Nirupama Rao

Nirupama Rao's book on the events in India, China and Tibet between 1949 and 1962 is brilliant, scholarly and accessible.
The events leading up to the war in 1962 are complex, and Nirupama Rao has done a great service in piecing the sequence of events into a coherent whole. She trod a fine line and kept the book's tone neutral. Even though she tried not to criticize Nehru, there were moments when she called out his policy errors. Interestingly, the triggers for the war lay in China's domestic politics and the flight of the Dalai Lama.

Russia's role in supporting China also comes through.

Where did we go wrong? It is impossible to find an easy answer to this vexing question.

Both countries are locked in a time warp - 1962.

She has focused on the diplomatic aspect of the events and not the military. Therefore, the book must be part of a portfolio of books if you want to understand the debacle of 1962.

In summary, the book is fabulous, scholarly but demands patient reading.… (altro)