LOVE KNOWS NO BARRIER!--- A SHORT STORY !

    LOVE KNOWS NO BARRIERS-----A SHORT STORY!

" It’s too late before I even realized that I love him I had an intimate friendship with him" Sheena told Naina

" Forget this love fever and be realistic , Love is only a folly of the youth and it vanishes when reality hits you in the face. You will also forget this once you are married" Naina told Sheena.

"Come on Mom, Love does not have an Expiry Date---- once you love ---- you just love, have you forgotten your own case? --- you married a sixty years old man, after leaving your first husband---- who was rich and earning a lot of money. You left his riches for your love, isn't it, Mom?" Sheena retorted.

" No, it was a silly mistake---- yes, I loved---- my second husband, God bless his soul but he was short of materialistic fuel that drives life---in a hard manner,I learnt that love alone does not meet all needs of life. Somewhere, we have to draw a balance between love and our material needs" Naina told her daughter Sheena.

"But love did prevail in your case and why NOT in my case? Satyajeet is rich and handsome ---- he is higly educated. What else do I want in life?" Sheena was pleading her case.

"No, but you still can not marry him” Naina was firm.

“But I love him; Satyajeet’s parents have agreed.” Sheena was reasoning out.

“Listen; Hindu customs and traditions do not permit this marriage” Naina said calmly.

“What rubbish is this mom?” Sheena was shocked.

“Come read this.” Naina threw an old black diary at Sheena.

It was a diary of some Shameena Khan. It began on January 01, 1984. Sheena started reading the diary, selectively. ************************************************************************
01 January 1984
The party last night was superb. I danced with Navkesh. He is studying in the final year of Electrical Engineering at Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh.

21February 1984
Amma (Mother) was disturbed a bit. Papa was transferred to Leh (Laddakh). He will be leaving in a fortnight.

23 March 1984.
I had some problem with my periods. Navkessh took me to a gynecologist. The report was positive. I am worried. Navkesh promises to marry me

18 July 1984.
Navkesh's mother has agreed. But they are unsure of his father. Auntie said she would persuade him. It is reassuring.

11August 1984
I and Navkesh leave home. Both of us have run away, in fact, because Navkesh’s father is very furious. He threatens to kill Navkesh. His mother suggests this course to us. She gave us Rs 10,000 for expenses. We reach New Delhi.
19 August 1984
Navkesh has been offered a job in the Delhi Vidyut Nigam.
27 October 1984
I was blessed with a beautiful daughter on 20 October.

31 October 1984
Mrs. Indira Gandhi has been assassinated by her two body guards. There are anti Sikh riots in the city. Navkesh has been out since morning. He has not come back. It is 11 PM. I am scared.
01 November 1984
No news of Navkesh. I hope his French beard and long hair do not give a wrong impression to the marauding mobs. Is he alive? If not, I will end my life, too. ************************************************************************

The diary had ended abruptly. There were no more entries.

Sheena was silent for some time, then she spoke, “so, you are Shameena ?
’
“No, not me. Your mother was” Naina was equally curt.

“What? You are not my mother”, Sheena was shocked.

“Not biologically. But it does not matter. I have been rearing you up for the past 24 years.” Naina was explaining.

“Then why are you not allowing me to marry Satyajeet” Sheena questioned.

“Biologically, you and Satyajeet are first cousins. Satyajeet’s mother is a real sister of Navkesh, your father. ” Naina said.

“How would anyone know?” Sheena begged.

“Navkesh and Shameena know it-----they are alive and in USA.
Shameena had to remarry Navkesh as Simran Kaur, as a riot-affected Sikh girl. Navkesh's father had approved her. They had quietly given you to me because I was a childless widow and a land lord of the house.” Naina clarified.

"But that does not matter---they won't object because they themselves had been victims of these customs" Sheena replied.

" Unfortunately, this is the tragedy ---Navkesh has threatened to expose me." Naina threw a brain teaser.

"Expose you? I don't get you, Mom" Sheena was puzzled but still courteous

"You see---Satyajeet----Yea Satyajeet is my Son from my First husband" Naina let out the missile.

"And Satyajeet's father knows about you and me----" Sheena asked.

"No, he does not , but he would be told by Navkesh----your father and his brother-in-law" Naina clarified.

"So, this is why you have been objecting? " Sheena was angry.

"Yes, because this love and marriage would be stigmatized" Naina added.

