Former Air Chief Marshal: Nehru lost the 1962 War to fulfil his ambitions of becoming a World Leader

We have seen earlier how Nehru and his Defence Minister, Krishna Menon looked the other way even when the Army top brass expressed their deep concern about the road that the Chinese were building within the Indian borders and also their aggressive build up along the border.  The reactions and the actions of these guys in the prelude to the Indo-China war was nothing short of betrayal of India.

Now, more people are standing up and giving yet another angle of high incompetence or betrayal – that almost certainly contributed to the debacle of 1962.

First off, the current Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne said during an Air Force Day Press Conference that had the Air Force been used in the Indo-China War, just as it was used decisively in the Kargil War, the outcome would have been very different!

“Yes, no doubts about that. If air power was used at that time, the outcome would have been totally different,” he said when asked if the result of the 1962 war would have been different had air power been used.

Now, ex IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal (retd) A Y Tipnis has gone a step further and squarely blamed Jawaharlal Nehru for the 1962 defeat.  He was speaking at a seminar titled ‘India and China: After five decades of 1962 war’ in New Delhi.  Why does he think Nehru was the main culprit?  Because he thinks Nehru, blindsighted by his ambition to be counted amongst the world’s greatest leaders of his time took decisions and did actions that jeopardized the national security of his country.

“It was more or less universally accepted perhaps grudgingly not openly in some Indian quarters that to serve the dubious purpose of political survival that Pandit Nehru with his grandiose vision of a conflict free non-alligned world surrendered vital national security interest to the ambition of being a world leader,”

It is not that the Defense forces weren’t led properly right from the Prime Minister to Defense Minister and down to the Government administration, but the way Nehru would handle and humiliate the top Defense brass was reprehensible!

Tipnis said he had also seen an Army Chief in those days being “ticked off” like a school-boy by Prime Minister Nehru for his alleged petulance.

The abuse of the forces is a “tradition” that Congress Party popularized and emphasized upon.  Probably to obviate what happened in Pakistan.  But at the same time, it compromised the basic national security of our country!