Ref:- (i)- Ghost of 1962 can’t be buried till border dispute remains with China

(ii)- If 1962 was not war, then shameful for India that China captured vast Indian territory without war.

(iii)- Defenders of Nehru – Menon are defending indefensible regarding 1962

(iv)- Air Chief rightly criticizing India for not using Air Force in 1962.

(v)- China the only veto wielding nation, having myriad border disputes

(vi)- India naively allowed China to have veto at UN

(vii)- Ideological disputes of India (and of USA & Allies engaged in Arab Spring) still remains with China

(viii)- India still incompetent to practice mixed economy.

(ix)- With inefficient economy, India has no option than to keep Ghost of 1962 in deep freeze.

(x)- India will have to keep Tibet, Taiwan and East Pacific issues alive, to pressurize China.

(xi)- India should even start talking about FSDR of SSEAARC.

(xii)- India need not bother about border dispute with China as it is legal dispute, in contrast to political dispute with Pakistan.

(xiii)- India should put burden of solving border dispute entirely on UN permanent member China.

(xiv)- India should stop bilateral talks with China on border dispute.

(xv)- Indo - China cooperation on security, environment, finance and $ 100 billion trade, are all secondary to primary border dispute.

(xvi)- India should keep inevitable 'Democratic Secular Global Order' in mind.

Dear Sir

Just before 50 th anniversary of 1962 war with China on October, 20 - the prominent national media has started publishing articles advising Indians to bury the ghost of this 1962 war, but it is impossible and will be suicidal for India to do so. The arguments of protagonists of ghost burial are flimsy and do not hold water, for the reasons given below:-

(1)- The argument is that 1962 was not a full-fledged war as air force and navy of India and China were not mobilized and neither China and India declared war on one another nor did they snap diplomatic relations. Then it is all the more shameful for India that China could capture vast Indian territories of tens of thousands of square kilometers even without war. As far China is concerned why would it declare war when China was already getting vast Indian territories without war. It was India who should have declared war because it was attacked and its territory was being captured forcefully by China. It is educative what Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne said on Friday that the outcome of the 1962 war with China would have been different had the Air Force been used in an offensive role. Indians expect that Naval Chief will also enlighten India that how naval mobilization too would have changed the out come of 1962 war.

(2)- The argument is that 1962 war was merely an ideological war. But it was not merely a harsh symbolic gesture assumed by communist China towards democratic India (who has been practicing mixed economy since independence). It was not only a well calculated blow to India's politico - economic policies but also a fatal blow to the reputation of Nehru [who had penchant for lecturing the entire world on likely world order (which always revolves around martial power) without knowing even the abcd of martial affairs of State], who never expected such blow and betrayal from China, the other member of non-alignment movement.

(3)- The argument that Nehru rightly avoided the engagement with China because India is a poor country (hence didn’t have resources for mobilizing adequate arms and weapons for war with China), is not convincing because China of 1962 was not China of 2012. In 1962 China was economically as humble as India. Therefore if economically humble China in 1962 could attack India there is no reason why India with similar economic strength could not defend its territories militarily. Here it is in context to add that India never tried militarily to retrieve its territory of Kashmir from Pakistan, whereas Pakistan (only one sixth of India) tried so in 1947, 1948, 1965, 1971, during Kargil war and through proxy war. Therefore it is not the economic power but what matters is the will to defend / retrieve the territories of the country.

(4)- The argument that Indians are unnecessarily overplaying 1962 due to penchant of Indians for the bashing of Nehru (and of Menon, the Defense Minister in 1962), is unfair to Indians to say the least. Nehru committed such blunder and showed such gross incompetence to be Prime Minister of the country in relation to 1962 fiasco that had there been any other PM than Nehru then he wouldn't have got away by merely the resignation of Menon over humiliating debacle in 1962 war.

(5)- It is absurd to say that the Indians are bashing Nehru because he stood for the values of secularism, equality, rule of law and peace. The Indians have always given credit to Nehru what is due to him on account of his unwavering commitment (notwithstanding his policy of reservation to so called ‘weaker sections’ of Hindus only) to secularism, equality, rule of law and peace.

(6)- The argument that India will be wrong to make common cause with one power USA (and its Allies) in checking China (the other power) is also born out of lack of understanding of contemporary world. India needs to understand that it was not merely in 1962 that China thrashed India due to ideological reasons but ideological disparities and disputes of India (and of USA & Allies) still remain with China. Moreover in view of ‘Arab Spring’ in oil rich NAME countries (where China has used veto against 'UN Syria resolution' without providing any alternative), it is only a matter of time that China will come in conflict with world democracies sooner than later on account of his anti-democratic policies.

(7)- Therefore India needs to come out of the fluffy idealism of Nehru era regarding non-alignment and should identify (without compromising on principles and ideology) with the forces of 'Democratic Secular Globalization' (which is bound to usher into 'Democratic Secular Global Order' also by replacing OP - 1 of ICCPR at UN with Mandatory Protocol - 1) by realizing that USA & its Western Allies along with Allies of Arab Spring supporting NAME countries, are and increasingly going to become the natural allies of India.

(8)- India should further realize that this 'Democratic Secular Globalization’ (which will gain momentum after US presidential election by engaging Iran through Syria by USA & its Allies) is bound to deliberate on the important issue of utilization of global natural resources by different countries. And it is precisely here that India (which imports its 80 % of petroleum oil) will have to keep its long term vital interests in mind before deciding that whether India wants to go all out for 'Democratic Secular Global Order' or still wants to remain with meaningless idea of non-alignment.

