On 17 November 1950, as the Chinese Army arrived in Lhasa, in an atmosphere of apprehension, and there was a 15 year old young Dalai Lama in place. So in 1950,the centuries-old Kashag, the governing council of Tibet and a legacy of the Qing dynasty, decided to shift the Tibetan Administration along with the Dalai Lama to Yatung, a day’s march from the Sikkim–Tibet border.
The Korean War in 1950-53 was exploited by Mao’s China. In the initial stages of that War, the Chinese Army took over Seoul in South Korea. However, the US soon counter attacked with massive firepower and eventually took control of Seoul. But despite the huge loss of lives, Mao cabled Stalin that he was willing to use China’s huge manpower reserves to exhaust the Americans. This won Stalin over.
Pleased with Mao’s zeal, Stalin overcame his earlier reluctance to arm China and gave orders on 19 February 1951 for the Soviet Union to build factories in China to repair and service its damaged fighter aircrafts. The wily Mao took advantage of this situation and got his technicians to convert these repair facilities into aircraft-making facilities. Thus, by the end of the Korean War in July 1953, even though Stalin was dead and succeeded by Nikita Khrushchev, China had the third largest Air Force in the world with more than a thousand aircraft, including advanced versions of the reverse-engineered Soviet MiG fighters. That was indeed an achievement for a country that was still battling poverty.
Also, following the end of the Korean War, Mao’s attention shifted completely to Tibet, but he moved cautiously. He saw that having regained its military advantage in Korea, the US was exploring a joint US–UK–India stand against China and its assault of Tibet. The Chinese leadership was fearful of a US attempt to stall China’s plans to take over Tibet. However, once Nehru’s reluctance to become involved in Tibet’s affairs became clear, the Chinese moved swiftly and strategically, first to take over Lhasa and then intruded into Aksai Chin.
New Delhi chose to overlook the Chinese intrusions in Aksai Chin, as the Indian government’s attention was focused on its North Eastern frontiers (and the McMahon Line), even as intelligence reports all through 1952 indicated that the Chinese had started to make inroads into Eastern Ladakh by building a road from Sinkiang through Aksai Chin to enter Western Tibet near Lanak La Pass. This intelligence was reportedly authenticated by aerial photographs showing the presence of a road, obtained through reconnaissance sorties conducted by the IAF.
To further ascertain the veracity of these reports, the Indian Army Chief, General Cariappa, sent an Army expedition with a young army Captain, (later Major General) Rajendra Nath, who was selected from the Military Intelligence Directorate. Captain Nath was tasked to carry out an extensive reconnaissance and ascertain the Chinese role in Aksai Chin.
Apart from Captain Nath, the team comprised of an Engineer Officer, a Doctor and 15 soldiers, mostly from the infantry. The team traversed multiple passes ranging from 17,000 feet to 18,300 feet, like the Chang La and Marsmik La passes and the Chang Chenmo River Valley. From there they travelled via the Kongka La Pass to the Lanak La Pass, and returned to Chang La by 15 November and then travelled to Delhi, where they submitted their report. That report was, however, classified ‘Top Secret’ and remains so till date.
But further down the Indo-Tibetan boundary, Nehru must be credited for signing treaties for the defence of Bhutan (on 8th August 1949), Nepal (31st July 1950) and Sikkim (on 5th December 1950). These nations would act as buffers against any Chinese expansion. Thereafter Nehru chose to justify India’s neutral credentials, even as China, despite its military limitations and Mao’s fear that India could act in concert with the US to stall the Chinese invasion of Tibet, bluffed its way into compelling the Tibetans to sue for peace, with a seventeen point agreement in 1951.
On 17 November 1950, as the Chinese Army arrived in Lhasa, in an atmosphere of apprehension, and there was a 15 year old young Dalai Lama in place. So in 1950, the centuries-old Kashag, the governing council of Tibet and a legacy of the Qing dynasty, decided to shift the Tibetan Administration along with the Dalai Lama to Yatung, a day’s march from the Sikkim–Tibet border. This would allow an easy escape into India, if the Chinese became more aggressive. Yatung was also a centre for Indo-Tibetan trade and the base for an Indian Army military escort.
Nehru, however, was not keen to encourage any further dissent by the Tibetans. He even legitimised Mao’s takeover of Tibet (with the Panchsheel Treaty of 1954) even though Maohad himself conceded in 1952 that there was no social basis orpopular support for the Communist Party’s ‘liberation’ of Tibet.
