The way the government has gone about blocking the Henderson Brooks 1962 war report on the Sino-Indian war defies logic or reason. In today’s wired world, it is preposterous to be opaque on historical information. The cat was already out of the bag when B.M. Kaul published the book, TheUntold Story, and John Dalvi came out with his Himalayan Blunder . Even facts on China’s Cultural Revolution are not shrouded in secrecy.
A.V. Narayanan,Tiruchi
It is a well-known fact that it is a flawed Forward Policy that led to more than 4,000 soldiers and officers losing their lives in the 1962 war. Defence needs were not adequately assessed and there was hardly any interaction between the defence chiefs and his political bosses, leading to a disastrous defeat. Tragically, the situation appears to be the same even today. The resignation of Admiral Joshi is a pointer. Not only should the report be brought into the public realm, but there should also be a debate on the reasons that led to the debacle.
S.V. Venkatakrishnan,Bangalore
