Local children playing at Tawang Monastery
“It was paddy harvest time in Dawang. They were attacking day and night from all four sides and people started running away from here when they got to Dawang.”
Dudan Sewang was 11 years old at that time. But he still vividly remembers the many war incidents he saw with his own eyes.
It was October 1962. China launched a surprise attack in the Northeast Frontier Agency (present-day Arunachal Pradesh) region of India. Even after retaliating heavily in some areas, the attack was too fierce for the Indian Army to stand in front of the Chinese Army.
Dootan Chewang with a picture of his youth.
Dawang, located about 35 km from the border, soon came under Chinese occupation and remained under Chinese occupation for the next month.
Sixty years have passed, but the memories of that war have faded, but its shadow still lingers in the minds of the people of the region.
Duthan Chewang grew up to become a paramilitary soldier in India and retired after 28 years of service.
He said that he still could not forget the hardships people faced during the war.
Caption- Bunkers used in the 1962 war
‘War was like a nightmare’
“There were no roads in this area. People walked day and night through the forests to safer lowlands. They carried food on mules. It was like a nightmare.” said Tuthan Chewang.
Nawang Chota, who lives in Dawang, wrote a book talking to many elders who witnessed the 1962 war with their own eyes.
“Everyone was holding on for their lives. People wanted to run to safety with their families. There were no vehicles here then. How far could one go even on foot,” he queried.
In 1962, Lopsang Tsering was 11 years old. He says his parents took him to Assam after the Chinese attack. He was able to return to Tawang only after the war ended.
Nawang Chota reading his book
About a month later, in November, China announced a ceasefire and withdrew its troops. But many could not believe this.
“It was said that the Chinese army had gone back. Some started calling this a lie. Because after China won the war people started thinking why should they retreat. Some suspected that perhaps India was lying to them. They feared that they would be handed over to China. After being assured that there was nothing like that, they came back,” said Laham Norbu, a resident of Tawang.
Rinchin Dorje
Terrible memories of war
Those who ran for their lives from Tawang came back after a few months and saw many horrifying scenes on the way.
Rinjin Dorje still shudders at the scenes. “When we came back, we saw the Chinese army dumping the bodies of Indian soldiers on the streets,” he says.
Even Lam Norbu could not forget that scene to this day. “The Chinese army carried the bodies of its soldiers in vehicles. The bodies of Indian soldiers were removed from the forests and placed on the roads. Many died in the war,” he said.
Nawang Chota noted that the Chinese military tried hard to gain the trust of the local people at the time and gain their support.
“When I spoke to my elders about this, they said that the Chinese army could not win the trust of the people here and did not get even a small amount of help from them,” Nawang Chota added.
Dawang Market
Tawang continues to make headlines
Tawang is a region of Arunachal Pradesh, a northeastern state of India. It has been in the headlines for the past several years.
It is a center of Buddhism and has a special relationship with the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.
After leaving Tibet in 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, lived for some time at Tawang Monastery.
Dawang was an area under Chinese control for about a month during the Sino-Indian War of 1962.
This area is still disputed between the two countries.
A flashpoint of this dispute was seen in December last year when a clash broke out between the armies of the two countries in the Yangtze region of Tawang.
India then claimed that the Chinese Army had crossed the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and tried to change the status quo.
Indian Army prevented Chinese troops from trespassing into Indian territory. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament that it made the Chinese troops retreat to their position.
This is not the first clash in this area. In October 2021, the armies of the two countries clashed on the Yangtze.
Pum-La Pass
Journey to the ‘Line of Actual Control’
The current Line of Actual Control is 35 kilometers from Tawang town.
LAC can be reached only through the winding roads of the Bum-La pass.
While passing through the Pum-La Pass, the air at fifteen thousand feet is deficient in oxygen.
Along with this, there are many natural lakes where the water is frozen due to the low climate.
It is at this place that many skirmishes took place during the 1962 war between the two countries.
Some traces of those battles can still be seen in this area.
Bunkers used in the 1962 war
The bunkers in which the Indian army hid on the roadside and faced the Chinese army are still visible there.
These bunkers are empty today, but a large presence of the Indian Army can be seen in areas near the LAC.
This is not surprising considering the long-standing tension between the two countries.
Dozens of tourists travel from Dawang to LAC every day despite the presence of army personnel.
Taking tourists to the LAC through the Pum-La Pass is a major source of income for taxi drivers in Tawang.
Tawang War Memorial
2,420 Indian soldiers lost their lives in the Kameng sector during this battle. A war memorial has been constructed at Tawang to pay tribute to these soldiers, the Indian Army said.
Some of the rare photographs housed here include a photo of the 14th Dalai Lama seen in India in 1959 after fleeing Tibet.
War pictures, weapons and other military equipment kept at this memorial keep the memories of the horror of 1962 fresh.
“We have not forgotten that incident as it was a big lesson for us not to trust the sweet words of the enemy. We have learned from it,” says Nawang Chota.
Tawang
‘Cafe 62’
Memories of the 1962 war may have faded. But they never left people’s minds.
We saw one such example in Jung, a small town about 35 km from Tawang.
After 21 years of service in the army, Rinjin Trema opened a cafe….’Cafe 62′ after retiring.
During the war with China in 1962, our elders were greatly persecuted by those people. I have given this name to the hotel in honor of that,” says Rinjin Trema.
With ‘Cafe 62’, Ring’s drama wants to keep the memories of the 1962 war alive.
Tenzin Darke
‘Border conflict is not new’
Border skirmishes between the armies of the two countries have become commonplace, residents of Dawang say.
Even after the December conflict, there is no fear or tension in Dawang. But business certainly took a hit, they say.
Karmu runs a cloth shop in Dawang’s market. “We as locals have no fear. We know that such an incident has happened only after the news in the media. But after the outcry in the media, the number of tourists decreases,” he said.
Tenzin Darke, who runs a souvenir shop in the Tawang market, insists that clashes between the two armies on the border do not affect the people of Tawang.
“Life is normal here. We only get to know about the clashes on the border through the news. We are living a normal life here. There is no major change,” he said.
Tawang
Many in Tawang feel that the Indian Army is now more prepared to deal with any situation than it was in 1962. Locals say there is a lot of difference between the Indian Army of 1962 and the Indian Army of today.
He says that there has been a lot of improvement in roads across the region in the past few years, which has enabled the Indian Army to move troops and supplies across the border much faster. .
“Any local in Dawang you talk to, they will say, ‘The Indian Army is there, if the need arises, we are behind it,'” says Nawang Chota.
But some say it’s better to be cautious when it comes to China.
“They (China) keep cheating. They hold meetings during the day and attack at night. So we always have to keep our eyes and ears open. We can’t trust them at all,” noted Dudan Chewang.
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