ABSTRACT
The 1962 Border War between China and India resulted in a humiliating defeat for the Indian armed forces. Jawaharlal Nehru’s non-alignment policy lay in tatters, and China had established itself as the dominant hegemony in Southern Asia. This chapter deals with the size and shape of the Chinese and Indian armed forces before the onset of 1962 China-India War. Combat between the People’s Liberation Army and the Indian Army occurred in two sectors: North-West Frontier Province (NEFA) and Latah. NEFA came under Eastern Command, which was responsible for protecting the Indian border from Uttar Pradesh to Assam and Nagaland. Besides coping with the Chinese threat along the China-India border and the Pakistani threat along the India-East Pakistan border, the Eastern Command was responsible for conducting counter-insurgency operations against the Nags in North-East India. The performance of the Indian units was better at Ladakh than in NEFA, due to better logistical infrastructure in Ladakh.
