</ref>'''Indian''': Chinese invasion of Indian territory in the [[North Eastern Frontier Agency]],<ref name="Calvin"/> provoked by China's desire to punish India for assisting Tibet, especially by providing asylum to the Dalai Lama.
|image= [[Image:India China Locator.png|250px]]
|caption=The Sino-Indian War occurred between [[India]] and [[People's Republic of China|China]].
|date= 20 October<ref name="webster_chronological_dates">Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English language: Chronology of Major Dates in History, page 1686. Dilithium Press Ltd., 1989</ref> - 21 November 1962
|place= South Xinjiang ([[Aksai Chin]]) and [[Arunachal Pradesh]] (South Tibet, [[North-East Frontier Agency]])
|result= Chinese military victory.
|territory = No significant territorial change compared with prior to the war.<Br> China controls [[Tibet]] excluding [[Tawang]] and area south of [[McMahon Line]] ([[South Tibet]]) and retains [[Aksai Chin]] area (''de facto''); India controls [[North-East Frontier Agency]] ([[South Tibet]], [[Arunachal]]) area (''de facto'').
|combatant1= <center>{{flagicon|India|size=65px}}<br>[[India]]
|combatant2= <center>{{flagicon|People's Republic of China|size=65px}}<br>[[People's Republic of China|China]]
|commander1= {{flagicon|India}} [[Brij Mohan Kaul]]<br>{{flagicon|India}} [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]<br>{{flagicon|India}} [[Pran Nath Thapar]]
|commander2= {{flagicon|China}} [[Zhang Guohua]]<ref name="Garver"/><br>{{flagicon|China}} [[Mao Zedong]]<br>{{flagicon|China}} [[Liu Bocheng]]<br>{{flagicon|China}} [[Lin Biao]]<br>{{flagicon|China}} [[Zhou Enlai]]
|strength1= 10,000-12,000
|strength2= 80,000<ref>H.A.S.C. by United States. Congress. House Committee on Armed Services — 1999, p. 62</ref><ref>''War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Tibet'' by Eric S. Margolis, p. 234.</ref>
|casualties1= 1,383 Killed<ref name="Strategic Studies Institute">The US Army [http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB52.pdf] says Indian wounded were 1,047 and attributes it to Indian Defence Ministry's 1965 report, but this report also included a lower estimate of killed.</ref><br>1,047 Wounded <ref name="Strategic Studies Institute"/><br>1,696 Missing<ref name="Strategic Studies Institute"/><br>3,968 Captured<ref name="Strategic Studies Institute"/>
|casualties2= 722 Killed.<ref name="Strategic Studies Institute"/><br> 1,697 Wounded</small><ref name="Strategic Studies Institute"/><ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=PsoDGLNmU30C&pg=PA188&lpg=PA188&dq=sino+indian+war+wounded&source=web&ots=goq1pcQc50&sig=FOQDKdciOn6VAd3fOCInHKhOu3U&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result</ref>
|notes=
}}
{{ChineseText}}
{{IndicText}}
The '''Sino-Indian War''' ({{lang-hi|भारत-चीन युद्ध ''Bhārat-Chīn Yuddh''}}), also known as the '''Sino-Indian Border Conflict''' ({{zh|s={{linktext|中|印|边|境|战|争}}|t={{linktext|中|印|邊|境|戰|爭}}|p=Zhōng-Yìn Biānjìng Zhànzhēng}}), was a war between [[People's Republic of China|China]] and [[India]] that occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. There had been a series of violent border incidents after the [[1959 Tibetan uprising]], when India had granted asylum to the [[Dalai Lama]]. India initiated a [[Forward Policy]] in which it placed outposts along the border, including several north of the [[McMahon Line]], the eastern portion of a [[Line of Actual Control]] proclaimed by Chinese Premier [[Zhou Enlai]] in 1959.

The Chinese launched simultaneous offensives in [[Ladakh]] and across the McMahon Line on 20 October 1962, coinciding with the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]]. Chinese troops advanced over Indian forces in both theatres, capturing [[Rezang la]] in [[Chushul]] in the western theatre, as well as [[Tawang]] in the eastern theatre. The war ended when the Chinese declared a [[ceasefire]] on 20 November 1962, and simultaneously announced its withdrawal from the disputed area.

The Sino-Indian War is notable for the [[mountain warfare|harsh conditions]] under which much of the fighting took place, entailling large-scale combat at altitudes of over 4,250 metres (14,000 feet).<ref name="Calvin">{{cite web|last =Calvin|first =James Barnard|authorlink =|coauthors =|year = 1984 |month =April |url = http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/CJB.htm |title =The China-India Border War |publisher = Marine Corps Command and Staff College |accessdate =2006-06-14 }}</ref> This presented enormous logistics problems for both sides. The Sino-Indian War was also noted for the non-deployment of the navy or air force by either the Chinese and Indian sides.

==Location==
[[China]] and [[India]] share a long border, sectioned into three stretches by [[Nepal]] and [[Bhutan]], which follows the [[Himalayas|Himalayan]] mountains 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 the [[North East Frontier Agency]]). Both of these regions were overrun by China in the 1962 conflict.

Most combat took place at high altitudes. The [[Aksai Chin]] region is a vast desert of salt flats around 5,000 metres above sea level, and [[Arunachal Pradesh]] is extremely mountainous with a number of peaks exceeding 7000 metres. According to military doctrine, to be successful an attacker generally requires a 3:1 ratio of numerical superiority over the defender for foot soldiers (due to higher requirement of oxygen); in [[mountain warfare]] this ratio should be considerably higher as the terrain favours defence.{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} Despite the disadvantage of this, China was able to take advantage of the terrain: the Chinese Army had possession of the highest ridges in the regions. The high altitude and freezing conditions also cause logistical and welfare difficulties; in past similar conflicts (such as the [[Italian Campaign (World War I)|Italian Campaign]] of [[World War I]]) more casualties have been caused by the harsh conditions than enemy action. The Sino-Indian War was no different, with many troops on both sides dying in the freezing cold.<ref name="Chushul"/>

==Background==
[[Image:British Indian Empire 1909 Imperial Gazetteer of India.jpg|thumb|right|Pre-Simla British map published in 1909 shows the so called "Outer Line" as India's northern boundary.]]
{{Main|Sino-Indian relations|Origins of the Sino-Indian border dispute}}
The cause of the war was a dispute over the [[sovereignty]] of the widely-separated [[Aksai Chin]] and [[Arunachal Pradesh]] border regions. Aksai Chin, claimed by India to belong to [[Kashmir]] 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. [[Arunachal Pradesh]] (called [[South Tibet]] by China) is also claimed by both nations — although it is roughly the size of [[Austria]], it was sparsely inhabited in the days of the war (by numerous local tribes) due to its mountainous terrain. {{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} However, it has a population of over one million today.

===The Johnson Line===
The western portion of the Sino-Indian boundary originated in 1834, with the Sikh Confederation's conquest of [[Ladakh]]. In 1842, the [[Sikh Confederacy]], which at the time ruled over much of [[Northern India]] (including the frontier regions of [[Jammu]] and [[Kashmir]]), signed a treaty which guaranteed the integrity of its existing borders with its neighbours.<ref name="Rubin">The Sino-Indian Border Disputes, by Alfred P. Rubin, The International and Comparative Law Quarterly, Vol. 9, No. 1. (Jan., 1960), pp. 96–125.</ref> The [[Second Anglo-Sikh War|British defeat of the Sikhs in 1846]] resulted in transfer of sovereignty over Ladakh, part of the Jammu and Kashmir region, to the British, and British commissioners contacted Chinese officials to negotiate the border. The boundaries at its two extremities, [[Pangong Lake]] and [[Karakoram Pass]], were well defined, but the Aksai Chin area in between lay undefined.<ref name="Neville Maxwell, Economic and Political Weekly">{{cite journal| last = Maxwell| first = Neville| title = Settlements and Disputes: China’s Approach to Territorial Issues| journal = Economic and Political Weekly| volume = 41| issue = 36| pages = 3876|date=9 September 2006| url = http://www.epw.org.in/articles/2006/09/10532.pdf| accessdate = 2006-09-29|format=PDF |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20061001145204/http://www.epw.org.in/articles/2006/09/10532.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2006-10-01}}</ref>

In 1865, British surveyor {{nowrap|W H Johnson}} came to an agreement with the [[Maharaja]] of Kashmir, in whose service he was employed,<ref>{{cite web| title = Obituary: Mr. W. H. Johnson| work = Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography, New Monthly Series, Vol. 5, No. 5 (May, 1883) , pp. 291-293| url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0266-626X%28188305%292%3A5%3A5%3C291%3AOMWHJ%3E2.0.CO%3B2-T&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage| accessdate = 2007-05-31}}</ref> on a proposed "Johnson Line" which placed Aksai Chin in Kashmir.<ref name="Guruswamy">Mohan Guruswamy, Mohan, "[http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/jun/20spec.htm The Great India-China Game]", Rediff, 23 June 2003.</ref> China rejected the arrangement, and the British government also harboured doubts, so it decided to take up the issue in an attempt to reach a settlement. However in 1892, before the issue had been resolved, China erected boundary markers at [[Karakoram Pass]] on the ancient caravan route between Xinjiang and Ladakh (which were disputed by the British Indian government).<ref name = "Calvin"/><ref name="Guruswamy"/>

