How strong is India's Claim to Tawang and Aksai Chin in the Border Dispute with China
India has a border stretching 3300 miles with China. I use the word China now as after 1950, the Chinese army occupied Tibet, which was the buffer created by the British rulers between India and China. Tibet is no longer in existence and the Chinese have taken over the mantle of Tibetan history and culture.
The British who ruled India for 190 years were a farsighted nation. They realized the importance of Tibet and decided that it must be in their sphere of influence. They launched the invasion of Tibet in 1903/4 under General YoungHusband and after a series of skirmishes, the British Indian army ( consisting mostly of Gurkhas and Sikhs) occupied Lhasa. The Dalai Lama ran away to Sinkiang and was stripped of all powers by the Chinese. At that time China was weak as it had been defeated in the "Opium Wars" by the British and French and had made major concessions to them by ceding Hongkong and a permanent presence in Shanghai and other places.
The British used the power of the gun and held a conference in Simla in 1913. It was a tri party conference attended by representatives of China and Tibet. At this conference the British demarcated the border as per their own sweet will and annexed Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai chin, which for centuries was under control of Tibet. They created an artificial line called the McMahon Line as a de facto border between India and Tibet in the east and also made Aksai Chin a part of India. The conference minutes were only initialled by the Chinese representative, who refused to sign it. The Tibet agent signed on the dotted line. Tibet thus handed over Twang the monastery town to the British. Twang for centuries had the second most holy Tibet shrine after Lhasa and the Dalai Lama often prayed there. The British also incorporated as part of the Simla conference, the right to maintain troops in Tibet at 5 places. British domination over Tibet was absolute.
India inherited the legacy of the British as the state that took over after the British left. Unfortunately the Indian leadership led by Nehru and Gandhi fed for years on a diet of satyagraha and ahimsa failed to realize the importance of what the British had left behind. Military power was alien to the Indian leadership and Nehru the Indian Prime Minister in a matter of one year frittered away the gains achieved by the British in a 100 years. He ordered the withdrawal of Indian troops from Tibet as it was a 'imperialist concept". The door now opened to Mao and China to attack Tibet.
In 1950 the Chinese army invaded Tibet and Nehru just sat as a bystander. An appeal for help from the Dalai Lama was ignored as Nehru felt that China would be India's friend. Sardar Patel the Home Minister wanted the Indian army to intervene, but he died of a heart attack and Nehru decided against support to Tibet. In one stroke Nehru made the northern border alive . He still failed to realize the game of Mao and continued with his policy of a distrust of the army.
The Chinese saw their chance and Mao in a address to the Central Committee of the Communist party declared Nehru a weak man and a man with imperialist notions. He also announced that China did not recognize the McMahon line in the East and claimed entire Ladakh and Aksai Chin as part of China. As Nehru had not positioned any troops in Aksai Chin, the Chinese army occupied 30,000 square miles and Nehru was unaware of what had happened. In one stroke he was presented with a fait accompli.
In 1962 the Chinese army struck across the border and in a 20 day campaign humiliated the Indian army and Nehru. The fact that must be understood that for India to hold on to the British concept of the border with China, a strong military and pro active attitude was required. Nehru had no stomach for this and in one strike he surrendered the leadership of Asia to China and Mao.
The Indian claims are on a weak wicket as historically the Chinese claim is very strong. As I have pointed out Arunachal Pradesh was NEVER a part of the Indian empire at its apex when Aurangzeb ruled. it was always a part of Tibet. India also had no control over Aksai Chin, which was again a a vassal state of Lhasa. If India had to enforce its right as interpreted by the British a strong army was an essential requirement. With India neglecting the army, the claim over these areas is greatly weakened. The Chinese now claim the entire Arunachal Pradesh as part of China as historically it always had affinity with Tibet.
Modi and the Indian leadership will be committing a historical blunder if they think that China will accept Indian claims and the border issue can be put on the back burner. Unfortunately with a military that is subservient to China , India is weak at the negotiating table and as such I see very little chance that India and China will have a friendly relationship on indian terms. The reality must be faced.
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