“If it has to be a stigma, then you all ought to be stigmatized. I don.t care; I love Satyajeet and he loves me---------this is 21st century----we are not bound by your rules; we will make our own rules--- I will marry Satyajeet” Sheena rushed out of the house sobbing and cursing everyone

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THE CURSE--- A SHORT STORY

 He sat brewing his coffee, with the past knocking his door, he felt that it was her curse which brought him this fate. Tea Stall owner, on the road Pathankot-Dharamshala, had given him the coffee pot to do so.  While brooding over the past, Ranjeet could distinctly remember the dream and an infant sobbing and telling Ranjeet  "Papa! What was my fault ? Why did you disallow my birth? In which way, sons are better than the daughters? Papa! You would learn it the hard way that the daughters care more for their parents than the sons. You would curse your self then, for, I shall come back to teach you this lesson, Papa!"

      Ranjeet could clearly remember that the year was 1978. Ranjeet, along with his wife had lived in a small village, near Palampur in Himachal Pradesh.  He was a school teacher in a government school. The couple had two daughters. Ranjeet , his wife Ranjana and Ranjeet,s parents were very keen that they have a male child,too. It was the month of August 1978 that his wife had been pregnant for three months. A friend suggested had that they better get an Ultra sound done to determine the sex of the child to be born. Ranjeet's parents also insisted.

          Ranjeet and his wife came to Amritsar and got the ultra sound done in a private hospital. In those days, a lot of private clinics used to do sex determination with good fees. In the test, it came out that gender of the child was female. This put off Ranjit and his wife. He came back home and told his parents. His mother was  badly disturbed. She accused, Ranjana, Ranjeet's wife, for not being able to conceive a male child. Ranjeet's parents were told by  a village astrologer that Ranjana was cursed and she can not give birth to a son. They wanted Ranjeet to go for a second marriage.

         This caused a lot of mental tension both to Ranjana and Ranjeet. A friend suggested that they they should get the pregnancy medically terminated and then visit Swami NITYANAND at Kangra, who had godly powers to mitigate their ordeal. Accordingly, Ranjeet and Ranjana came to Amritsar for abortion. Though Ranjana did not want to do so, but she had the threat of Ranjeet's second marriage looming over her head. So, she reluctantly agreed for the termination of pregnancy.

        On the day abortion was carried out, Ranjeet had this dream, where a young child had cursed him.And today, sitting at a way side tea stall at Nurpur, on road Pathankot-Dharamshala, Ranjeet was wondering if the curse had come true! After having been deserted by their only son, he was on his way to his village along with his wife ---to the same old ancestral house which had become almost ruins. He had nowhere else to go because he had spent all his savings on the marriages of his daughter and settling his son. He was in a deep remorse. This was the time he went into flashback mode.

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          After the medical termination of pregnancy in August 1978, Ranjeet and his wife ,on the friend's advice, had gone to Swami Nityanand's Ashram. They stayed in the ashram for seven days. Swami Nityanand used to give them some medicine, which put them both to sleep every night. Ranjana felt something fishy and told Ranjeet but he was in no mood to listen. On the 8th day, Swami Nityanand met them and asked them to visit 21 Temples of Goddesses to be blessed with the son. So, they went to all the nearby temples of the GODDESSES to pray to them to fulfill their wish.      

       As luck would have it, in the month of November 1979, his wife delivered a male child.  As soon as Ranjeet was told by the doctor that his wife Ranjana had delivered a male child, he had jumped and fisted into the air as if he was saying, “Eureka, I have done it”.          

        When his son Randeep was five years old, he had shifted to Yol Cantonment, near Dharamshala. He had put him in Sacred Heart School. He could hardly afford the fees of the school but the couple made this sacrifice for the good education of their beloved son.     

         As Randeep grew up, he graduated as an Electronics Engineer. Ranjeet had to withdraw Rs 20,000 from his provident fund to pay for his admission to an Engineering College. In fact, Randeep was in the waiting list and Ranjeet paid Rs 10,000 to a middleman to arrange his seat in the college. In June 2008, Ranjeet retired. Fortunately, Randeep had picked up a job with ICICI BANK at New Delhi.   