Throughout most of the 19th century [[Great Britain]] and the expanding [[Russian Empire]] were [[Great Game|jockeying for influence]] in [[Central Asia]], and Britain decided to hand over Aksai Chin to Chinese administration as a buffer against Russian invasion. The newly-created border was known as the MacCartney-MacDonald Line, and both British-controlled India and China now began to show Aksai Chin as Chinese.<ref name="Guruswamy"/> In 1911 the [[Xinhai Revolution]] resulted in power shifts in China, and by 1918 (in the wake of the Russian [[Bolshevik Revolution]]) the British no longer saw merit in China's continuing possession of the region. On British maps, the border was redrawn as the original Johnson Line,<ref name="Calvin"/> but despite this reversion, the new border was left unmanned and undemarcated.<ref name="Calvin"/><ref name="Guruswamy"/> According to [[Neville Maxwell]], the British had used as many as 11 different boundary lines in the region, as their claims shifted with the political situation.<ref name = "The Un-Negotiated Dispute">[http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0305-7410%28197007%2F09%290%3A43%3C47%3ACAITUD%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Z China and India]: The Un-Negotiated Dispute. Neville Maxwell. The China Quarterly, No. 43. (Jul. – Sep., 1970), pp. 47–80.</ref> By the time of [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]] in 1947, the Johnson Line had become India's official western boundary.<ref name="Calvin"/> On 1 July 1954, Indian Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] definitively stated the Indian position.<ref name="Noorani">A.G. Noorani, "[http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2018/stories/20030912002104800.htm Fact of History]", ''India's National Magazine'', 30 September 2003.</ref> He claimed that Aksai Chin had been part of the Indian Ladakh region for centuries, and that the border (as defined by the Johnson Line) was non-negotiable.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell">Maxwell, Neville, ''[http://www.centurychina.com/plaboard/uploads/1962war.htm India's China War]'', New York, Pantheon, 1970.</ref> 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".<ref name="Patterson">George W. Patterson, Peking Versus Delhi, Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., 1963</ref><ref>Patterson, p. 275.</ref>

In 1956-57,<ref name="globalsecurity.org">http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/CJB.htm</ref> China constructed a road through Aksai Chin, connecting [[Xinjiang]] and [[Tibet]], which ran south of the Johnson Line in many places.<ref name="Calvin"/><ref name="Guruswamy"/><ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> Aksai Chin was easily accessible to the Chinese, but access from India, which meant negotiating the [[Karakoram|Karakoram mountains]], was more problematic.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> Consequently India did not even learn of the existence of the road until 1957 — finally confirmed when the road was shown in Chinese maps published the following year.<ref name="Garver">[http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~johnston/garver.pdf China's Decision for War with India in 1962 by John W. Garver]</ref>

===The McMahon Line===
{{Main|McMahon Line|Simla Accord (1913)}}
In 1826, British India and China gained a common border after the British wrested control of [[Manipur]] and [[Assam]] from the [[Konbaung dynasty|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. Thus, in the last half of the 19th century, 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, stating that the "present boundary (demarcated) is south of Tawang, running westwards along the foothills from near Ugalguri to the southern Bhutanese border."<ref name="Calvin"/> A 1908 map of The Province of Eastern Bengal and Assam prepared for the Foreign Department of the Government of India, showed the international boundary from Bhutan continuing to the Baroi River, following the Himalayas foothill alignment.<ref name="Calvin"/> In 1913, representatives of Great Britain, China and Tibet attended a conference in [[Shimla|Simla]] regarding the borders between Tibet, China and British India. Whilst all three representatives initialed the agreement, [[Beijing]] later objected to the proposed boundary between the regions of Outer Tibet and Inner Tibet, and did not ratify it. The details of the Indo-Tibetan boundary was not revealed to China at the time.<ref name="Calvin"/> The foreign secretary of the British Indian government, [[Henry McMahon]], who had drawn up the proposal, decided to bypass the Chinese (although instructed not to by his superiors) and settle the border bilaterally by negotiating directly with Tibet.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> 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.<ref name="VKSingh">[http://www.india-seminar.com/2006/562/562-vk-singh.htm VK Singh] resolving the boundary dispute</ref> However, the McMahon Line lay south of the boundary India claims.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> India's government held the view that the Himalayas were the ancient boundaries of the [[Indian subcontinent]], and thus should be the modern boundaries of India,<ref name="VKSingh"/> 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.<ref>The Sino-Indian Boundary Dispute, Foreign Language Press of the People's Republic of China, 1961</ref>

Months after the [[Simla Accord (1913)|Simla agreement]], China set up boundary markers south of the McMahon Line. T. O'Callaghan, an official in the Eastern Sector of the [[North-East Frontier Agency|North East Frontier]], relocated all these markers to a location slightly south of the McMahon Line, and then visited Rima to confirm with Tibetan officials that there was no Chinese influence in the area.<ref name="Calvin"/> 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 was to negotiate with Tibet "except through the intermediary of the Chinese government".<ref name = "Gupta">GUPTA, Karunakar, "[http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0305-7410%28197107%2F09%290%3A47%3C521%3ATML1TB%3E2.0.CO%3B2-I The McMahon Line 1911–45]: The British Legacy", ''The China Quarterly'', No. 47. (Jul. – Sep., 1971), pp. 521–45.</ref> The British and Russians cancelled the 1907 agreement by joint consent in 1921.<ref name="Free">Free Tibet Campaign, "[http://www.freetibet.org/info/facts/fact17.html Tibet Facts No.17: British Relations with Tibet]".</ref> 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 a such a treaty, rejecting Tibet's claims of independent rule.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> For its part, Tibet did not object to any section of the McMahon Line excepting the demarcation of the trading town of [[Tawang]], which the Line placed under British-Indian jurisdiction.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> However, 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.<ref name="Calvin"/>

In the 1950s, India began actively patrolling the region. It found that, at multiple locations, the highest ridges actually fell north of the McMahon Line.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> 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 the original border proposal, although the Simla Convention did not explicitly state this intention.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/>

==Events leading up to war==
{{Main|Events leading to the Sino-Indian War}}

===Tibet and the border dispute===
The 1940s saw huge change in South Asia with the [[Partition of India]] in 1947 (resulting in the establishment of the two new states of [[India]] and [[Pakistan]]), and the establishment of the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) 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 was among the first nations to grant diplomatic recognition to the newly-created PRC.<ref name="officialhistory"/>

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, [[Premier of the People's Republic of China|Chinese Premier]] [[Zhou Enlai]] stated that he had no claims over Indian controlled territory.<ref name="officialhistory"/> He later argued that Aksai Chin was already under Chinese jurisdiction, implying that there was therefore no contradiction with his earlier statement, since China did not regard the region as "Indian controlled", and that since the British hand-over, China had regarded the McCartney MacDonald Line as the relevant border.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> 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.<ref name = "The Un-Negotiated Dispute"/>

In 1950, the Chinese [[People's Liberation Army]] [[Invasion of Tibet (1950–1951)|invaded Tibet]] in an effort to reclaim it and later the Chinese extended their influence by building a road in 1956-67 <ref name="globalsecurity.org"/> and placing border posts in Aksai Chin.<ref name="Guruswamy"/> India found out after the road was completed, protested against these moves and decided to look for a diplomatic solution to ensure a stable Sino-Indian border.<ref name="Guruswamy"/><ref name="officialhistory"/> 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 <sup>(what year was this? cannot see link to the reference)</sup>.<ref name="officialhistory"/> The Chinese expressed no concern at this statement,<ref name="Guruswamy"/><ref name="officialhistory"/> and in 1951 and 1952, the government of China asserted that there were no frontier issues to be taken up with India.<ref name="officialhistory"/>
[[Image:IndianSurvey1950map.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The Indian government's 1950 maps show the Sino-Indian border using undemarcated lines and the [[Aksai Chin]] frontier is labelled "boundary undefined".]]
[[Image:IndianSurvey1954map.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The Indian government's 1954 maps unilaterally delimited the Sino-Indian border in the [[Aksai Chin]], and Sino-Indian borders are no longer indicated as undemarcated.]]

