Debating the Past: Nehru, China and Lessons from 1962 War

The year 2022 marks the 60th anniversary of the 1962 Sino-Indian war. Fought over a period of one month, the war is seen as one of the watersheds in the history of India–China relations. Besides creating a considerable dent in bilateral ties, it also led New Delhi to revamp its defence and military infrastructure. Incidentally, in terms of research on China studies in India, the war proved to be a defining moment of transition. The subject of religious, cultural and philosophical issues in India–China relations lost popularity and studies about the origins and the consequences of the 1962 war and the boundary dispute gained currency.1 Subsequently, a significant amount of literature emerged, dealing with the history of border demarcation, basis of India’s and China’s territorial claims, causes of the 1962 war and analysis of the factors that led to India’s military setback.