Nathu La and Cho La clashes: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Border clashes between China and India in 1967}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}

{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}

{{Infobox military conflict

| conflict          = Nathu La and Cho La Clashes

| caption          = World map from 1967 with China and India highlighted

| date              = 11–14 September 1967 (Nathu La)<br />1 October 1967 (Cho La)

| territory        =  

| result            = Indian victory<ref name="Chellaney" /><ref name="Praagh" /><ref name="Hoontrakul" />

| units1            = {{army|India}}

| units2            = {{armed forces|China}}

| strength2        = 31st Infantry Regiment

*4th Rifle Company

| campaignbox      =  

}}

According to independent sources, India achieved "decisive tactical advantage" and managed to hold its own against  and push back Chinese forces.<ref name="Chellaney"/><ref name="Praagh">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TbpU0HngYhoC&pg=PA301 |title=Greater Game: India's Race with Destiny and China |last=Van Praagh |first=David |date=2003 |publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP |isbn=9780773525887 |pages=301 |language=en |quote=(Indian) ''jawans'' trained and equipped for high-altitude combat used US provided artillery, deployed on higher ground than that of their adversaries, to decisive tactical advantage at Nathu La and Cho La near the Sikkim-Tibet border.}}</ref><ref name="Hoontrakul">{{citation |first=Ponesak |last=Hoontrakul  |chapter=Asia's Evolving Economic Dynamism and Political Pressures |editor1=P. Hoontrakul |editor2=C. Balding |editor3=R. Marwah |title=The Global Rise of Asian Transformation: Trends and Developments in Economic Growth Dynamics |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RrKYBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37 |year=2014 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |isbn=978-1-137-41236-2 |page=37 |quote=Cho La incident (1967) - Victorious: India / Defeated : China}}</ref> Many PLA fortifications at Nathu La were destroyed,<ref name="Fravel">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=02Hjr6RUckwC&pg=PA197 |title=Strong Borders, Secure Nation: Cooperation and Conflict in China's Territorial Disputes |last=Fravel |first=M. Taylor |date=2008 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1400828876 |pages=197–199 |language=en}}</ref> where the Indian troops drove back the attacking Chinese forces.<ref name="Chellaney">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZCmFAAAAMAAJ |title=Asian Juggernaut: The Rise of China, India, and Japan |last=Brahma Chellaney |author-link=Brahma Chellaney |date=2006 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=9788172236502 |pages=195 |language=en |quote=Indeed, Beijing's acknowledgement of Indian control over Sikkim seems limited to the purpose of facilitating trade through the vertiginous Nathu-la Pass, the scene of bloody artillery duels in September 1967 when Indian troops beat back attacking Chinese forces.}}</ref>

== Background ==

Following the 1962 [[Sino-Indian War]], tensions continued to run high along the Himalayan border shared by India and China. Influenced by its previous defeat, the Indian Army raised a number of new units, nearly doubling their deployed forces along the disputed region. As a part of this military expansion, seven mountain divisions were raised to defend India's northern borders against any Chinese attack. Most of these divisions were not based near the border, save for the [[Chumbi Valley]], where both Indian and Chinese troops are stationed on both sides at close range. Particularly at the [[Nathu La]] pass in the valley, alongside the [[Kingdom of Sikkim|Sikkim]]-[[Tibet]] border, the deployed Chinese and Indian forces are stationed about 20–30 meters apart, which is the closest of anywhere on the 4000&nbsp;km [[Line of Actual Control|Sino-Indian border]]. The border here is said to have remained "un-demarcated". Chinese held the northern shoulder of the pass, while the Indian Army held the southern shoulder. Two major parts of the pass, south and north of Nathu La, namely ''Sebu La'' and ''Camel’s back,'' were held by the Indians. From 1963, small-scale clashes in the region were frequently reported in the press.<ref name="Thapliyal" /><ref name="Fravel" /><ref name="Bajpai p.184" /> On 16 September 1965, during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]], China issued an ultimatum to India to vacate the Nathu La pass. However, GOC 17 mountain division's Major General, [[Sagat Singh]], refused to do so, arguing that Nathu La was on the watershed which comprised the natural boundary.<ref name="Eekelen235">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G3nsCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA235 |title=Indian Foreign Policy and the Border Dispute with China: A New Look at Asian Relationships |last=van Eekelen |first=Willem |date=2015 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004304314 |pages=235–236 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=Singh308>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cJDsk_g6tXUC&pg=PA308 |title=Leadership in the Indian Army: Biographies of Twelve Soldiers |last=Singh |first=V. K. |date=2005 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=9780761933229 |pages=308, 309 |language=en}}</ref>

Starting from 13 August 1967, Chinese troops started digging trenches in Nathu La on the Sikkimese side. Indian troops observed that some of the trenches were "clearly" to the Sikkemese side of the border, and pointed it out to the local Chinese commander [[Zhang Guohua]], who was asked to withdraw from there. Yet, in one instance, the Chinese filled the trenches again and left after adding 8 more loudspeakers to the existing 21. Indian troops decided to stretch a [[barbed wire]] along the ridges of Nathu La in order to indicate the boundary.<ref name="Thapliyal" /><ref name="Bajpai p.184">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EB2l6dr_JlwC&pg=PA184 |title=China's Shadow Over Sikkim: The Politics of Intimidation |last=Bajpai |first=G. S. |date=1999 |publisher=Lancer Publishers |isbn=9781897829523 |pages=184–186 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="van Eekelen p.239">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G3nsCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA239 |title=Indian Foreign Policy and the Border Dispute with China: A New Look at Asian Relationships |last=van Eekelen |first=Willem |date=2015 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9789004304314 |location=The Netherlands |pages=239– |language=en}}</ref>

==Military Awards==

===Maha Vir Chakra===

{| class="wikitable sortable"

| Lieutenant Colonel [[Mahatam Singh]] || [[Jammu and Kashmir Rifles|10 JAK Rifles]] || [[Cho La (Sikkim and Tibet)|Cho La]], [[Sikkim]], [[India]]|| <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gallantryawards.gov.in/Awardee/mahatam-singh|title=Lt Col Mahatam Singh – Maha Vir Chakra|publisher=Gallantry Awards, Ministry of Defence, Govt of India website}}</ref>

|-

|}

| Havaldar Lakhsmi Chand (P) || [[The Grenadiers|2nd Grenadiers]] || [[Nathu La]], [[Sikkim]], [[India]]|| <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gallantryawards.gov.in/Awardee/lakhmi-chand|title=Havaldar Lakhmi Chand – Maha Vir Chakra|publisher=Gallantry Awards, Ministry of Defence, Govt of India website}}</ref>

|-

|}

==See also==

== References ==

== Further reading ==

== External links ==

{{PRC conflicts}}

[[Category:Conflicts in 1967]]

[[Category:Wars involving the People's Republic of China]]