      At New Delhi, Randeep fell in love with a Guajarati girl from a very big business family of Mumbai. The parents of the girl initially did not agree but had put certain conditions for the marriage. Randeep had agreed, because of his deep love for Reeta. Randeep also, had rented a house in Vasant Kunj at the rate of Rs 10000 / per month and had asked his parents to move in there. The parents were delighted at this gesture of their son. They left their dilapidated ancestral house and moved to New Delhi to live with their son.   It was the 23rd day of January 2009. 

       They had been living with him for two years when one day Randeep told his parents about his love affair with Reeta. With great reluctance, but for the sake of their son's happiness, they had agreed for this economically mismatched marriage. Ranjeet had, though, tried to explain to his son of his background but Randeep would have none of it. Marriage took place and expenses were borne by Ranjeet. Reception was at HAYAT REGENCY and Ranjeet bore all the expenditure, there too. He finished his last penny.    

       Just one month after the marriage, Randeep got a job with HDFC bank at Pune. He moved there. In fact, this was the precondition laid by his in-laws that he should move to Mumbai or Pune after marriage. His wife had stayed back with his parents for sometimes. A fortnight later, she went to meet her parents in Mumbai but never returned.        

      When after a month and a half on 30 August 2012, they complained to Randeep, he curtly told them that she was staying with him. Also, Randeep told them that he couldn't afford hiring of houses at two places. He advised them to take a loan from Ramta, his elder sister at Gurgaon, and clear the rental arrears of the Vasant Kunj flat. There couldn't have been a bigger shock than this. 

      Ramta's husband did help them to clear their debts. Ramta asked them to move into their house but Ranjeet knew his culture did not allow him to stay with their daughter indefinitely. Despite his daughter's pleading and requests , they had decided to go back to their ancestral village.

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     Conductor of the bus was blowing the whistle.-----Ranjeet was not concerned till bus conductor came to him and said<" Janab, UTHO, CHALO CHALIYE----KEHDI SOCH VICH HO---JO SAADI WHISTLE BHI NAHI SUNAYI DITTI --( Sir, Get up, Let us go----What are you so seriously thinking that you could not hear my whistles). Ranjeet was shaken out of his trance -------he was reluctantly, with shaking legs moving towards the bus and murmuring to self------"-Oh! the unborn child's curse has come true!" But he did NOT know whether that child was Randeep, his son or his wife !!

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FATE ORDAINED---- A SHORT STORY !

FATE ORDAINED--- CIRCUMSTANCIAL VERDICT---- A SHORT STORY FOR SULEKHA RIVR CONTEST

      It’s too late before I even realized that the man from the side berth had fallen down . The train was going at full steam. I had boarded it at 9 PM at Lucknow. Side berth was occupied and man seemed to be fast asleep. Suddenly, at 11.10 PM, the man in the side berth had fallen down. He was dead. He might have been dead for sometime. I saw a red diary clutched in the dead man’s hand. It had some entries made. I began to read it. ************************************************************************************************************************************************
It was on May 11, 2005 that I had received a call from Sameer. 
He had asked me, “Are you ready to fulfill your promise?” 
“I will.” I had casually said. 
“Sangeeta has completed her post graduation in management. Let us formalize her relationship with Sangram.” Sameer threw a bombshell. 
“What? What are you saying?” I was flabbergasted. 
“Come on, don’t back out on your promise” Sameer had rebuked me. 
“Sameer, I do not remember any such promise I had made to you ever." I was clarifying. 
“Take out your diary of 1977. Read the entry on 04 November 1977? Have you forgotten that one rupee note I had given you”, Sameer had thundered. 
“Sameer, I have not read what you had written. Wasn’t that one Rupee a joke?” I calmly replied. 
“You are a liar. My wife had rightly told me that you had already fixed up your son’s marriage with some IAS guy's daughter, Anita.” Sameer had accused me. 
“I have not fixed Sangram’s marriage as yet. But I know he has a friend called, Anita.” I clarified. 
“So, that is it.” Sameer had banged the phone down. 
I searched for my diary of vintage 1977. I located it after a great effort. Saw the entry on 04 November 1977. It was the day I had received the telegram from home informing me on the birth of Sangram. 
It read, “I, Major Swaraj Singh and my friend, Major Sameer Singh, hereby solemnly affirm on oath that on completion of their education, Sangram and Sangeeta would be tied into a nuptial knot. We would firmly stand by it.” 
To say the least, although I had signed, yet I had not read it. Sameer had covered it with his hand, when I had signed. Thereafter, I had forgotten about it. 
Same day, on May 11, 2005, I spoke to Sangram. He told me, “I know Sangeeta as a friend but I can not marry her.” 
I pleaded with him, “I had made a written promise to her father”. 
“Kindly, do not emotionally blackmail me? I love Anita”, he gave a shut up call. 
And three years later, today on August 31, 2008, I hear of this suicide by Sangeeta. She had refused to marry anyone after Sangram had been married to Anita. Finally, she had taken her life. She had left a note behind, “I have been betrayed by -----” 
      Who betrayed her? Had Sangram rejected her? How would I face Sameer when I meet him now--------------? 
      But why is the police after me? How can they blame me for her suicide. Just because, she named me , it does not mean I was responsible for her suicide," stupid girl had taken an emotional decision and how could she claim that she was betrayed when SANGRAM had not shown any attraction towards her?"
      This " One-way- love" has created this problem for me. I am on the run from the police? Why? They are NOT prepared to listen to logic. They say that court would decide about this. They want to arrest me. My friend, Prem told me that police would like to make some money out of me because my son is an NRI. Such cases of NRI are god sent gift to them. 
     Today, the police had come looking for me. I , somehow managed to hoodwink because of my friend, Prem, who advised me to go underground for some days, till he manages to strike some bargain with the police. I am now going to--------

