Book exposes China's tacit back to Pak in 1965 war

New Delhi, June 10: Former Defence Minister Y B Chavan's''cryptic'' diary entries about the 1965 Indo-Pak war have recently been'decoded' into a book by his Private Secretary R D Pradhan (1962-65) in'1965 War: The Inside Story'.

Mr Pradhan, a retired IAS officer, highlights the 'HigherDirection of War' (the lack of which led to the 1962 war debacle ascommented in the Henderson-Brook Report of inquiry), given by theDefence Minister in the cabinet of then Prime Minister Lal BahadurShastrito the entire 22-day conflict in his nearly more than 40 yearsold 'memoir'.

Paying tributes to the Indian Air Force, which partook in a warfor the first time since Independence and came out with flying colours,the book lauds its feat of defeating Pakistan's much vaunted 'F-104'Star Fighters, 'F-86' Sabre Jet Fighters and 'B-57' Bombers with its'Mysteres', 'Vampires' and 'Hunters' ''museum pieces'' (an epithetgiven to the IAF by US Defence Secretary Robert McNmara), and how thewar defined its new role, a la 1999 Kargil war.

While dissecting Pakistan's 'real intentions' and China's'indirect help' to it in the first ''all-out clash'' between the twoSouth-Asian neighbours, the 138-page book by 'Atlantic Publishers'exposes the 'Chinese angle' in the 1965 war which had issued an'ultimatum' to India to dismantle within three days the 'constructionon Chinese territory', near Sikkim border, -- a ploy to trouble Indiain the North-East in support of Pakistan.

''Politically, so that it does not get weak to accept ceasefireproposal under pressure from US and Russia, and militarily to easepressure on Pakistan and give it military support on the Kashmir Lineof Control,'' records the book on China's attitude.

The book details on why India did not march into Lahore, how thepolitical and defence leadership re-established mutual confidence badlyfractured in the 1962 Indo-China war and how India lost the gains ofwar at the Tashkent Peace Conference.

Bracketed in three sections, '1965 War: The Inside Story'specially dwells on the 'ground situation, Pakistan's intentions andIndia's military assessment', '22-day war diary account by Y B Chavan'and 'overall assessment of conduct of war, lessons learnt from 1962 warand Chavan's reflections on resolving the basic issue which led to thewar'.

Not an account of the 1965 India-Pakistan War, but annotation ofday-to-day recordings of a minister who enjoyed full support of PrimeMinister Lal Bahadur Shastri, the 138-page book also describes thebehaviour of key political and military figures, mental condition ofthose directing war operations and the diplomatic efforts behindbringing about the ceasefire.

Near its end, the book delves into 'personal beliefs' and musingsof Chavan on Kashmir, which according to him was ''basically apolitical issue'' and not a military one, and how ''we are tragicallyalone'' with none of the 'five superpowers' with us on the issue, whileadding that ''I hope we have the vision and courage to accept thischallenge to our political leadership''.

UNI