Oral History and Military Publishing

      Suggestions

      close

      Related pages

      img

      India-China Relations: A Historical and Contemporary Perspective

      India and China are two of the largest and most populous nations in the world, with a com...

      The McMahon Line

      PostPicture Credits: Wikipedia

      At the end of the Shimla Conference of 1914, Tibet and British India came to an agreement about a boundary, known as the McMahon Line. Separating Tibet and Assam in British India, this line was named after the chief British negotiator, Sir Henry McMahon. It extends for 890 km and covers the eastern border of Bhutan, along the ridges of the Himalayas, reaching the great bend in the Brahmaputra River.

      History Behind the Line

      The McMahon Line was a result of the Shimla treaty that was signed by delegates from India and Tibet in 1914. It created a fixed delimitation between the two countries. At that time, Tibet was an autonomous region, so China wasn’t a part of the pact, and the line clearly defined a border between China and India. According to the British authorities, Tawanda was a part of Arunachal Pradesh and the southern part of Tibet also belonged to India. Hence, came the annexation of the area of Tawang, currently a part of Arunachal Pradesh.

      The establishment of the McMahon Line gave the independent Tibet a right to negotiate a boundary deal with any country, even though it was a weak province.

      Present Status of the Line

      Currently, according to India, the McMahon Line is the ‘Actual Line of Control’ between India and China. However, the Chinese government does not exactly recognise this border. It claims that Tibet was always a Chinese territory so the delegates from Tibet did not have the right to accept the Shimla Agreement without China’s consent.

      Policies on the McMahon Line

      • Forward Policy

      In November 1961, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru accepted the ‘Forward Policy’ that advocated the formation of military outposts in the disputed territory along with 43 outposts north of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). An Indian position at Dhola in the Namka Chu valley was attacked by a Chinese force on 8th September 1962. This was 7 km north of the McMohan Line, south of the Thag Ridge.

      • Disagreements and Cold War

      Located in the upper Himalayan ridge, Sumdorong Chu Valley is said to be the topmost valley in the world. In this valley, an observation site was established by Indian security agencies in the 1990s. It hadn’t been very long since this set up and the officers were forced to leave the site. China positioned soldiers in this location before an Indian team could reach there.

      • Sino-Indian Agreement of 1954

      This agreement was significant for the normalisation of the relationship between India and China. Also called the Panchsheel Agreement, it was signed by the then Indian Prome Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Chinese Premer Zhou Enlai. This agreement comprised of five principles to maintain peace between the two countries:

      • Mutual recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity
      • A non-aggression pact
      • Mutual non-interference with one another’s domestic affairs
      • Equality and a mutual benefit
      • Coexistence in peace

      This agreement was very helpful in decreasing the tension between India and China and laying the groundwork for later cooperation. But, unfortunately, in the 1960s, the relationship between the countries worsened pretty fast. However, the Sino-Indian Agreement is still considered an important symbol of goodwill between India and China.

      Conclusion

      Even though India still acknowledges the border, China has never really respected the McMahon Line and has invaded the disputed territory multiple times.