In 1954, Prime Minister Nehru wrote a memo calling for India's borders to be clearly defined and demarcated;<ref name="Noorani"/> in line with previous Indian philosophy, Indian maps showed a border that, in some places, lay north of the McMahon Line.<ref name ="Noorani2">A.G. Noorani, "[http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2017/stories/20030829001604900.htm Perseverance in peace process]", ''India's National Magazine'', 29 August 2003.</ref> Chinese Premier [[Zhou Enlai]], in November 1956, again repeated Chinese assurances that the People's Republic had no claims on Indian territory, although official Chinese maps showed {{convert|120000|km2|sqmi}} of territory claimed by India as Chinese.<ref name="officialhistory"/> [[CIA]] documents created at the time revealed that Nehru had ignored [[Burma|Burmese]] premier [[Ba Swe]] when he warned Nehru to be cautious when dealing with Zhou.<ref name="CIA:ToI">[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chinese_deception_Nehrus_naivete_led_to_62_war/articleshow/2155130.cms Chinese deception and Nehru's naivete led to 62 War] ''Times of India''</ref> They also allege that Zhou purposefully told Nehru that there were no border issues with India.<ref name="CIA:ToI"/>

In 1954, China and India negotiated 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 Indian government under Prime Minister Nehru promoted the slogan ''Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai'' (Indians and Chinese are brothers). According to [[Georgia Institute of Technology|Georgia Tech]] political analyst {{nowrap|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.<ref name="Garver"/>

This apparent progress in relations suffered a major setback when, in 1959, Nehru accommodated the Tibetan religious leader at the time, the [[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama|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.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

Border incidents continued through this period. In August 1959, the [[People's Liberation Army]] took an Indian prisoner at Longju, which had an ambiguous position in the McMahon Line,<ref name="Calvin"/><ref name="Guruswamy"/><ref name="Noorani2"/><ref name="Noorani3"/> and two months later in Aksai Chin, a clash led to the death of nine Indian frontier policemen.<ref name="Guruswamy"/>

On 2 October, Soviet Premier [[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 People's Liberation Army went so far as to prepare a self-defence counterattack plan.<ref name="Garver"/> Negotiations were restarted between the nations, but no progress was made.<ref name="Noorani"/><ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,894328-8,00.html The Shade of the Big Banyan]" ''Time'', Dec. 14, 1959.</ref>

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.<ref name="VKSingh"/> 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 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.<ref name="Garver"/> Nehru declined to conduct any negotiations on the boundary until Chinese troops withdrew from Aksai Chin, a position supported by the international community.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> India produced numerous reports on the negotiations, and translated Chinese reports into English to help inform the international debate. China believed that India was simply securing its claim lines in order to continue its "grand plans in Tibet".<ref name="Garver"/> 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.

===The Forward Policy===
At the beginning of 1961, Nehru appointed General [[B.M. Kaul|{{nowrap|B. M. Kaul}}]] as army Chief of General Staff,<ref name="Maxwell">{{cite web
|last =Maxwell
|first =Neville
|authorlink =
|coauthors =
|year = 2001 |month =April |url =http://www.stratmag.com/issue2Dec-1/kargil.htm |title =Henderson Brooks Report: An Introduction |publisher =stratmag.com |accessdate =2006-08-18 }}</ref> but he refused to increase military spending and prepare for a possible war.<ref name="Maxwell"/> According to James Barnard Calvin of the U.S. Navy, in 1959, India started sending Indian troops and border patrols into disputed areas.  This program created both skirmishes and deteriorating relations between India and China.<ref name="Calvin"/> The aim of this policy was to create outposts behind advancing Chinese troops to interdict their supplies, forcing them north of the disputed line.<ref name="Calvin"/><ref name="officialhistory"/><ref name="Noorani3">India's Forward Policy, Review author[<span class="ltr">s</span>]: A. G. Noorani, The China Quarterly © 1970 School of Oriental and African Studies</ref><ref name="Clark">Gregory Clark, "[http://www.gregoryclark.net/redif.html Remembering a War] — The 1962 India-China Conflict", [http://in.rediff.com/news/2002/oct/24chin.htm Rediff]</ref> There were eventually 60 such outposts, including 43 north of the McMahon Line, to which India claimed sovereignty.<ref name="Calvin"/><ref name="Noorani"/> China viewed this as further confirmation of Indian expansionist plans directed towards Tibet. According to the Indian official history, implementation of the Forward Policy was intended to provide evidence of Indian occupation in the previously unoccupied region through which Chinese troops had been patrolling. Kaul was confident, through contact with Indian Intelligence and CIA information, that China would not react with force.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> Indeed, at first the PLA simply withdrew, but eventually Chinese forces began to counter-encircle the Indian positions which clearly encroached into the north of McMahon Line. This led to a tit-for-tat Indian reaction, with each force attempting to outmanoeuver the other. However, despite the escalating nature of the dispute, the two forces withheld from engaging each other directly.<ref name="Garver"/>

Chinese attention was diverted for a time by the military activity of the Nationalists on [[Taiwan]], but on 23 June the U.S. assured China that a Nationalist invasion would not be permitted.<ref name="Chang">Chang, Jung and Jon Halliday, ''Mao: The Unknown Story'' (2006), pp. 568, 579.</ref> China's heavy artillery facing Taiwan could then be moved to Tibet.<ref name="Athale">"[http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/nov/07china.htm Military Nonsense]"</ref> It took China six to eight months to gather the resources needed for the war, according to Anil Athale, author of the official Indian history.<ref name="Athale"/> The Chinese sent a large quantity of non-military supplies to Tibet through the Indian port of Calcutta.<ref name="Athale"/>

===Early incidents===
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 was assessed as being a feasible way to counter the unfavourable ratio of Chinese to Indian troops.<ref name="Sukumaran">[http://www.ciaonet.org/olj/sa/sa_jul03/sa_jul03sur01.html#txt1 CIA Journals] ''1962 India-China War and Kargil 1999: Restrictions on Air Power'' by R. Sukumaran</ref> 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.<ref name="Sukumaran"/>

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, the Indian motives were threefold:
#Test Chinese resolve and intentions regarding India.
#Test whether India would enjoy Soviet backing in the event of a Sino-Indian war.
#Create sympathy for India within the U.S., with whom relations had deteriorated after the Indian annexation of [[Goa]].<ref name="Patterson"/><ref>Patterson, p. 279</ref>

On 10 July 1962, 350 Chinese troops surrounded an Indian occupied post in Chushul (north of the McMahon Line) but withdrew after a heated argument via loudspeaker.<ref name="Chushul">[http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE3-3/lns.html Battle of Chushul]</ref> On 22 July, the Forward Policy was extended to allow Indian troops to push back Chinese troops already established in disputed territory.<ref name ="officialhistory">History of the Conflict with China, 1962. P.B. Sinha, A.A. Athale, with S.N. Prasad, chief editor, History Division, Ministry of Defence, Govt. of India, 1992.</ref> Whereas Indian troops were previously ordered to fire only in self-defence, all post commanders were now given discretion to open fire upon Chinese forces if threatened.<ref name ="officialhistory"/> In August, the Chinese military improved its combat readiness along the McMahon Line and began stockpiling ammunition, weapons and gasoline.<ref name="Calvin"/>

==Confrontation at Thag La==
In June 1962, Indian forces established an outpost at [[Dhola]], on the southern slopes of the [[Thag La Ridge]].<ref name="Calvin"/> Dhola lay north of the McMahon Line but south of the ridges along which India interpreted the McMahon Line to run.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/><ref name="Noorani2"/><ref name ="Joshi">JOSHI Manoj, "Line of Defence", ''Times of India'', 21 October 2000</ref> In August, China issued diplomatic protests and began occupying positions at the top of Thag La.<ref name="Calvin"/><ref name="Garver"/> On 8 September, a 60-strong PLA unit descended to the south side of the ridge and occupied positions that dominated one of the Indian posts at Dhola. Fire was not exchanged, but Nehru said to the media that the Indian Army had instructions to "free our territory" and the troops had been given discretion to use force.<ref name="Garver"/> On 11 September, it was decided that "all forward posts and patrols were given permission to fire on any armed Chinese who entered Indian territory".<ref name ="officialhistory"/>

However, the operation to occupy Thag La was flawed in that Nehru's directives were unclear and it got underway very slowly because of this.<ref name="Calvin"/><ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> In addition to this, each man had to carry {{convert|35|kg|lb}} over the long trek and this severely slowed down the reaction.<ref name="NamkaChu"/> By the time the Indian battalion reached the point of conflict, Chinese units controlled both banks of the Namka Chu River.<ref name="Calvin"/> On 20 September, Chinese troops threw grenades at Indian troops and a firefight developed, triggering a long series of skirmishes for the rest of September.<ref name="Calvin"/><ref name="NamkaChu"/>

Some Indian troops, including Brigadier Dalvi who commanded the forces at Thag La, were also concerned that the territory they were fighting for was not strictly territory that "we should have been convinced was ours".<ref name="Noorani3"/> According to [[Neville Maxwell]], even members of the Indian defence ministry were categorically concerned with the validity of the fighting in Thag La.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/>

On 3 October, a week before the start of the war, [[Zhou Enlai]] visited Nehru in [[New Delhi]] promising there would be no war.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}} On 4 October, Kaul assigned some troops to secure regions south of the Thag La Ridge.<ref name="Calvin"/> Kaul decided to first secure Yumtso La, a strategically important position, before re-entering the lost Dhola post.<ref name="officialhistory"/> Kaul had then realised that the attack would be desperate and the Indian government tried to stop an escalation into all-out war. Indian troops marching to Thag La had suffered in the previously unexperienced conditions; two [[Gurkha]] soldiers died of [[pulmonary edema]].<ref name="NamkaChu"/>

