Every year on October 20, India observes National Solidarity Day to remember its solidarity. China launched an historic attack on India on this historic day in 1962. The attack lasted about a month before China declared a ceasefire on November 21, 1962.
Although India lost the war and suffered a significant loss of life and property, the nation as a whole condemned China’s actions and displayed warm solidarity and teamwork to defend the nation. The war’s primary cause was a Chinese border dispute in the Himalayas. India’s and China’s borders are not clearly marked throughout. China disagreed with India’s belief that it had inherited clear boundaries from the British after independence. China was of the opinion that the British left behind a contentious legacy on the border between the two newly established republics.
The border between India and China is broken up into three sections: Middle, Western, and Eastern. The Johnson Line, which was proposed by the British in the 1860s and included Aksai Chin in the then-princely state of Jammu and Kashmir up to the Kunlun Mountains, is the subject of the boundary dispute in the Western Sector. The Johnson Line was used by independent India to claim Aksai Chin as its own. When India stated this in the early 1950s, China initially did not object; But in the years that followed, it changed its mind and said that it didn’t see why it should give Aksai Chin to India because it had never joined the Johnson Line.
Over the McMahon Line is the disputed border in the Eastern Sector of the India-China border. In 1913 and 1914, when representatives of China, India, and Tibet met in Shimla, they proposed a deal to settle the boundary between Tibet and China and Tibet and India. The agreement was initially signed by the Chinese participants in the meeting, but they later refused to accept it. In 1951, India acquired the Tawang tract that China claimed. China held control of Aksai Chin in the west until the 1960s, while India held control of the boundary in the east up to the McMahon Line. India received military assistance from the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain. After that, China moved back to the McMahon Line and brought the Indian prisoners of war home (1963). The border’s legacy is still significant, especially in India, where the government tried to justify its defeat by claiming that it was caused by being caught off guard. As a way to honour the Indo-China War, a prestigious committee comprised of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and other dignitaries decided in 1966 to designate October 20 as National Solidarity Day annually. On this day, a lot of schools, colleges, and NCC meetings hold events to teach young people about patriotism. This day must be remembered for our military strength’s ability to guard our borders. What we have accomplished and what remains to be done to safeguard our borders. On this day, our nation remembers our armed forces with love, gratitude, and admiration.
It is time to remember the 1962 Indo-China war and National Solidarity Day, another forgotten relic of patriotic fervour, in light of the current border dispute and the deadliest border clash in decades between India and China.
Edu World celebrates the National Solidarity Day as a day to educate the public about the value of solidarity; a day to promote discussion about how to foster solidarity in support of the Sustainable Development Goals, including ending poverty; a day of action to encourage new efforts to end poverty.
