India has not yet emerged from the shadow of the Sino-Indian war and psychologically failed to forgive China.

Indian soldiers captured in the Sino-Indian War in 1962.

　　This conflict, which should not have happened, is still influencing Indians’ cognition of China, and the sequelae of the war still exist today.

　　Tang Lu, a reporter from the International Herald Tribune, sent from Beijing "Reviewing the Indian Aggression in 1962" and "Why India Lost the 1962 War" … Almost every year around mid-October, there are always some articles in Indian newspapers that review or summarize the lessons of the 1962 Sino-Indian War. This seems to be a reminder to the author: in 1962, the anniversary of the Sino-Indian War came, and Indians were rethinking again.

　　The impression of China is still influenced by the 1962 war.

　　For a long time after the Sino-Indian War broke out in October 1962, there was only one official version of India’s story about this war: "China betrayed India and India was attacked by China".

　　The Indian army’s true record of the 1962 war is a document with strict restrictions on distribution. Neville maxwell, a British journalist who once participated in the coverage of the Sino-Indian war, pointed out in his monograph "India’s War against China" based on some materials obtained from senior Indian officials that India should bear the main responsibility for the border war. This book caused him to be the object of abuse by Indians for a long time.

　　However, this situation gradually changed after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 1998. In April, 1999, Maxwell’s long paper Reflection on the Sino-Indian Border Dispute was allowed to be published in the most authoritative academic magazine, Political and Economic Weekly in India for the first time. Later, with the acquiescence of then Prime Minister Vajpayee, Indians began to quietly reflect on the 1962 war, and former officials and generals were encouraged to publicly express their different views on issues such as war lessons. Prior to this, it was said that any dissent on the Sino-Indian border issue was considered as "subversion of the country". What’s more fresh is that in October 2002, the famous Indian news website rediff initiated a discussion to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Sino-Indian War, and invited some Indian experts and scholars to express different opinions on the causes of the conflict for the first time.

　　According to the Indian media, a whole generation in India has grown up with the idea that the main goal of the country is to "recover lost territory from China". Most of these people think that the Sino-Indian War was planned by China’s "tough" leaders. As a result, China defeated India. While acknowledging that China has caused great psychological trauma to India, other experts and scholars are also cautiously expressing their views: "The 1962 war was not entirely China’s invasion, and we ourselves made very obvious mistakes". There is still a small part of the view that the 1962 conflict between China and India is inevitable from the perspective of the conflict of civilizations, which is only a small contest of long-term conflicts between China and India.

　　It was not until Vajpayee paid a landmark visit to China in 2003 that Indian officials began to emphasize on various occasions that they should deal with the remaining problems in Sino-Indian relations with the optimistic spirit of "looking forward".

　　India will neve forget that humiliation of 1962.

　　In late October this year, the author interviewed an Indian journalist Sila: "Indian leaders often say that China and India want to bury the hatchet. Why are Indians still talking about the 1962 war?"

　　"Indians will never forget the 1962 conflict." Silas said firmly. "This may be similar to the feelings of China people towards Japan. Because Japan invaded China, you China people always seem to dislike Japan …" "But the Sino-Indian conflict is totally different from the Japanese war of aggression against China …" While trying to change Sila’s understanding, I suddenly remembered the remarks of Indian generals who attended a seminar in India in early 2008. "India’s feelings for China may be just like China’s inability to forget Japanese imperialism in East Asia in the 20th century. If the general’s view has the toughness peculiar to the Indian military to some extent, then Sila is a good friend of the author and an ordinary Indian journalist.

　　I told Sila that most primary and middle school students in China would never have heard of the Sino-Indian War. Sila said, "But all Indian children know that there was a war in 1962, in which India was defeated by China." Yes, when I was in India, I used to associate with many young friends. The most unforgettable thing was my conversation with 14-year-old Indian middle school student Kumar. He told me that regarding the Sino-Indian war, he thought that "China occupied the territory belonging to India" and told me that "China and India may fight again in the future". To be honest, the conversation with Kumar surprised me. I have heard politicians say with my own ears many times that "there can be no more war between China and India, and the two countries must work hand in hand in the future". However, I am not quite sure how the younger generation in India can understand China and Sino-Indian relations.

　　Just because of this conversation with Kumar, in 2005, the author made a small survey on the views of 100 Indian college students on China in New Delhi and Chennai. Results Among the views on the 1962 war between China and India, 35 people thought that China should bear the main responsibility for the war, and 48 people said it was difficult to say who was responsible. 63 people think that the two countries should forget the unpleasant history, and 16 people say that India cannot forget this history; 70 people think that there must be no more war between China and India, and 19 people say that there will still be war between the two countries one day.

　　Indians did not forgive China psychologically.

　　Although Indian officials always emphasize that the 1962 war has become history, the reality is that Indian politicians still remember India’s defeat in the 1962 war, and the aftermath of the war still exists. This conflict that should not have happened is still affecting Indians’ understanding of China, and the worst impression is that "China people always have a bit of duplicity and hide the knife in the smile."

　　As India’s security strategist Subramniaan said recently, "Indians did not forgive China’s invasion in 1962 psychologically. They blamed China’s nuclear proliferation for the Pakistani army’s nuclear and missile programs, accused China of establishing a base like a’ pearl chain’ in the Indian Ocean to surround India, and India was horrified by the growth of China’s navy and its entry into the Indian Ocean. India is even more angry at China’s "insidious and cunning" in the discussion of India’s nuclear trading exemption by the Nuclear Suppliers Group … "

　　When I was in New Delhi, I also talked with Jayram Ramesh, India’s current Minister of State for Commerce, who coined the word "Chindia", about the impact of the 1962 war on Indians. Later, I read a passage in his book Understanding China: Reflections on China and India, "It is probably not an exaggeration to say that the vast majority of Indians are very wary of China. From October to November 1962, the great rout that was largely self-inflicted under the Himalayas still lingered in our memory. " Jairam mentioned a remark made by Indian Prime Minister Wen Jiabao when he met with former Indian Defense Minister Fernandez. "In the past 2,200 years, or nearly 99.9%, China and China have devoted themselves to friendly cooperation." Jairam pointed out that it is obvious that "1962 occupied most of the remaining 0.1% in Wen Jiabao’s historical arithmetic, but the shadow it left was exceptionally long".

Editor: Wang Xu