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     The note in the diary had abruptly ended. I had informed the railway police at SHAHJEHANPUR station. They asked me to wait til New Delhi and not to leave till my statement was recorded.

     As soon as we reached New Delhi station I .waited for the police to come. My statement was recorded. 
In the meanwhile, police searched deadman,s belonging. It turned out that the dead man was some Suresh Pandey of Patna.

     He was not the man whose diary I had been reading. 
Police further noticed that dead man's face had turned blue as if he had been poisoned. I was asked to accompany the police to the police station for further investigations.

     Police got a mobile phone from the pocket of the dead man and dialed a number in Patna. The number called was Ramesh Pandey, elder brother of Suresh Pandey, who had informed the police that his younger brother had gone to New Delhi for some business.

     Police informed Ramesh that his brother was dead because someone had poisoned him in the train. Ramesh was shocked for some times and then suddenly burst out," what about his Suit case---- yes yes, red color, Samson suitcase----- he had Rs 30 Lakhs Cash in it----- is it there?"

      Alongwith police inspector, I too was stunned because there was no suitcase of the dead man. My suitcase was searched and they found Rs two lakhs in cash.

      I told them it was my cash. They asked me the source of money----- I told them due to sale of some shares. Police quizzed me further ---- my negative answer had no effect on the investigating officer and I was locked up.
----------------------------------------------------------------

      Thus, narrated Suneeta, the tale of her husband, to the lawyer, she had hired to get her husband bailed out, who, she felt, had become a victim of circumstances.

       "Madam, we will try our best, but circumstantial evidence point towards your husband's involvement because Rs Two lakhs in cash was found on him and he could not explain the purpose he was carrying this amount for. He sourced it to sale of shares but it has to be through the bank. He must tell the bank he had witdrawn from. He did not. Do you have any valid reason to suggest" Lawyer Sumit Tandon was asking.

   " I don't know, I don't know---- he is a simple man but not a thug or a murderer----- " , Suneeta was wailing and sobbing.

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MISMATCH--A SHORT STORY IN VERSES

"Beyond the skies do I actually need to gaze", so I said-

When a friend narrated his tale of woe with tears shed;

"Is it the shape of things to come", query came to mind?

Or it proves an age old maxim that love was surely blind.

A child develops traits based on environs one grows,

How he behaves in later life, his conduct will show?

"First five years of infancy make a child acquire traits",  

Author of the book "I'm OK, you are Ok", so does state.

A child needs both parental care as infant years go by-,

If proximity of either denied it might make them very sly;

Deprivation of infancy, then make them emit toxic fumes-

Which, often, turn a blossoming orchid into savage dune.

Long long ago, a friend was enticed by a charming face,

Over-powered by infatuation they got married in haste;

Alas! the difference in their up-bringing was soon shown-

As man was from joint family and bride from a 'broken-home'.

Cultural mismatch turned their homes into a battlefield,

Arrogance of the girl ensured no compromise be reached;

Suspicious and cynical, she always dreamt him flirting,

Fed up with her daily barbs, the man kept slowly drifting.

