Bot at 01:52, 26 April 2022

2022-04-26T01:52:51Z

New page

{{Short description|Military exercise conducted on 17 March 1960}}'''Exercise Lal Qila''' was a [[military exercise]] conducted on 17 March 1960, at the headquarters of the Indian Army's [[Eastern Command (India)|Eastern Command]] in [[Lucknow]]. The [[wargame]] simulated an attack on India's eastern sector by the [[Chinese armed forces]]. While the exercise was conducted to sensitize the leadership, it did not have the desired effect.

Exercise Lal Qila was conducted under Major General [[S. P. P. Thorat|SPP Thorat]], the [[General officer commanding|commanding officer]] of the Eastern Command. Thorat's report detailing the defense of the eastern sector, sometimes referred to as the 'Lal Qila report', 'Thorat plan' or 'Thorat doctrine', had similarities with the exercise: it outlined a Chinese attack, and the inability of Indian forces to contain (or even delay) it. Thorat suggested defensive measures that took into account Sikkim, East Pakistan and Nepal, as well as the northeastern sector. In October 1962, India and China [[Sino-Indian War|went to war]]; Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] only saw Thorat's report as the war was ending.

== Background ==
Thorat had gained experience fighting against Chinese forces as a commander during the [[Korean War]]. When he became the commander of the Eastern Command in 1957, he assessed the situation in the northeast, studying terrain, intelligence reports, and the location and speed of Chinese military movements.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Datta|first=Saikat|date=2014-03-22|title=Army exercises in 1960 had predicted Chinese attack|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/army-exercises-in-1960-had-predicted-chinese-attack/story-UXurm5n8OKopthc4mwl8eO.html|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-25|website=Hindustan Times|language=en}}</ref> From this, he observed<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=V. K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yoFjDwAAQBAJ|title=Leadership in the Indian Army: Biographies of Twelve Soldiers|date=2005-03-04|publisher=SAGE Publishing India|isbn=978-93-5280-566-2|location=|pages=142|language=en}}</ref> that forces under the eastern command would have multiple roles in the event of a war: they would need to defend Indian territory (as well as that of [[Sikkim]]) from both China and [[East Pakistan]], and they would likely need to assist [[Nepal]]'s military, while maintaining order in the northeastern states. He also recommended that the [[Indian army|army]] receive [[air support]] from the [[Indian Air Force|air force]] for engagements near the borders.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Sawant|first=Gaurav C.|date=16 October 2012|title=Lt-Gen Thorat's 1962 warning on Chinese intrusions went unheard|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/lt-gen-thorat-1962-warning-on-chinese-intrusions-went-unheard-119084-2012-10-16|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-25|website=India Today|language=en}}</ref>

Thorat's assessment was also based on changing relations with China; specifically, their claims over Indian-claimed territory, communiqué regarding the [[McMahon line]], and incursions in the west, central and eastern sectors. For the army to be able to push back the Chinese, more preparation was needed.<ref name=":2" /> Suggestions included shifting the responsibility of NEFA from the [[Assam Rifles]] to the Army's Eastern Command, on the grounds that the Army would be ultimately responsible for the defence of the territory anyway. At the time, Assam Rifles was a [[Paramilitary|paramilitary force]] functioning under the center, and was responsible for [[North-East Frontier Agency|NEFA]].<ref name=":1" /> These suggestions were not taken seriously at the time;<ref name=":1" /> on 8 October 1959, Thorat presented a paper on the defense of the northeast to the [[Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Chief of the Army Staff]], [[General Thimayya]], who forwarded it to [[V. K. Krishna Menon|Krishna Menon]] (the Defense Minister at the time). Menon dismissed the paper, and called Thorat a "warmonger". Subsequently, to convey the seriousness of the situation to leadership, Thorat was given permission to conduct Exercise Lal Qila.<ref name=":1" />

