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Analysis
China
Cannot Do a 1962: Border Villagers
by
Syed Zarir Hussain
Sewang Lama, a businessman, was 11 years old when India
and China fought a border war in 1962, with Chinese troops advancing deep
into Arunachal Pradesh and inflicting heavy casualties on Indian soldiers.
Today, 58-year-old Lama, a father of three, is confident China cannot do a
repeat of 1962 in this rugged eastern frontier.
"The situation was
different in 1962 with the Chinese catching our soldiers unawares. Today,
I am pretty sure the Indian Army would be able to give China a befitting
reply in case they have any ill intentions," Lama told IANS sounding proud
and confident.
Lama has faint memories of the 1962 Chinese
aggression.
"I remember my father shifting our entire family to a
far off village to escape the rampaging Chinese Army - We probably stayed
there for close to three weeks."
The mountainous state of Arunachal
Pradesh shares a 1,030-km unfenced border with China.
The
Sino-Indian border along Arunachal Pradesh is separated by the McMahon
Line, an imaginary border now known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Like Lama, 63-year-old Tamding Sarwang too has bitter memories of
the 1962 war.
"Whatever happened is history, now China cannot do a
repeat of 1962. The people of Arunachal Pradesh are solidly behind the
Indian Army and would shed blood to protect our territory," said Sarwang,
a yak farmer near the Sela Pass perched at an altitude of close to 14,000
feet.
The writing on the wall is loud and clear - Arunachal is
part of India.
"I am India, India is me. I love my India," reads a
slogan painted on rocks close to the Chinese border.
But there is a
grouse among the locals here - they want New Delhi to firm up its stand
against China and develop the frontier region to remove any sense of
alienation.
"India should strengthen its troops and equip them with
the best of weapons and take a bold step to make India's position clear on
Arunachal. We also want our border roads and other infrastructure to be
developed," Ruwal Norbu, a community elder, said.
Arunachal
Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu echoes similar views.
"Chinese claims of Arunachal Pradesh is baseless. So India should once for
all settle the border dispute and clarify all doubts," the chief minister
told IANS.
The border dispute with China was inherited by India
from British colonial rulers, who hosted a 1914 conference with the
Tibetan and Chinese governments that set the border in what is now
Arunachal Pradesh.
China has never recognized the 1914 McMahon
Line and claims 90,000 sq km, nearly all of Arunachal Pradesh. India
accuses China of occupying 8,000 sq km of its territory in Kashmir.
After 1962, tensions flared again in 1986 with Indian and Chinese forces
clashing in Sumdorong Chu valley of Arunachal. Chinese troops reportedly
built a helipad in the valley leading to fresh skirmishes.
The
latest hiccups along the border follow reports of Chinese incursions,
which Beijing has denied.
Indian officials say there have been some
incursions but this is routine since the border is not demarcated.
September 26, 2009
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