#AuthenticBookExcerpts target to bring out powerful lines hidden inside great books, and are not intended to be a review of the whole book. It impresses upon us the importance of a well-informed, well-experienced, and strong leadership, and how its malfunction can result in the loss of life and defeat in battle. The Himalayan Blunder: The Curtain Raiser to the Sino-Indian War talks in detail about all the events leading to the 1962 Sino-Indian war, from the first-hand perspective of an officer of the Indian Army who was captured as a prisoner of war by the Chinese. 'The ignominy of captivity is, for the soldier, a fate worse than death,' Brigadier Dalvi wrote in his book The Himalayan Blunder which is an honest analysis of the reasons for India's. The Indian soldier asks for very little and does not worry if this little is not provided.

His account of the war is graphic and telling. Dalvi fought the war as the Commander of the 7th Infantry Brigade in NEFA (North-East Frontier Agency). Dalvi’s retelling of the Sino-Indian war that took place in 1962 - a war that India lost. This humble soldier had displayed more patriotism and sense of duty than many others who should have set an example. Himalayan Blunder: The Angry Truth About India’s Most Crushing Military Disaster is Brigadier J. When I asked him why he had not left for Meerut, he gave me this answer, “Sahib, is this the time to go on pension when the battalion is likely to be involved in an action?” He had voluntarily rejoined the unit and had walked many miles to the Namka Chu. He was proceeding on pension after completing 28 years of gallant service, mostly in the field in World War II and thereafter guarding India’s extensive borders. I was taken aback at seeing him at the front as I had attended his farewell party in Towang and had also met him at Misamari awaiting a berth on the train bound for Meerut, his Regimental Centre. Brigadier John Parshuram Dalvi of the Indian Army writes the following as he visits the troops who have dug-in opposite the Chinese in harsh terrain, with pouch scales and ammunition.Īt Bridge II I met the Company Second-in-command, Subedar Partap Singh. It's September 1962, and the Chinese are sitting on the sides of the river Namka Chu in Arunachal Pradesh.

Himalayan blunder by jp dalvi