(9)- To what extent this non-aligned movement is meaningless can be gauged by simple fact that it could not do any thing during its 2012 summit at Tehran to solve the problems of Syria where ~ 30,000 people (including women, children and elders) have already lost their lives and millions are displaced including in refugee camps. India and similarly other countries may use USA as punching bag to release their anger and frustration but this gory problem of Syria will be solved by USA & its Allies only, after US President elections.

(10)- That does not mean that India should follow USA & its Allies blindly and meekly. Due to serious economic problems (including huge unemployment) presently being faced by them (out of fiscal indiscipline as has been committed by India too, despite Article 292 & 293 of Indian Constitution) and which can not be solved (with the policies West is following) mainly due to labor hugely costly in West as compared to developing world, the western world, after US President elections, is bound to promote wide spread war especially through Syria and also by engaging Iran in it (Though it is not necessary to resort to military approach to install democracy in any country including in Syria, as democracy can easily be installed by elections under UN Peace Keeping Force & Election Observers under secular constitution).

(11)- The USA has deeper economic problems than Europe due to not only creation of 'easy money' under the pressure of unbridled Usurers (the banking and financial institutions) which has resulted in huge public debt of ~ 100 % GDP and which is eating away substantial part of government revenue through servicing of public debt, but also due to 'Quantitative Easing' by Fed of more than 100 % GDP (by keeping even US Congressmen in dark). The USA during its entire history has benefited from wars in Europe (including World War I & II). Hence now both USA & its European Allies will be tempted to come out of their present economic crises by taking easy recourse through war in various regions of the world including in oil rich NAME and Persian regions. One should not be surprised if West may have even 100 % back-up of its currency by gold (as has been demanded during current election campaign by political parties in US) after these wars lead by USA & its Allies in various regions of the world, are over and then West may insist that its currency be formally made the ‘Global Currency’.

(12)- The argument that the Indo - China cooperation has increased on security, environment, finance and $ 100 billion trade (therefore hostility of India towards China will not be advisable), is also hollow. These protagonists of ghost burial policy do not understand that the tensions between democratic USA & Allies on one side and China on other side are not a fight to finish. If USA and its Allies with many times more trade and other cooperation with China can have these so called hostilities in order to defend their interests (through protecting and propagating the democratic ideology) then there is no reason why India with much lesser trade and other cooperation with China can't do the same.

(13)- That does not mean that India should become all-out hostile to China. Presently China is economic super power and India still remains economically humble due to its incompetence to practice mixed economy. Mixed economy is nothing but 'Joint-capitalism' where national economy jointly functions on 'State-capital' too (born out of fiscal deficit) in addition to 'Private-capital'. Because since the time of independence, the Indians have not been able to find competent Ministers to utilize 'State Capital' efficiently and profitably in Public Sector undertakings & Programs therefore with inefficient economy, India presently has no other option than to keep the ghost of 1962 in deep freeze.

(14)- Moreover India should keep Tibet, Taiwan and East Pacific (where even India has interests for oil exploration etc) issues alive in order to remind China that India cannot be taken for granted especially when China is sitting on huge Indian territory acquired by force in 1962.

(15)- India should even start talking about ‘Federation of Secular Democratic Republic of South and South East Asian Association of Regional Cooperation’ (FSDR of SSEAARC). The USA has already advised South-East Asian nations (ASEAN), to unite in the face of danger the China is posing to their marine rights, but tiny Asia Pacific nations against large China is posing the main problem. Therefore, in view of advantage of scale which USA and Euro are deriving / intend to derive, and also in the interest of resolving many mutual problems, the eight SAARC countries of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and ten countries of ASEAN the Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam may come forward on the initiative of India for the realization of FSDR of SSEAARC.

(16)- One more blunder India should rectify. India naively allowed Communist China to have veto at UN. It was China of Chiang-Kai-Shek (now Taiwan) which was part of Allied Power in World War II and not the Communist China of Mao. Therefore India had every right to oppose the veto power to its neighbor Communist China. But India out of its naivete trusted China (a prominent member of non-aligned movement but which attacked India in 1962) and did not oppose the permanent UN membership of China. But now India should rectify this mistake.

(17)- First of all, India should highlight this point that China is the only veto wielding nation which is having myriad border disputes with neighboring countries (with India, with Japan, with South Korea and with East Pacific countries etc). Therefore China should be divested of its permanent membership and its veto power at UN.

(17)- Secondly in the meantime, India should tell the international community that being veto wielding country it is the responsibility of China to resolve border dispute with India especially given the fact that the border dispute between India and China is a legal dispute, in contrast to political dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir. Therefore China should ensure that an UN Commission is constituted (with members from and on the recommendations of both sides apart from other permanent members) which will decide the Indo - China border dispute.

(19)- Lastly, India in future should stop any bilateral talks with China on border dispute and insist on said "UN Commission' to resolve this border dispute of legal character which can easily be resolved by legal luminaries of the world after checking and scrutinizing the historical records about the territories of both the countries like McMahon line etc.



Hem Raj Jain
(Author of 'Betrayal of Americanism')
Richfield, Minnesota, USA
E Mail : jainhemraj59@gmail.com