For the first time, a large section of the still classified Henderson Brooks Report, which details a comprehensive operational review of India’s military debacle in 1962, has been made public.
A more than 100-page section of the first volume of the report, which includes an exhaustive operational review of the India-China war over both western and eastern sectors, has been published by Australian journalist Neville Maxwell on his website.
The now retired Mr. Maxwell was a former correspondent of The Times of London who reported on the war from New Delhi. He authored in 1970 ‘India’s China War’ — a path-breaking, yet controversial, account of the conflict which angered the Indian establishment by drawing upon classified information to highlight the flawed decision-making that led to defeat at the hands of the Chinese.
Explaining his decision to release, for the first time, four chapters of the still classified report, Mr. Maxwell said he believed he was “complicit in a continuing cover-up” by keeping the report to himself.
“The reasons for the long-term withholding of the report must be political, indeed probably partisan, perhaps even familial,” he wrote in an explanatory note on his website.
The report indicts the highest levels of the government — from the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's own office and the Defence Ministry — particularly for its Forward Policy, which was enforced, the report reveals, despite considerable concerns and objections from on-the-ground military commands that lacked resources.
It underlines the deep disconnect between Delhi and Army commands on assessing how China would react to the Forward Policy.
Keywords: 1962 war report, classified 1962 war report, Henderson Brooks Report, India’s military debacle, Indo-China war
I was in my twentees at the time of the war. I read in papers, Nehru and his defense minister V. K. Krishna Menon knew that Chinese intruded into India two years before the war but never reported to the parliament. Also during the war, it was reported, the military did not find some of the border roads on their military maps. So someone benefited through defence contracts. Therefore nothing new about the artricle.
Neville Maxwell (born 1926 in London) is a retired Australian
journalist and author of the 1970 book India's China War, which is
considered a controversial analysis of the 1962 Sino-Indian War
because of its pro-China slant.[1][2][3] Chinese Premier Hua Guofeng
in 1976 gifted Maxwell's book to visiting Singaporean leader Lee Kuan
Yew, but Lee refused to take the "revisionist, pro-China history"
book, telling his host: “Mr. Prime Minister, this is your version of
the war. There is another version, the Indian version. And in any
case, I am from South-East Asia — it’s nothing to do with usâ€.
I wonder what on earth will change if we publish the report !!!
Even it is released, the past can not be retrieved. Lessons must
have been learnt by the Indian as well as Chinese forces. So lets
move forward lest we forget the present priorities and hunger
striven concerns.
How a classified report is with Neville Maxwell?
Can you please share the link from where we can download and go through
the said report?
War failure aside, the violation of Panchsheel cannot be forgotten . It
shows the importance of preparation and strong leadership. India still
needs these attributes.
I bet not even an article, forget editorial would come on this from the stables of Hindu.
Why is anyone's guess. Why are they still keen on promoting Rahul is again anyone's
guess..
Immediate reaction of Congress will be to ban his book and block his web site and call it an election conspiracy of BJP.
Neville Maxwell seems completely to have overlooked - as indeed have several other commentators at the time - of the definitive statement made by the then Defence Minister, Shri Y.B. Chavan, in Parliament on 6th September 1963 on the Sino-Indian conflict in NEFA. The Henderson Brooks Report was held back in the 1960s because it touched some details of the terrain and defensive positions that may have prejudiced India's defences in NEFA at the time. After a lapse of over 50 years, with advances in satellite surveillance and mobile missile defences, those factors no longer really hold. Those interested in the 1962 conflict would profit from reading John Garvin, Margaret Fisher, Amar Kaur Jasbir Singh, Dorothy Woodman and others. Maxwell's views are not necessarily the last word on the subject.
Jawaharlal Nehru's foreign policy is the reason for the isolation of
India in the world stage. The governments from the time of Jawaharlal
Nehru followed the same foreign policy of trusting the Chinese
dictators endangering the national security of India from independence
to this day. The colossal mistakes of Nehru and his family still hurt
the national security of India. It is not just the ideological drift
but also poor decision making during the war with China resulted in
loss of Indian territory to China. China continues to threaten the
borders of India. India with weak military capabilities, keep on
negotiating for six decades to recover the territories occupied and
claimed by China. India caves in for unending negotiations with China,
while China keep the status quo without yielding back any territory to
India. India falls in the trap of increased trade opportunities with
China. It is time to bury the non-alignment policy and stand up
against the dictators in China.
We have been enough corruption and mismanagement by different political leaders elected in the past. I do not think it is far different now. Their lackadaisical approach effects the Army as well. One of the highest commanders of the Army mentioning about a large non operational war equipment in the press is just a tip of the ice berg. Unless a very serious and urgent action is taken in that regard we are bound to repeat the history.
it is very well known that Nehru and his maverick defence minister tried to bluff Chinese,what they got a bloody nose.
Nehru did non survive this shock.
all in all this family has brought misery to this country
mrs Gandhi was instrumental in promoting disorderly behaviour in politics
one shining example was Bangladesh liberation
Rajiv Gandhi with sam pitroda fathered communications revolution in india but had no commonsense to deal with other presessing issues like Kashmir
now his widow as ruining the country we are fools to accept a foreign master for no fault of hers
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