Nathu La and Cho La clashes: Difference between revisions

| units2            =  

{{army|CHN}}

| casualties2      = '''Indian claims''':<br>340 killed<br>450 wounded.<ref name="Mishra JNU"/><br>'''Chinese claims''': <br>32 killed (Nathu La), unknown (Cho La)<ref name="Fravel" />  

The '''Nathu La and Cho La clashes''', sometimes referred to as the '''Sino-Indian War of 1967''',<ref>{{Cite news|last=Prashar|first=Sakshi|date=June 2020|title=A history of Sino-Indian feuds: Times when China had to back down|work=The Economic Times|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/a-history-of-sino-indian-feuds-times-when-china-had-to-back-down/articleshow/76357150.cms|access-date=2021-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Mitter|first=Rana|date=September 2020|title=The old scars remain: Sino-Indian war of 1967|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/books/review-watershed-1967-indias-forgotten-victory-over-china-by-probal-dasgupta/cid/1790853|access-date=10 February 2021}}</ref> consisted of a series of border clashes between India and China alongside the border of the Himalayan [[Kingdom of Sikkim]], then an Indian [[protectorate]].

On 1 October 1967, another clash between India and China took place at [[Cho La, Sikkim|Cho La]], another pass on the Sikkim–Tibet border, a few kilometers north of Nathu La.<ref name="Thapliyal" /><ref name="Fravel" />

China, however, asserted that the provocation had come from the Indian side. According to the Chinese version, Indian troops had infiltrated into the Chinese territory across the pass, made provocations against the stationed Chinese troops, and opened fire on them.<ref name="Bajpai p.193">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EB2l6dr_JlwC&pg=PA193 |title=China's Shadow Over Sikkim: The Politics of Intimidation |last=Bajpai |first=G. S. |date=1999 |publisher=Lancer Publishers |isbn=9781897829523 |pages=193, 194 |language=en}}</ref>

The military duel lasted one day,<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CnDlcP6L8iEC&pg=PA317 |title=Beijing's Power and China's Borders: Twenty Neighbors in Asia |last1=Elleman |first1=Bruce |last2=Kotkin |first2=Stephen |last3=Schofield |first3=Clive |date=2015 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |isbn=9780765627667 |pages=317 |language=en}}</ref> during which the Chinese were driven away, and it boosted Indian morale.<ref name="van Eekelen p.239" /> According to Indian Maj. Gen. Sheru Thapliyal, the Chinese were forced to withdraw nearly three kilometers in Cho La during this clash.<ref name="Thapliyal" />

According to scholar [[Taylor Fravel]], the competition to control the disputed land in Chumbi valley had played a key role in escalating tensions in these events. Fravel has argued that these incidents demonstrate the effects of China's "regime insecurity" on the use of force. He states that three factors in these clashes emphasized the role of "declining claim strength in China's decision to initiate the use of force" against India. First is the Indian Army's expansion of size after the 1962 war leading to the strengthening of its borders with China. Second is the apparent Indian aggression in asserting its claims near the border. Third is the Chinese perceptions of Indian actions, for which Fravel says that the most unstable period of [[Cultural Revolution]] in China, which coincided with these incidents, was a possible contributing factor. Fravel remarks that the Chinese leaders possibly magnified the potential threat from India due to the border-tensions and the perceived pressure from India to strengthen its claims across the border, and decided that a severe attack was needed.<ref name="Fravel" />

According to scholar John Garver, due to the Nathu La incident, Indian concerns were roused about China's intentions regarding Sikkim. Garver also remarks that India was "quite pleased with the combat performance of its forces in the Nathu La clashes, seeing it as signalling dramatic improvement since 1962 war."<ref name="Garver">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TOVaMckcO0MC&pg=PA171 |title=Protracted Contest: Sino-Indian Rivalry in the Twentieth Century |last=Garver |first=John W. |date=2011 |publisher=University of Washington Press |isbn=9780295801209 |pages=171 |language=en}}</ref>

| 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>

* [http://veekay-militaryhistory.blogspot.com/2013/04/nathula-1967-real-story.html Nathu La; 1967 - The Real Story]; Veekay (Indian Army Corps), using the diary of Second Lieutenant N.C Gupta; ''cited by Willem van Eekelen in his book, Indian Foreign Policy and the Border Dispute with China: A New Look at Asian Relationships (p 238)''. [https://books.google.com/books?id=G3nsCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA238#v=onepage&q&f=false]