No one across the world can match our brave soldiers provided they are trained and equipped well. GENERAL VK SINGH, former army chief
From page 1 CHANDIGARH: Former Army Chief and Union minister of state of external affairs (independent charge) General VK Singh, during a seminar on ‘1962 War: An Appraisal’, organised by the department of defence and national security studies at Panjab University on Saturday, said the political establishment and the higher military leadership failed the soldiers during the 1962 India-China War.
KARUN SHARMA/HTStudents during a seminar on ‘1962 War: An Appraisal’ at Panjab University in Chandigarh on Saturday.Singh added, “It was a war in which the soldiers performed very well. What failed us because of the political establishment and the higher military leadership… why we failed is something that we need to analyse.”
“No one across the world can match our brave soldiers provided they are trained and equipped well. We created a myth about 9 feet tall and 9 feet wide Chinese man, who could have been defeated anytime. I believe the people who do not learn from the history suffer subsequently,” he added.
During the event, a book, ‘1962 The War That Wasn’t’, written by Shiv Kunal Verma, filmmaker and military historian, was also released. Describing the book as very refreshing, Singh said, “A myth was spread after the independence that the military was keen to get into the power. It was one of the reasons the military was kept out of the loop of decision making, which diminished the trust that should have existed between the political leaders and the military establishment.”
Meanwhile, Shiv Kunal Verma said while signing the Panchsheel Agreement, India made concessions to China, which was against the advice given by the military leadership. He added, “The then PM Jawaharlal Nehru committed a biggest blunder by handing over the North East Frontier Area to the Indian Army, which triggered a chain reaction.”
PU vice-chancellor Prof Arun Kumar Grover called upon the department of defence and national security studies to reach out to the military leadership and veterans and create a think tank, which can work on the defencerelated problems pertaining to the country.
Meanwhile, the 1962 War veteran Major General Rajender Nath, who was Second Lieutenant during the 1962 War, Brigadier Amarjit Singh Behl, war veteran, and Brigadier DK Khullar also shared their memories.