On 10 October, an Indian [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]]i patrol of 50 troops to Yumtso La were met by an emplaced Chinese position of some 1,000 soldiers.<ref name="Calvin"/> Indian troops were in no position for battle, as Yumtso La was 16,000 feet (4,900 m) above sea level and Kaul did not plan on having artillery support for the troops.<ref name="NamkaChu"/> The Chinese troops opened fire on the Indians under their belief that they were north of the McMahon Line. The Indians were surrounded by Chinese positions which used [[mortar fire]]. However, they managed to hold off the first Chinese assault, inflicting heavy casualties.<ref name="Calvin"/>

At this point, the Indian troops were in a position to push the Chinese back with mortar and machine gun fire. However, Brigadier Dalvi opted not to fire, as it would mean decimating the [[Rajput]] who were still in the area of the Chinese regrouping. They helplessly watched the Chinese ready themselves for a second assault.<ref name="NamkaChu"/> In the second Chinese assault, the Indians began their retreat, realising the situation was hopeless. The Indian patrol suffered 25 casualties, and the Chinese 33. The Chinese troops held their fire as the Indians retreated, and then buried the Indian dead with military honours, as witnessed by the retreating soldiers. This was the first occurrence of heavy fighting in the war.<ref name="Calvin" />

This attack had grave implications for India and Nehru tried to solve the issue, but by 18 October, it was clear that the Chinese were preparing for an attack on India, with massive troop buildups on the border.<ref name="Calvin"/> A long line of mules and porters had also been observed supporting the buildup and reinforcement of positions south of the Thag La Ridge.<ref name="NamkaChu"/>

==Chinese and Indian preparations==
===Motives===
Two of the major factors leading up to China's eventual conflicts with Indian troops were India's stance on the disputed borders and perceived Indian subversion in [[Tibet]]. There was "a perceived need to punish and end perceived Indian efforts to undermine Chinese control of Tibet, Indian efforts which were perceived as having the objective of restoring the pre-1949 status quo ante of Tibet". The other was "a perceived need to punish and end perceived Indian aggression against Chinese territory along the border". John W. Garver argues that the first perception was incorrect based on the state of the Indian military and polity in the 1960s. It was, nevertheless a major reason for China's going to war. However, he argues the Chinese perception of Indian aggression to be "substantially accurate".<ref name="Garver"/>

The CIA's recently declassified [[POLO]] documents reveal contemporary American analysis of Chinese motives during the war. According to this document, "Chinese apparently were motivated to attack by one primary consideration — their determination to retain the ground on which PLA forces stood in 1962 and to punish the Indians for trying to take that ground".<ref name="CIA:ToI"/>

Another factor which might have affected China's decision for war with India was a perceived need to stop a Soviet-U.S.-India encirclement and isolation of China.<ref name="Garver"/> India's relations with the [[Soviet Union]] and United States were both strong at this time, but the Soviets were preoccupied by the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] and would not interfere with the Sino-Indian War.<ref name="Calvin"/> Regarding why China waited till October of the year to launch the attack, P. B. Sinha suggests that China timed the war exactly in parallel with American actions so as to avoid any chance of American or Soviet involvement. Although American buildup of forces around Cuba occurred on the same day as the first major clash at Dhola, and China's buildup between 10 and 20 October appeared to coincide exactly with the United States establishment of a blockade against Cuba which began 20 October, the Chinese probably prepared for this before they could anticipate what would happen in Cuba.<ref name="officialhistory"/> Another explanation is that the confrontation in the Taiwan Strait has eased by then.

Garver argues that the Chinese correctly assessed Indian border policies, particularly the Forward Policy, as attempts for incremental seizure of Chinese-controlled territory. On Tibet, Garver argues that one of the major factors leading to China's decision for war with India was a common tendency of humans "to attribute others behavior to interior motivations, while attributing their own behavior to situational factors". Studies from China published in the 1990s confirmed that the root cause for China going to war with India was the perceived Indian aggression in Tibet, with the forward policy simply catalysing the Chinese reaction.<ref name="Garver"/>

Neville Maxwell and [[Allen Whiting]] argue that the Chinese leadership believed they were defending territory they believed to be legitimately Chinese, and which was already under de facto Chinese occupation prior to Indian advances, and regarded the Forward Policy as an Indian attempt at creeping annexation.<ref name="Garver"/> Mao Zedong himself compared the Forward Policy to a strategic advance in [[Xiangqi|Chinese chess]]:

{{quote|Their [India's] continually pushing forward is like crossing the [[Xiangqi#Board|Chu Han boundary]]. What should we do? We can also set out a few pawns, on our side of the river. If they don't then cross over, that’s great. If they do cross, we'll eat them up [chess metaphor meaning to take the opponent's pieces]. Of course, we cannot blindly eat them. Lack of forbearance in small matters upsets great plans. We must pay attention to the situation.<ref name="Garver"/>}}

India claims that the motive for the Forward Policy was to cut off the supply routes for Chinese troops posted in NEFA and Aksai Chin.<ref name="Calvin"/> According to the official Indian history, the forward policy was continued because of its initial success, as it claimed that Chinese troops withdrew when they encountered areas already occupied by Indian troops. It also claimed that the Forward Policy was having success in cutting out supply lines of Chinese troops who had advanced South of the McMahon Line, though there was no evidence of such advance before the 1962 war. However, the Forward Policy rested on the assumption that Chinese forces "were not likely to use force against any of our posts, even if they were in a position to do so". No serious re-appraisal of this policy took place even when Chinese forces ceased withdrawing.<ref name="officialhistory"/> Nehru's confidence was probably justified given the difficulty for China to supply the area over the high altitude terrain over 5000&nbsp;km from the more populated areas of China.

The Chinese leadership initially held a sympathetic view towards India as the latter had been ruled by British colonial masters for centuries. However, Nehru's forward policy convinced PRC leadership that the independent Indian leadership was a reincarnation of British imperialism. Mao Zedong stated: "Rather than being constantly accused of aggression, it's better to show the world what really happens when China indeed moves its muscles."

By early 1962, the Chinese leadership began to fear that India's intentions were to launch a massive attack against Chinese troops, and that the Indian leadership wanted a war.<ref name="Calvin"/><ref name = "Garver"/> In 1961, the Indian army had been sent into [[Goa]], a small region without any other international borders apart from the Indian one, after [[Portugal]] refused to surrender the [[exclave]] [[colony]] to the Indian Union. Although this action met little to no international protest or opposition, China saw it as an example of India's expansionist nature, especially in light of heated rhetoric from Indian politicians. India's Home Minister declared, "If the Chinese will not vacate the areas occupied by it, India will have to repeat [[Invasion of Goa|what she did in Goa]]. India will certainly drive out the Chinese forces",<ref name="Calvin"/> while another member of the Indian Congress Party pronounced, "India will take steps to end [Chinese] aggression on Indian soil just as she ended Portuguese aggression in Goa".<ref name = "Patterson"/> By mid-1962, it was apparent to the Chinese leadership that negotiations had failed to make any progress, and the Forward Policy was increasingly perceived as a grave threat as [[Delhi]] increasingly sent probes deeper into border areas and cut off Chinese supply lines.<ref name = "Patterson"/> Foreign Minister [[Chen Yi (communist)|Marshal Chen Yi]] commented at one high-level meeting, "Nehru's forward policy is a knife. He wants to put it in our heart. We cannot close our eyes and await death."<ref name = "Garver"/> The Chinese leadership believed that their restraint on the issue was being perceived by India as weakness, leading to continued provocations, and that a major counterblow was needed to stop perceived Indian aggression.<ref name="Garver"/>

Xu Yan, prominent Chinese military historian and professor at the PLA's [[PLA National Defense University|National Defense University]], gives an account of the Chinese leadership's decision to go to war. By late September 1962, the Chinese leadership had begun to reconsider their policy of "armed coexistence", which had failed to address their concerns with the forward policy and Tibet, and consider a large, decisive strike.<ref name="Garver"/> On 22 September 1962, the ''[[People's Daily]]'' published an article which claimed that "the Chinese people were burning with 'great indignation' over the Indian actions on the border and that New Delhi could not 'now say that warning was not served in advance'."<ref name="Peoples Daily">''[[People's Daily]]'', 22 September 1962 issue, pp. 1</ref><ref name="foia_cia_polo09">http://www.foia.cia.gov/CPE/POLO/polo-09.pdf</ref>