Slowly, the lady became a nuisance even in their locality ,

When neighbors got enraged with her split personality;

Her hypocritical ways were unbearable even for friends,

Because they all realized she was not what she pretends.

Soon, it was apparent she loved the company of freaks;

Lunacy and perversion was beefed up by wanton deceit;

One day an old lunatic enticed her with verbal aerobatics,

She lost her wits and fell for clever fox's virile antiques.

They often met when the husband was away from home,

In market or parks, hand in hand, they would openly roam;

One day husband came early from office, found house locked;

Not finding her in the house, he was stunned and shocked.

He inquired from neighbors but no one would tell him,

They would shrug their shoulders and just merely grin;

Husband was confused but could not make out anything--

His unfailing love couldn't imagine her extra marital fling. 

As it happened, one day he saw his wife's medical report;

He was surprised by her pregnancy and attempt to abort---

Possessing this fact he confronted his wife with the matter,

Her reply was not convincing and he was not to be flattered.

Her rising mobile phones bills had already created doubts,

Now this issue of pregnancy had made him think aloud; 

Guarded in his approach, he quietly inquired from neighbors,

They told him of the old man who had enjoyed her favors. 

Neighbors had never approved her such wayward deeds,

They felt the old man exploited her for his sexual needs; 

Equipped with this knowledge, he accused her of treachery,

An acrimonious debate followed with gems of verbal archery.

Months and days passed and the tension in the family grew,

Love had disappeared where only animosity could now brew;

Parents intervened, asking them to patch up for family sake;

"Impossible", he said, because they were no more soul-mates.

Actually old man had added fuel to the fire to exploit the lady,

He told her husband that unfaithful woman carried his baby. 

It was enough to put to an end to tale of love at first sight-

When emotions take control not easy to judge what was right?

To live in a social system, one must follow its well-set norms;

"I" should become "We", if one wants to avoid marital storms;

 'Self-is-right' must give in to adjustment and compromise-

Must not marriage be strengthened by devotion and sacrifice? 