== Exercise Lal Qila ==
Lal Quila was held in Lucknow on 17 March 1960. It was attended by the Chief of the Army Staff and all Principal Staff Officers in Army headquarters. The exercises attempted to show that, with the then-existing level of preparation, India would not be able to contain or repel a Chinese attack. Thorat also explained how a Chinese attack would progress day by day.<ref name=":1" /> In what came to be known as the "Thorat Doctrine" or "Thorat Plan", he suggested a defensive layout, and additional troops that would be required.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Khare|first=Brigadier Nitin|date=2018|title=Re-Learning the Lessons from the 1962 Conflict|url=https://usiofindia.org/publication/usi-journal/re-learning-the-lessons-from-the-1962-conflict/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-25|website=The United Service Institution|language=en-US}}</ref> One of his suggestions was that, rather than deploying troops at the borders, a stronger line should be held away from the border, at logistically easier locations to reinforce; this would stretch Chinese lines.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hoffmann|first=Steven A.|date=1972|title=Anticipation, Disaster, and Victory: India 1962-71|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2643117|journal=Asian Survey|volume=12|issue=11|pages=964|doi=10.2307/2643117|jstor=2643117|issn=0004-4687|via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Verghese|first=B G|date=January 2013|title=Fifty years after 1962|url=http://www.asianconversations.com/IndiaChinaWar.php|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-26|website=Asian Conversations}}</ref> Thorat also argued that the [[Forward policy (Sino-Indian conflict)|forward policy]] of the Defence Minister and Lt Gen [[Brij Mohan Kaul|BM Kaul]] was not practical.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Kaushal|first=Raj|date=18 July 2014|title=1962 and the truth behind it|url=https://www.dailypioneer.com/2014/columnists/1962-and-the-truth-behind-it.html|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-25|website=The Pioneer|language=en}}</ref>

== Reactions ==
The exercise did not have the desired effect on military or civilian leadership. Lieutenant General [[Brij Mohan Kaul|BM Kaul]], who attended the exercise, did not agree with Thorat on his assessment.<ref name=":1" /> There was no subsequent deployment of additional troops,<ref name=":5" /> and Thorat's comments on the forward policy were not acknowledged; the intelligence chief and intelligence bureau had predicted at the time that China would not use force, or react to the forward policy.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":4" /> Further, Thimayya's position at the time was weakened. Both Thorat and Thimayya retired in May 1961.<ref name=":1" />

A few months after Exercise Lal Qila, in October 1960, General [[Pran Nath Thapar]] (the commander of the [[Western Command (India)|Western Command]]) carried out 'Exercise Sheel', in which Ladakh (which would be one of the battlefields during the 1962 war) fell under the Western Command. This exercise revealed that an additional [[Division (military)|division]] was needed to counter an attack by China; in May 1961, Thapar became the [[Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Chief of the Army Staff]], and when the same Western Command asked for an extra division in September 1961, Thapar refused.<ref name=":0" />

Historian [[Shiv Kunal Verma|Kunal Verma]], in the book ''1962: The War That Wasn't'', described Exercise Lal Qila and Thorat's attempts to convey the seriousness of the China situation to leadership.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Verma|first=Shiv Kunal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NDejwEACAAJ|title=1962: The War that Wasn't|date=2016|publisher=Aleph Book Company|isbn=978-93-82277-97-2|language=en}}</ref> Reactions to Lal Qila were also mentioned in Thimayya's biography ''Thimayya, An Amazing Life'' and Thorat's autobiography ''From Reveille to Retreat'',<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Khanduri|first=Brig Chandra B.|date=16 April 2006|title=When an Army Chief almost quit|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060416/spectrum/main1.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-25|website=Tribune India. The Sunday Tribune - Spectrum.}}</ref> in which Thorat also wrote about related events in 1962. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was only made aware of Thorat's report during the later stages of the war; Thorat was sent to Delhi, as Nehru wanted to consult with him, and told Nehru that the Chinese would go back by themselves.<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===

* Brig Chandra B. Khanduri (2006). Thimayya, ''An Amazing Life''. Knowledge World.
* Shankarrao Pandurang Patil Thorat (1986). ''From Reveille to Retreat''. Allied Publishers.
* Kunal Verma (2016). ''1962: The War That Wasn't.'' Aleph Book Company.

== Further reading ==

* Major Sita Ram Johri (1968). [http://dspace.nehu.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/14414/3/Chinese%20Invasion%20of%20Nepa.pdf Chinese Invasion of NEFA]. Himalaya Publications

[[Category:Sino-Indian War]]
[[Category:Indian Army]]
[[Category:1960 in India]]
[[Category:Indian military exercises]]

Exercise Lal Qila - Revision history

Bot at 01:52, 26 April 2022