===Military planning===
The Indian side was confident war would not be triggered and made little preparations. India had only two divisions of troops in the region of the conflict.<ref name="Swaminathan">Swaminathan [http://www.saag.org/papers7/paper693.html South Asia Analysis Group] Lessons of 1962: A stock taking after 40 years.</ref> In August 1962, Brigadier D. K. Palit claimed that a war with China in the near future could be ruled out.<ref name="Swaminathan"/> Even in September 1962, when Indian troops were ordered to "expel the Chinese" from Thag La, Maj. General J. S. Dhillon expressed the opinion that "experience in Ladakh had shown that a few rounds fired at the Chinese would cause them to run away."<ref name = "Garver"/><ref name = "officialhistory"/> Because of this, the Indian army was completely unprepared when the attack at Yumtso La occurred.<ref name="Calvin"/><ref name="Swaminathan"/>

Recently declassified CIA documents which were compiled at the time reveal that India's estimates of Chinese capabilities made them neglect their military in favour of economic growth.<ref name="CIA:DNA">[http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1106769 China feared military coup in India during 60s] ''DNA India''</ref> It is claimed that if a more military-minded man had been in place instead of Nehru, India would have been more likely to have been ready for the threat of a counter-attack from China.<ref name="CIA:DNA"/>

On 6 October 1962, the Chinese leadership convened. [[Lin Biao]] reported that PLA intelligence units had determined that Indian units might assault Chinese positions at Thag La on 10 October ([[Sino-Indian War#Operation Leghorn|Operation Leghorn]]). The Chinese leadership and the Central Military Council decided upon war to launch a large-scale attack to punish perceived military aggression from India.<ref name = "Garver"/> In Beijing, a larger meeting of Chinese military was convened in order to plan for the coming conflict.<ref name = "Garver"/>

Mao and the Chinese leadership issued a directive laying out the objectives for the war. A main assault would be launched in the eastern sector, which would be coordinated with a smaller assault in the western sector. All Indian troops within China's claimed territories in the eastern sector would be expelled, and the war would be ended with a unilateral Chinese ceasefire and withdrawal to prewar positions, followed by a return to the negotiating table.<ref name = "Garver"/> India led the [[Non-Aligned Movement]], Nehru enjoyed international prestige, and China, with a larger military, would be portrayed as an aggressor. However, he said that a well-fought war "will guarantee at least thirty years of peace" with India, and determined the benefits to offset the costs.<ref name = "Garver"/>

On 8 October, additional veteran and elite divisions were ordered to prepare to move into Tibet from the [[Chengdu Military Region|Chengdu]] and [[Lanzhou Military Region|Lanzhou]] military regions.<ref name = "Garver"/>

On 12 October, Nehru declared that he had ordered the Indian army to "clear Indian territory in the NEFA of Chinese invaders" and personally met with Kaul, issuing instructions to him.

On 14 October, an editorial on ''People's Daily'' issued China's final warning to India: "So it seems that Mr. Nehru has made up his mind to attack the Chinese frontier guards on an even bigger scale....It is high time to shout to Mr. Nehru that the heroic Chinese troops, with the glorious tradition of resisting foreign aggression, can never be cleared by anyone from their own territory... If there are still some maniacs who are reckless enough to ignore our well-intentioned advice and insist on having another try, well, let them do so. History will pronounce its inexorable verdict... At this critical moment...we still want to appeal once more to Mr. Nehru: better rein in at the edge of the precipice and do not use the lives of Indian troops as stakes in your gamble." <ref name="foia_cia_polo09"/>

Marshal [[Liu Bocheng]] headed a group to determine the strategy for the war. He concluded that the opposing Indian troops were among India's best, and to achieve victory would require deploying crack troops and relying on [[force concentration]] to achieve decisive victory. On 16 October, this war plan was approved, and on the 18th, the final approval was given by the Politburo for a "self-defensive counter-attack", scheduled for 20 October.<ref name = "Garver"/>

==Chinese offensive==
On 20 October 1962, the Chinese [[People's Liberation Army]] launched two attacks, 1000 [[kilometre]]s apart. In the western theatre, the PLA sought to expel Indian forces from the Chip Chap valley in [[Aksai Chin]] while in the eastern theatre, the PLA sought to capture both banks of the Namka Chu river. Some skirmishes also took place at the [[Nathula|Nathula Pass]], which is in the Indian [[State (administrative division)|state]] of [[Sikkim]] (an Indian [[protectorate]] at that time). [[Gurkha|Gurkha rifles]] travelling north were targeted by Chinese artillery fire. After four days of fierce fighting, the three [[regiment]]s of Chinese troops succeeded in securing a substantial portion of the disputed territory.<ref name="Calvin"/>

===Eastern theatre===
[[Image:China India eastern border 88.jpg|thumb|right|The disputed areas in the eastern sector]]

Chinese troops launched an attack on the southern banks of the Namka Chu River on 20 October.<ref name="NamkaChu">[http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1962War/Namka.html Battle of Namka Chu]</ref> The Indian forces were undermanned, with only an understrength battalion to support them, while the Chinese troops had three regiments positioned on the north side of the river.<ref name="NamkaChu"/> The Indians expected Chinese forces to cross via one of five bridges over the river and defended those crossings.<ref name="Calvin"/> However, the PLA bypassed the defenders by crossing the shallow October river instead. They formed up into battalions on the Indian-held south side of the river under cover of darkness, with each battalion assigned against a separate group of [[Rajput]]s.<ref name="NamkaChu"/>

At 5:14 am, Chinese mortar fire began attacking the Indian positions. Simultaneously, the Chinese cut the Indian telephone lines, preventing the defenders from making contact with their headquarters. At about 6:30 am, the Chinese infantry launched a surprise attack from the rear and forced the Indians to leave their trenches.<ref name="NamkaChu"/>

The Chinese troops overwhelmed the Indians in a series of flanking manoeuvres south of the McMahon Line and prompted their withdrawal from Namka Chu.<ref name="NamkaChu"/> Fearful of continued losses, Indian troops escaped into [[Bhutan]].  Chinese forces respected the border and did not pursue.<ref name="Calvin"/> Chinese forces now held all of the territory that was under dispute at the time of the Thag La confrontation, but they continued to advance into the rest of NEFA.<ref name="NamkaChu"/>

On 22 October, at 12:15 am, PLA mortars fired on [[Walong]], on the McMahon line.<ref name="Walong">[http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1962War/Walong.html The Battle of Walong]</ref> 400 PLA troops began firing on the Indians post there. Flares launched by Indian troops the next day revealed numerous Chinese milling around the valley.<ref name="Walong"/> The Indians tried to use their mortars against the Chinese but the PLA responded by lighting a bushfire, causing confusion amongst the Indians.<ref name="Walong"/> The Chinese eventually captured Walong at the cost of more than 200 dead or wounded; the Indian forces also suffered heavy casualties.

On 23 October, Chinese troops launched a three-pronged attack on [[Tawang]], which the Indians evacuated without any resistance.<ref name="Calvin"/>

===Western theatre===
[[Image:China India western border 88.jpg|thumb|right|The disputed areas in the western sector]]

On the Aksai Chin front, China already controlled most of the disputed territory. Chinese forces quickly swept the region of any remaining Indian troops.<ref>eg. Chip Chap Valley, Pangong</ref> Late on 19 October, Chinese troops launched a number of attacks throughout the western theatre.<ref name="Chushul"/> By 22 October, all posts north of Chushul had been cleared.<ref name="Chushul"/>

On 20 October, the Chinese easily took the Chip Chap Valley, Galwan Valley, and Pangong Lake.<ref name="Burkitt">{{Cite book
  | last1 = Burkitt | first1 = Laurie
  | last2 = Scobell | first2 = Andrew
  | last3 = Wortzel | first3 = Larry M.
  | title = THE LESSONS OF HISTORY: THE CHINESE PEOPLE’S LIBERATION ARMY AT 75
  | publisher = [[Strategic Studies Institute]]
  | pages = 340–341
  | date = July 2003
  | isbn = 1-58487-126-1
  | url  = http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB52.pdf}}</ref> Many outposts and garrisons along the Western front were unable to defend against the surrounding Chinese troops. Most Indian troops positioned in these posts offered resistance but were either killed or taken prisoner. Indian support for these outposts was not forthcoming, as evidenced by the Galwan post, which had been surrounded by enemy forces in August, but no attempt made to relieve the besieged garrison. Following the 20 October attack, nothing was heard from Galwan.<ref name="Calvin"/>

On 24 October, Indian forces fought to hold the Rezang La Ridge, in order to prevent a nearby airstrip from falling to the Chinese .<ref name="Rezang">[http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1962War/Mohan.html Men of Steel on Icy Heights] Mohan Guruswamy ''Deccan Chronicle''.</ref>

After realising the magnitude of the attack, Indian Western Command withdrew many of the isolated outposts to the south-east. Daulet Beg Oldi was also evacuated, but it was south of the Chinese claim line and was not approached by Chinese forces. Indian troops were withdrawn in order to consolidate and regroup in the event that China probed south of their claim line.<ref name="Calvin"/>

Overall, the Indian forces in the western theatre were heavily outnumbered and suffered from poor leadership. {{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