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THREE BLUNDERS OF JL NEHRU---- TIBET---- PART THREE

      THREE BLUNDERS BY JAWAHAR LAL NEHRU-FIRST PRIME MINISTER----PART TWO

     
      Nehru's second blunder was on TIBET. Despite, Sardar Patel and others cautioning him against China's secret designs , Nehru Continued to ignore the warnings. His four major errors of judgments as for as Tibet was concerned are:-       (a) Trusting China and her Communist leadership and investing blind faith in them to acclaim world leadership.        (b) Accepting CHINESE Suzeranity over Tibet, despite objections by Sardar Patel. His letter of November 07, 1950 to JL Nehru is significant in this regard and it shows Sardar Patel,s grasp of national handicaps and compulsions.        (c)  After accepting Tibet as part of China, not taking any action to resolve border issue with China along the McMohan line as was agreed to by erstwhile independent Government of Tibet in 1914 treaty with British India. China did NOT accept Mc Mohan line as the boundary.         (d)  Ordering Indian Army to Evict the Chinese from encroachments made by China in Arunachal Pradesh, without proper military preparations.
          China was the 'Bad Boy' of 1950s in the Western eyes. USA and WESTERN EUROPE were breathing down her neck. Militarily and economically it was nowhere near its adversaries despite support from Soviet Union, who was still trying to rebuild herself after the destruction unleashed by Second world war. China needed a bridge to connect to West and USA to get the breathing space. Thus, Nehru and his idealistic inclinations, provided the needed bridge to China.
      Nehru's INDIA was the platform which professed China's case for a permanent seat in the Security council of UNO. This despite many colleagues advising him against this. To be very frank, Nehru had his personal ambition to be fulfilled to be recognized as a world leader outside the two blocks. This he did by launching a NONALIGNMENT MOVEMENT in 1954, along withMarshal Tito of Yugoslavia and Nasser Hussain of Egypt. China saw an opportunity in this to get a foothold in the Third World. Nehru thought that china was under his obligation for this. It was a fallacy which got cleared in 1962.
       Nehru's obsession with China sprang from his misplaced love for SOCIALISM and COMMUNISM---- this was the buzz word with all those who went to OXFORD or CAMBRIDGE universities in the dawn of the 20th Century. But the problem with Nehru was that he was superficial about these concepts because he had not suffered poverty . Therefore he had no first hand knowledge of people,s concern. He was far removed from ground realities. His knowledge and concern was NEVER India-Centric. His fascination for communism was because it opposed West and gave Nehru the space to create a niche for his ambition of world leadership.    
        A former joint secretary in the Government of Assam, Mr. Bk Bhattacharya, well versed in matters of Tibet , wrote in his article , " Nehru and Tibet", published in THE STATESMAN  and reproduced in THE DARJEELING TIMES that Nehru reposed unwanted faith in Chinese leadership and discounted all fears expressed by Sardar Patel and others. He states:      "------Nehru believed China. He never imagined that “Peking represented a threat to Indian interests in the foreseeable future” (p 83 of Subimal Dutt’s book). Brigadier JP Dalvi in his book, Himalayan Blunder, has written that in 1954, Nehru revealed his mind when he said: “What right does India have to keep a part of its Army in Tibet, whether Tibet is independent or part of China?” (p 22). Nehru also told Durga Das that “he would not quarrel with China over Tibet. He would not take over Curzon’s role and establish Indian influence in Lhasa” (p 295, India from Curzon to Nehru and After).
      It is clear that either Nehru was too confident of his own intelligence or he had some other motive to discount Chinese threat. I reckon it was the combination of both. His statement to Durga DA's as quoted above makes it clear that he attached no importance to what Patel had been warning him. As early as November 07, 1950, Sardar Patel had written to JL Nehru on evil intentions of china. Here is an excerpt from the letter:
        "---------Let us also consider the political conditions on this potentially troublesome frontier. Our northern and north-eastern approaches consist of Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Darjeeling and the tribal areas in Assam. From the point of view of communication, there are weak spots. Continuous defensive lines do not exist. There is almost an unlimited scope for infiltration. Police protection is limited to a very small number of passes. There, too, our outposts do not seem to be fully manned. The contact of these areas with us is by no means close and intimate. The people inhabiting these portions have no established loyalty or devotion to India. Even Darjeeling and Kalimpong areas are not free from pro-Mongoloid prejudices. During the last three years, we
have not been able to make any appreciable approaches to the Nagas and other hill tribes in Assam. European missionaries and other visitors had been in touch with them, but their influence was in no way friendly to India or Indians. In Sikkim, there was political ferment some time ago. It is quite possible that discontent is smouldering there. Bhutan is comparatively quiet, but its affinity with Tibetans would be a handicap. Nepal has a weak oligarchic regime based almost entirely on force: it is in conflict with a turbulent element of the population as well as with enlightened ideas of the modern age. In these circumstances, to make people alive to the new danger or to make them defensively strong is a very difficult task indeed and that difficulty can be got over only by enlightened firmness, strength and a clear line of policy. I am sure the Chinese and their source of inspiration, Soviet Union, would not miss any opportunity of exploiting these weak spots, partly in support of their ideology and partly in support of their ambitions. In my judgement the situation is one which we cannot afford either to be complacent or to be
vacillating. We must have a clear idea of what we wish to achieve and also of the methods by which we should achieve it. Any faltering or lack of decisiveness in formulating our objectives or in pursuing our policies to attain those objectives is bound to weaken us and increase the threats which are so evident.----------"
        Brahma Chellany, a reputed Defence and Security analyst, wrote in his article," 40 YEARS AFTER 1962 WAR WITH CHINA" in Hindustan Times on October 20, 2002, "An overconfident Nehru, who ran foreign policy as if it were personal policy, went to the extent of telling Patel by letter that it would be a "foolish adventure" for the Chinese Communists to try and gobble up Tibet, a possibility that "may not arise at all" as it was, he claimed, geographically impracticable!------".           
        Here it is then a proof that he overrated his own intelligence in pursuit of his personal agenda of acquiring world leadership. And thus he cared nothing for those who advised him otherwise. A man who could give a shut up call to MK GANDHI, his mentor and benefactor, on his Kashmir visit in 1946,how would he listen to Sardar Patel and others. Thus Tibet was doomed in the ambitious personal agenda of Nehru and China was brought next to Indian borders. It's Consequences we're to be seen in 1962. By then, it was too late. And Nehru later lamented, so tells Brahma Chellany:
        "-----In 1962, Nehru, however, had to admit he had been living in a fool's paradise. "We were getting out of touch with reality in the modern world and we were living in an artificial atmosphere of our creation," he said in a national address after the Chinese aggression.Nehru had ignored India's military needs despite the Chinese surreptitiously occupying Indian areas on the basis of Tibet's putative historical ties with them, and setting up a land corridor to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir through Aksai Chin.
Although Indian military commanders after the 1959 border clashes and casualties began saying that they lacked adequate manpower and weapons to fend off the PLA, Nehru ordered the creation of forward posts to prevent the loss of further Indian territory without taking the required concomitant steps to beef up Indian military strength. Nehru had convinced himself that the Chinese designs were to carry out further furtive encroachments on Indian territory, not to launch major aggression.-----"          Obsessed with  his craze for international glory and his lopsided belief that PANCHSHEEL, signed by him and Zhou En Lai, Chinese premier , at Bandung in 1955, would insulate India against Chinese aggression. China never really entertained any notion of PANCHSHEEL. It was just to keep Nehru amused. A commentator observes:
         "-----This is still not the full story. On the heels of this twin blunder — abandonment of Tibet and sponsorship of China, with nothing to show in return — Nehru deceived the Indian public in his pursuit of international glory through Pancha Sheel. Pancha Sheel, which was the principal ‘policy’ of Nehru towards China from the betrayal of Tibet to the expulsion of Dalai Lama in 1959, is generally regarded as a demonstration of good faith by Nehru that was exploited by the Chinese who ‘stabbed him in the back’. This is not quite correct, for Nehru (and Krishna Menon) knew about the Chinese incursions in Ladakh and Aksai Chin but kept it secret for years to keep the illusion of Pancha Sheel alive.
General Thimayya had brought the Chinese activities in Aksai Chin to the notice of Nehru and Krishna Menon several years before that. An English mountaineer by name Sydney Wignall was deputed by Thimayya to verify reports that the Chinese were building a road through Aksai Chin. He was captured by the Chinese but released and made his way back to India after incredible difficulties, surviving several snowstorms. Now Thimayya had proof of Chinese incursion. When the Army presented this to the Government, Menon blew up. In Nehru’s presence, he told the senior officer making the presentation that he was "lapping up CIA propaganda."
Wignall was not Thimayya’s only source. Shortly after the Chinese attack in 1962, I heard from General Thimayya that he had deputed a young officer of the Madras Sappers (MEG) to Aksai Chin to investigate reports of Chinese intrusion who brought back reports of the Chinese incursion. But the public was not told of it simply to cover up Nehru’s blunders. He was still trying to sell his Pancha Sheel and Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai to the Indian public. Even today, Nehru’s family members exercise dictatorial control over the documents pertaining to this crucial period. Even documents in the National Archives are not available to scholars without permission from the Nehru-Gandhi family heirs. This is to protect his reputation from being damaged by the truth.--------" (http://aryasamajmavdi.blogspot.com/2009/03/nehru-and-china-tibet-blunder.html)

