Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday said that the Indian Army was not equipped to handle the 1962 Indo-China war, with New Delhi closing its eyes to the looming threat from Beijing.
Blaming New Delhi for India’s humiliating defeat in 1962, Capt. Singh said the entire atmosphere in New Delhi was then of negation, with nobody ready to believe that the Chinese invasion was imminent despite the signs being loud and clear. He called upon the present political establishment to ensure that the defence forces are fully prepared now, in view of the fresh signs of aggression from the country’s eastern border.
Capt. Singh was speaking at a panel discussion on `Sino-Indian Conflict 1962’ on the concluding day of the Military Literature Festival here.
Capt. Singh said though trends had changed, and so had the style of the Army’s functioning, the current situation at the border continued to be as volatile as it was in 1962.