==Lull in the fighting==
By 24 October, the PLA had entered territory previously administered by India to give the PRC a diplomatically strong position over India. The majority of Chinese forces had advanced sixteen kilometres south of the control line prior to the conflict. Four days of fighting were followed by a three-week lull. Zhou ordered the troops to stop advancing as he attempted to negotiate with Nehru. The Indian forces had retreated into more heavily fortified positions around Se La and Bombdi La which would be difficult to assault.<ref name="Calvin"/> Zhou sent Nehru a letter, proposing
# A negotiated settlement of the boundary
# That both sides disengage and withdraw twenty kilometres from present lines of actual control
# A Chinese withdrawal north in NEFA
# That China and India not cross lines of present control in Aksai Chin.<ref name="Calvin"/>

Nehru's 27 October reply expressed interest in the restoration of peace and friendly relations and suggested a return to the "boundary prior to 8 September 1962". He was categorically concerned about a mutual twenty kilometre withdrawal after "40 or 60 kilometres of blatant military aggression". He wanted the creation of a larger immediate buffer zone and thus resist the possibility of a repeat offensive. Zhou's 4 November reply repeated his 1959 offer to return to the [[McMahon Line]] in NEFA and the Chinese traditionally claimed [[MacDonald Line]] in Aksai Chin. Facing Chinese forces maintaining themselves on Indian soil and trying to avoid political pressure, the Indian parliament announced a national emergency and passed a resolution which stated their intent to "drive out the aggressors from the sacred soil of India". The [[United States]] and the [[United Kingdom]] supported India's response, however the [[Soviet Union]] was preoccupied with the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] and did not offer the support it had provided in previous years. With the backing of other [[great power]]s, a 14 November letter by Nehru to Zhou once again rejected his proposal.<ref name="Calvin"/>

Neither side declared war, used their air force, or fully broke off diplomatic relations; however, the conflict is commonly referred to as a war. This war coincided with the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] and was viewed by the western nations at the time as another act of aggression by the Communist bloc.<ref name="Calvin"/><ref name="Cuba">{{cite web
|last =Goldman
|first =Jerry
|authorlink =
|coauthors =Stein, Giel
|year = 1997 |month =October |url =http://www.hpol.org/jfk/cuban/ |title =The Cuban Missile Crisis, October&nbsp;18-29 1962 |publisher =hpol.org |accessdate = 2006-08-18 }}</ref>
According to Calvin, the Chinese side evidently wanted a diplomatic resolution and discontinuation of the conflict.<ref name="Calvin"/>

==Continuation of war==
After Zhou received Nehru's letter (rejecting Zhou's proposal), the fighting resumed on the eastern theatre on 14 November (Nehru's birthday), with an Indian attack on Walong, claimed by China, launched from the defensive position of Se La and inflicting heavy casualties on the Chinese. The Chinese resumed military activity on Aksai Chin and NEFA hours after the Walong battle.<ref name="Calvin"/>

===Eastern theatre===
On the eastern theatre, the PLA attacked Indian forces near Se La and Bomdi La on 17 November. These positions were defended by the [[Indian 4th Infantry Division]]. Instead of attacking by road as expected, PLA forces approached via a mountain trail, and their attack cut off a main road and isolated 10,000 Indian troops.

Se La occupied high ground,and rather than assault this commanding position, the Chinese captured Thembang, which was a supply route to Se La.<ref name="Calvin"/>

===Western theatre===
On the western theatre, PLA forces launched a heavy infantry attack on 18 November near Chushul. Their attack started at 4:35 am, despite a mist surrounding most of the areas in the region. At 5:45 the Chinese troops advanced to attack 2 [[platoon]]s of Indian troops at Gurung Hill.

The Indians did not know what was happening, as communications were dead. As a patrol was sent, China attacked with greater numbers. Indian artillery could not hold off against superior Chinese forces. By 9:00 am, Chinese forces attacked Gurung Hill directly and Indian commanders withdrew from the area.<ref name="Chushul"/>

The Chinese had been simultaneously attacking Rezang La which was held by 123 Indian troops. At 5:05 am, Chinese troops launched their attack audaciously. Chinese medium machine gun fire pierced through the Indian tactical defences.<ref name="Chushul"/>

At 6:55 am the sun rose and the Chinese attack on the 8th platoon began in waves. Fighting continued for the next hour, until the Chinese signaled that they had destroyed the 7th platoon. Indians tried to use light machine guns on the medium machine guns from the Chinese but after 10 minutes the battle was over.<ref name="Chushul"/> Logistical inadequacy once again hurt the Indian troops.<ref name="Yadav">YADAV, Atul, [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1962War/Yadav.html Injustice to the Ahir Martyrs of the 1962 War]. [[The Tribune]]. 18 November 1999</ref> The Chinese gave the Indian troops a respectful military funeral.<ref name="Yadav"/> The battles also saw the death of [[Shaitan Singh|Major Shaitan Singh]] of the [[Kumaon Regiment]], who had been instrumental in the first battle of Rezang La.<ref name="Yadav"/> Over 1,000 Chinese soldiers were killed or wounded. Out of the 123 Indian defenders, 109 were killed and 9 of the survivors were severely injured.<ref>http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Shaitan_Singh</ref>
The Indian troops were forced to withdraw to high mountain positions. Indian sources believed that their troops were just coming to grips with the mountain combat and finally called for more troops. However, the Chinese declared a ceasefire, ending the bloodshed.<ref name="Chushul"/>

Indians suffered heavy casualties, with dead Indian troops' bodies being found in the ice, frozen with weapons in hand. Chinese forces also suffered heavy casualties, especially at Rezang La. This signalled the end of the war in Aksai Chin as China had reached their claim line - many Indian troops were ordered to withdraw from the area. China claimed that the Indian troops wanted to fight on until the bitter end. However, the war ended with their withdrawal, so as to limit the amount of casualties.<ref name="Calvin"/>

The PLA penetrated close to the outskirts of [[Tezpur, Assam]], a major frontier town nearly fifty kilometres from the [[Assam]]-[[North-East Frontier Agency]] border.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> The local government ordered the evacuation of the civilians in Tezpur to the south of the [[Brahmaputra River]], all prisons were thrown open, and government officials who stayed behind destroyed Tezpur's currency reserves in anticipation of a Chinese advance.<ref name="officialhistory"/>

==Ceasefire==
[[Image:Kashmir region-map 2004.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The revised map of the disputed territory of [[Kashmir]] following the Sino-Indian War; notice the now Chinese-administered [[Aksai Chin]] region.]]
China had reached its claim lines so the PLA did not advance farther, and on 19 November it declared a unilateral [[cease-fire]]. Zhou Enlai declared a unilateral ceasefire to start on midnight, 21 November. Zhou's ceasefire declaration stated,

{{quote|Beginning from 21 November 1962, the Chinese frontier guards will cease fire along the entire Sino-Indian border. Beginning from 1 December 1962, the Chinese frontier guards will withdraw to positions 20 kilometres behind the line of actual control which existed between China and India on 7 November 1959. In the eastern sector, although the Chinese frontier guards have so far been fighting on Chinese territory north of the traditional customary line, they are prepared to withdraw from their present positions to the north of the illegal McMahon Line, and to withdraw twenty kilometres back from that line. In the middle and western sectors, the Chinese frontier guards will withdraw twenty kilometres from the line of actual control.}}

Zhou had first given the ceasefire announcement to Indian chargé d'affaires on 19 November, (before India's request for United States air support) but New Delhi did not receive it until 24 hours later. The aircraft carrier was ordered back after the ceasefire and thus American intervention on India's side in the war was avoided. Retreating Indian troops, who hadn't come into contact with anyone knowing of the ceasefire, and Chinese troops in NEFA and Aksai Chin, were involved in some minor battles<ref name="Calvin" /> but for the most part the ceasefire signalled an end to the fighting. The [[United States Air Force]] flew in supplies to India in November 1962, but neither side wished to continue hostilities.

Toward the end of the war India increased her support for Tibetan refugees and revolutionaries, some of them having settled in India, as they were fighting the same common enemy in the region. The Nehru administration ordered the raising of an elite Indian-trained "Tibetan Armed Force" composed of Tibetan refugees.<ref>Chushi Gangdruk "[http://www.chushigangdruk.org/history/history11.html Chushi Gangdruk: History]", ChushiGangdruk.Org</ref> The CIA had already begun operations in bringing about change in Tibet.