  

         Thus, by all accounts, Nehru had badly blundered on Tibet because of his obsession with his own greatness and craze for international glory. I won't like to go into the facts as to who started the war ? Neville Maxwel , author of 'India's China war'  lays blame on India  which in turn goes to Nehru. Kuldeep Nayyar, an Indian journalist  of repute, blames Nehru for the 1962 war. He claims to know the inside  stories of the Government of those days through his links with Govind vallabh Pant and others. This has come out in his autobiography, " Beyond The Lines", released in 2012. 

          In conclusion , I would sum up that Nehru blundered in surrendering the advantages of 1904 convention on the boundary between Tibet and India. Though he accepted Chinese Suzeranity over Tibet, he failed to tackle the boundary issue with his so-called Chinese friends. He induced himself to believe that Panchsheel would serve as a shield against Chinese aggression. Having done this, he continued to neglect military assessment on Aksai chin and border incursion into NEFA in the Longju area in 1959. After this military exchange in 1959, it should have been clear to him as to how weak and ill prepared his army was. But he was carried away by a self belief,reinforced by  Panchsheel that China would not adopt an offensive posture against India. Thus, when he learnt of Chinese fresh incursions across McMohan Line , he ordered Indian Army to " evict the Chinese". This was his Waterloo. Mao Tse Tung decided to teach him a lesson and bring him down to mother earth and he did so. The world laughed at him and India continues to pay for this blunder.

--------------To be concluded in Part -4

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