==World opinion==
The Chinese military action has been viewed by the United States as part of the PRC's policy of making use of aggressive wars to settle its border disputes and to distract from its internal issues.<ref>[http://www.stormingmedia.us/92/9232/A923244.html Abstract of "Fighting to Make a Point: Policy-Making by Aggressive War on the Chinese Borders" by Jr Pettis Roy C.] — [[National War College]]</ref> According to James Calvin from the United States Marine Corps, western nations at the time viewed China as an aggressor during the China-India border war, and the war was part of a monolithic communist objective for a world [[dictatorship of the proletariat]]. This was further triggered by [[Mao Zedong]]'s views that: "The way to world conquest lies through Havana, [[Accra]], and Calcutta". Calvin believes that Chinese actions show a "pattern of conservative aims and limited objectives, rather than expansionism" and blames this particular conflict on India's provocations towards China. However, Calvin also expresses that China, in the past, has been adamant to gain control over regions to which it has a "traditional claim", which triggered the dispute over [[NEFA]] and [[Aksai Chin]] and indeed [[Tibet]]. Calvin's assumption, based on the history of the Cold War and the Domino Effect, assumed that China might ultimately try to regain control of everything that it considers as "traditionally Chinese" which in its view includes the entirety of South East Asia.<ref name="Calvin"/>

The [[John Fitzgerald Kennedy|Kennedy]] administration was disturbed by what they considered "blatant Chinese communist aggression against India". In a May 1963 [[National Security Council (USA)|National Security Council]] meeting, contingency planning on the part of the United States in the event of another Chinese attack on India was discussed. [[Secretary of Defense|Defense Secretary]] [[Robert McNamara]] and General [[Maxwell Taylor]] advised the president to use nuclear weapons should the Americans intervene in such a situation. Kennedy insisted that Washington defend India as it would any ally, saying, "We should defend India, and therefore we will defend India".<ref>[http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2005/08/27/2003269368] — ''[[Taipei Times]]'',[http://www.iacfpa.org/p_news/nit/iacpa-archieve/2005/09/02/diplo3-02092005.shtml]  [[Indian American Center for Political Awareness]]</ref> The [[Lyndon Baines Johnson|Johnson]] Administration considered and then rejected giving nuclear weapons technology to the Indians.

The [[Non-Aligned Movement|non-aligned nations]], perhaps unsurprisingly, remained non-aligned, and only the [[United Arab Republic]] openly supported India.<ref name="Retzlaff">"[http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0004-4687%28196302%293%3A2%3C96%3AIAYOSA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-P India]: A Year of Stability and Change". Ralph J. Retzlaff. Asian Survey, Vol. 3, No. 2, A Survey of Asia in 1962: Part II. (Feb., 1963), pp. 96–106.</ref> Of the non-aligned nations, six, [[Egypt]], [[Burma]], [[Cambodia]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Ghana]] and [[Indonesia]], met in [[Colombo]] on 10 December 1962.<ref name="timeline">[[Rediff]] [http://www.rediff.com/news/chtime.htm Indo-China timeline]</ref> The proposals stipulated a Chinese withdrawal of 20&nbsp;km from the customary lines without any reciprocal withdrawal on India's behalf.<ref name="timeline"/> The failure of these six nations to unequivocally condemn China deeply disappointed India.<ref name="Retzlaff"/>

In 1972, Chinese Premier Zhou explained the Chinese point of view to President Nixon of the US. As for the causes of the war, Zhou asserted that China did not try to expel Indian troops from south of the McMahon line and that three open warning telegrams were sent to Nehru before the war. However, Indian patrols south of the McMahon line were expelled and suffered casualties in the Chinese attack.<ref>"[http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/70143.pdf China]", "Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Volume XVII, p. 722", October 1971 – February 1972 (Declassified)</ref> Zhou also told Nixon that Chairman Mao ordered the troops to return to show good faith.<ref>"[http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/70143.pdf China]", "Foreign Relations, 1969–1976, Volume XVII, p. 723", October 1971 – February 1972 (Declassified)</ref> The Indian government maintains that the Chinese military could not advance further south due to logistical problems and the cut-off of resource supplies.

While Western nations did not view Chinese actions favourably because of fear of the Chinese and competitiveness,<ref name="Calvin"/> Pakistan, which had had a turbulent relationship with India ever since the [[Partition of India|Indian partition]], improved its relations with China after the war.<ref name="Dobell"/> Prior to the war, Pakistan also shared a disputed boundary with China, and had proposed to India that the two countries adopt a common defence against "northern" enemies (i.e. China), which was rejected by India.<ref name="officialhistory"/> However, China and Pakistan took steps to peacefully negotiate their shared boundaries, beginning on 13 October 1962, and concluding in December of that year.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> Pakistan also expressed fear that the huge amounts of western military aid directed to India would allow it to threaten Pakistan's security in future conflicts. Mohammed Ali, External Affairs Minister of Pakistan, declared that massive Western aid to India in the Sino-Indian dispute would be considered an unfriendly act towards Pakistan. As a result Pakistan made efforts to improve its relations with China. The following year, China and Pakistan peacefully settled disputes on their shared border, and negotiated the China-Pakistan Border Treaty in 1963, as well as trade, commercial, and barter treaties.<ref name="Dobell"/> On 2 March 1963, Pakistan conceded its northern claim line in [[Kashmir|Pakistani-controlled Kashmir]] to China in favor of a more southerly boundary along the Karakoram Range.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/><ref name="timeline"/><ref name="Dobell">
{{cite journal
|quotes =
|last = Dobell
|first = W. M.
|authorlink =
|coauthors =
|date =
|year = 1964
|month = Autumn
|title = Ramifications of the China-Pakistan Border Treaty
|journal = Pacific Affairs
|volume = 37
|issue = 3
|pages = 283–95
|url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0030-851X%28196423%2937%3A3%3C283%3AROTCBT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1
|doi =10.2307/2754976 }}</ref> The border treaty largely set the border along the MacCartney-Macdonald Line.<ref name="Noorani"/> India's military failure against China would embolden Pakistan to initiate the [[Second Kashmir War]] with India. However, it effectively ended in a stalemate as Calvin states that the Sino-Indian War had caused the previously passive government to take a stand on actively modernising India's military.<ref name="Calvin"/> China offered diplomatic support to Pakistan in this war but did not offer military support.<ref name="timeline"/> In January 1966, China condemned the [[Tashkent Agreement]] between India and Pakistan as a Soviet-US plot in the region.<ref name="timeline"/> In the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], Pakistan expected China to provide military support, but it was left alone as India successfully helped the rebels in [[East Pakistan]] to found the new nation-state of [[Bangladesh]].<ref>[http://coat.ncf.ca/our_magazine/links/issue47/articles/a07.htm The Men Behind Yahya in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971] by Stephen R. Shalom, professor of Political Science</ref>

==Involvement of other nations==
During the conflict, Nehru wrote two desperate letters to JFK, requesting 12 squadrons of fighter jets. These jets were necessary to beef up Indian air strength so that an air war could be initiated safely from the Indian perspective. This request was rejected. According to former Indian diplomat G Parthasarathy, "only after we got nothing from the US did arms supplies from the Soviet Union to India commence." <ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Jawaharlal-Nehru-pleaded-for-US-help-against-China-in-1962/articleshow/6931810.cms</ref> In 1962, President of Pakistan [[Ayub Khan]] made clear to India that Indian troops could safely be transferred from the Pakistan frontier to the Himalayas.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,842104-10,00.html | work=Time | title=Asia: Ending the Suspense | date=17 September 1965}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
===China===

According to the China's official military history, the war achieved China's policy objectives of securing borders in its western sector, as China retained de facto control of the Aksai Chin. After the war, India abandoned the Forward Policy, and the de facto borders stabilised along the [[Line of Actual Control]].

According to James Calvin, even though China won a military victory  it lost in terms of its international image. Western nations, especially the United States, were already suspicious of Chinese attitudes, motives and actions. These
nations saw China's goals as  world conquest and clearly viewed China as the aggressor in the Border War.<ref name="Calvin"/> China's first nuclear weapon test in October 1964 and her support of Pakistan in the [[1965 India Pakistan War]] tended to confirm the American view of  communist world objectives, including Chinese influence over Pakistan.<ref name="Calvin"/>

===India===

The aftermath of the war saw sweeping changes in the Indian military to prepare it for similar conflicts in the future, and placed pressure on Indian prime minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], who was seen as responsible for failing to anticipate the Chinese attack on India. Indians reacted with a surge in patriotism and memorials were erected for many of the Indian troops who died in the war. Arguably, the main lesson India learned from the war was the need to strengthen its own defences and a shift from Nehru's foreign policy with China based on his stated concept of "brotherhood". Because of India's inability to anticipate Chinese aggression, [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Jawaharlal Nehru|Nehru]] faced harsh criticism from government officials, for having promoted pacifist relations with China.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/> Indians in general became highly sceptical of China and its [[Chinese Army|military]]. Many Indians view the war as a betrayal of India's attempts at establishing a long-standing peace with China and started to question Nehru's usage of the term "Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai" (meaning "Indians and Chinese are brothers"). The war also put an end to Nehru's earlier hopes that India and China would form a strong Asian Axis to counteract the increasing influence of the [[Cold War]] bloc superpowers.<ref name="Garver"/>

The unpreparedness of the army was blamed on [[Minister of Defence (India)|Defence Minister]] [[V. K. Krishna Menon|Menon]], who resigned his government post to allow for someone who might modernise India's military further. India's policy of weaponisation via indigenous sources and self-sufficiency was thus cemented. Sensing a weakened army, [[Pakistan]], a close ally of China, began a policy of provocation against India by [[Operation Gibraltar|infiltrating]] [[Jammu and Kashmir]] and ultimately triggering the [[Second Kashmir War]] with India in 1965. However, India had set up the [[Henderson-Brooks-Bhagat Report]] to determine what the reason was behind India's unpreparedness in  the war, and was prepared for the Pakistani military. The result was inconclusive, since sources were divided on what decides victory. Some sources argued that since India had captured more territory than Pakistan, India had clearly won. However, others{{Who|date=July 2010}} argued that India had taken significant losses considering the country's larger military and hence, the outcome of the war was inconclusive. Two years later, in 1967, there was a short border skirmish known as the [[Chola incident|Chola Incident]] between Chinese and Indian soldiers. In this incident 8 Chinese soldiers and 4 Indian soldiers were killed.<ref name = "Chola">{{cite web|url=http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/History/1962-71/270-Chola-Incident.html|title=The Chola Incident|publisher=Bharat Rakshak}}</ref>

Controversial British journalist [[Neville Maxwell]],<ref>Verdicts on India http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mag/2005/07/17/stories/2005071700140300.htm</ref> writes the "hopelessly ill-prepared Indian Army that provoked China on orders emanating from Delhi … paid the price for its misadventure in men, money and national humiliation".<ref>[http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/oct/08max1.htm], Rediff.com</ref> As a result of the war, the Indian government commissioned an investigation, resulting in the classified [[Henderson-Brooks-Bhagat Report]] on the causes of the war and the reasons for failure. India's performance in high-altitude combat in 1962 led to an overhaul of the [[Indian Army]] in terms of doctrine, training, organisation and equipment. Maxwell also claimed that the Indian role in international affairs after the border war was also greatly reduced after the war and India's standing in the non-aligned movement suffered.<ref name="Neville_Maxwell"/>

According to James Calvin, an analyst from the U.S. Navy, India gained many benefits from the 1962 conflict. This war united the country as never before. India got 32,000 square miles (8.3 million hectares, 83,000sq.km.) of disputed territory even if she felt that NEFA was hers all along. The new Indian republic had avoided international alignments; by asking for help during the war, India demonstrated her willingness to accept military aid from several sectors. And, finally, India recognised the serious weaknesses in her army. She would more than double her military manpower in the next two years and she would work hard to resolve the military's training and logistic problems. India's efforts to improve her military posture significantly enhanced her army's capabilities and preparedness.<ref name="Calvin"/>

==Later skirmishes==
{{Main|Sino-Indian relations|Chola incident|Naxalbari|1987 Sino-Indian skirmish}}
India also reported a series of skirmishes after the 1962 war, which were never confirmed by China. One report provided by India shows that in late 1967, there were two skirmishes between Indian and Chinese forces in Sikkim. The first one was dubbed the "Nathu La incident", and the other the "Chola incident". Prior to these incidents had been the [[Naxalbari]] uprising in India by the Communist [[Naxalites]] and [[Maoist]]s.<ref>[http://www.cpiml.org/liberation/year_2005/JUNE/naxalbari_day.htm Remembering Naxalbari Day]</ref>

==Diplomatic process==
In 1993 and 1996, the two sides signed the [[Sino-Indian Bilateral Peace and Tranquility Accords]], an agreement to maintain peace and tranquility along the [[Line of Actual Control]] ([[Line of Actual Control|LoAC]]). Ten meetings of a Sino-Indian Joint Working Group (SIJWG) and five of an expert group have taken place to determine where the LoAC lies, but little progress has occurred.

India is concerned about China's military modernisation. On 20 November 2006 Indian politicians from [[Arunachal Pradesh]] appealed to parliament to take a harder stance on the PRC following a military buildup on the border similar to that in 1962.<ref name="India_soft">[http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/nov/20jintao1.htm India soft on Arunachal Pradesh]</ref> Additionally, China's military aid to Pakistan as well is a matter of concern to the Indian public,<ref name="Swaminathan"/> which fought another [[Kargil War|war with Pakistan in 1999]].

On 6 July 2006, the historic [[Silk Road]] passing through this territory was reopened.  Both sides have agreed to resolve the issues by peaceful means.

==See also==
*[[Sino-Indian relations]]

==Further reading==
*{{Cite web
|last =Calvin
|first =James Barnard
|authorlink =
|coauthors =
|year = 1984 |month =April |url =http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/CJB.htm |title =The China-India Border War |publisher =GlobalSecurity.org |accessdate =2006-06-14 }}
*{{Cite book | last = Lamb | first = Alastair | title = The China-India Border: The Origins of the Disputed Boundaries | publisher = Oxford University Press | series = L | year = 1964 }}
*Neville Maxwell's ''India's China War'', [[Pantheon Books]], USA, 1971
*[[Gunnar Myrdal]]. ''Asian Drama; An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations.'' New York: Random House, 1968
*''History of the Conflict with China'', 1962. P.B. Sinha, A.A. Athale, with S.N. Prasad, chief editor, History Division, Ministry of Defence, Government of India, 1992. — Official Indian history of the Sino-Indian War.
*Allen S. Whiting. ''The Chinese Calculus of Deterrence: India and Indochina.''
*''The Sino-Indian Boundary Question'' [Enlarged Edition], Foreign Languages Press, Peking, 1962

==Notes==
<!--See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags-->
{{Citation style|date=September 2009}}
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.foia.cia.gov/CPE/POLO/polo-09.pdf Sino-Indian Border Dispute (Top Secret CIA report, 1964, Declassified 2007)]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1984/CJB.htm Sino-Indian War (1962)]
* [http://www.rediff.com/news/indochin.htm Remembering a War: The 1962 India-China Conflict] — Rediff.com.
* [http://www.centurychina.com/plaboard/uploads/1962war.htm Neville Maxwell: Henderson Brooks Report]
* [http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_284247,001300370003.htm 1962 Sino-Indian War, ''Hindustan Times'']
* [http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/showcolumns.aspx?id=COLEN20070022560  Why India lost the 1962 border war? - Tejas Patel]
* [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-FORCES/Army/History/1962War/ War in the Himalayas: 1962 Indo-Sino Conflict] (includes official war history) from History Division, Ministry of Defence, Government of India
* [http://www.bcasnet.org/login/viewarticle.php?pid=100&disp=1 Critical Asian Studies Article: Sino Indian War 1962]
* [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-12/16/content_3928187.htm India, China to speed up border dispute talks: 2005 Xinhuanet]
* [http://ia.rediff.com/news/2002/nov/15chin.htm The Rediff Special/Claude Arpi]
* [http://www.casas-pkucis.org.cn/English/Journals/nyyj/bak/0202-1.htm 1962 War and Its Implications For Sino-India Relations]
* [http://www.fyjs.cn/bbs/read.php?tid=39277&fpage=1 History of Sino-India Border War] {{cn icon}}
* [http://www.fyjs.cn/bbs/read.php?tid=13872&fpage=1 Historical maps of the Sino-Indian border] {{cn icon}}
* [http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/SSEAL/SouthAsia/kashmir.html Conflict in Kashmir: Selected Internet Resources by the Library, University of California, Berkeley, USA; [[University of California, Berkeley]] Library Bibliographies and Web-Bibliographies list]
* [http://journal.frontierindia.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=7&Itemid=53 Frontier India India-China Section]
* [http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1096493 Why China is playing hardball in Arunachal] by Venkatesan Vembu, Daily News & Analysis, 13 May 2007
* [http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1101845 China, India, and the fruits of Nehru's folly] by Venkatesan Vembu, [[Daily News & Analysis]], 6 June 2007

{{Military of India}}
{{PRC conflicts}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2010}}

[[Category:Sino-Indian War]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Territorial disputes of India]]

[[ar:الحرب الصينية-الهندية]]
[[bn:ভারত-চীন যুদ্ধ]]
[[de:Indisch-Chinesischer Grenzkrieg]]
[[es:Guerra Chino-India]]
[[fr:Guerre sino-indienne]]
[[gu:૧૯૬૨નું ભારત-ચીન યુદ્ધ]]
[[ko:중인 국경 분쟁]]
[[hi:भारत-चीन युद्ध]]
[[id:Perang Sino-India]]
[[it:Guerra sino-indiana]]
[[he:מלחמת הודו-סין]]
[[kn:ಭಾರತ-ಚೀನ ಯುದ್ಧ]]
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[[mr:भारत-चीन युद्ध]]
[[nl:Sino-Indiase oorlog]]
[[ja:中印国境紛争]]
[[no:Den sino-indiske krig]]
[[pl:Wojna chińsko-indyjska]]
[[pt:Guerra sino-indiana]]
[[ru:Китайско-индийская пограничная война]]
[[sr:Кинеско-индијски рат]]
[[fi:Kiinan–Intian sota]]
[[sv:Sino-indiska kriget 1962]]
[[te:భారత్ చైనా యుద్ధం 1962]]
[[uk:Китайсько-Індійська війна]]
[[vi:Chiến tranh Trung-Ấn]]
[[zh:中印边境战争]]