background guide cabinet committee on security

1 |Cabinet Committee on Security

Background Guide

Cabinet Committee on Security


Table of Contents

Contents Pages

Table of Contents 2

Message From the Board 3

Portfolios 4-6

Sino-Indian War of ‘62 7-10

Indo-Pak War of ‘65 11-13

Agricultural Crisis of ’65-‘67 14

Foreign Exchange Crisis of ’65-‘67 15-16

Indo-Pak War of ’71 or the

Bangladesh Liberation War

17-19

Questions to be Addressed 20


You may contact us on the following email id in case of any queries- [email protected]

Message from the Executive Board

This committee, as informed earlier, shall be simulated as one with a shifting timeline between the years

of 1960 and 1971, with updates from the Board as & when they get them through their channels of

communication. The essence of a historical simulation of a committee is to primarily give an opportunity to

different stakeholders to revisit the situation, explore the various possibilities & find ways to resolve the

issue in the best possible way.

We expect all members to be thoroughly researched & Ill aware of their interests, affiliations & positions.

Likewise, it will also be appreciated if the members are clear about the stance, powers & jurisdiction of

their particular organization, agency or ministry though we have attempted to give you an insight into the

various portfolios.

Though the committee shall react on the basis of updates; the background guide is solely to give all

members an insight into all events that took place between the years 1960 and 1971, and help them

understand what the scenario was like in those years and what actions were taken. It is up to the

members to take various decisions in regard to the issues at hand, and mould the history in ways they

think is best suited for the welfare of the nation. We hope that apart from the various perspectives the agenda at hand, this committee shall help

members to learn & act as change-makers and decision makers of the nation in an interesting

environment of a decade of various political equations, massive external pressures, threatening

neighbours & internal difficulties. Best wishes!

mailto:[email protected]


Portfolios

1.) Attorney General of India: He is the Government of India’s chief legal advisor & represents it in the

Supreme Court of India. He can give advice to the Government of India on legal matters referred to him,

and may participate in any Parliamentary proceedings. He shall

only act after the Law Ministry has been consulted, hence he is here representing the

Ministry’s stand too. 2.) Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission of India: She shall head a body functioning under the Department

of Atomic Energy, under the charge of the Prime Minister. Its employees are classified & not revealed. Set

up in 1948 to look after the atomic energy activities of the nation, the AEC also trains atomic scientist,

extracts atomic minerals and was at the centre of controversy when in 1964, China conducted nuclear

tests. 3.) Chief of the Army Staff: He is the Commander of the Indian Army, and shall represent the Indian Armed

Forces’ largest component. The Indian Army’s mission is to ensure national security & unity, defend it from

external aggression, and maintain peace & security within its borders. 4.) Chief of the Indian Navy: She will head the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces,

whose primary aim is to secure India’s maritime borders & was especially involved in the

1971 war, where it played a huge role in the nation’s victory. The Navy though always

complains of not being utilized completely in the 1965 war.

5.) Chief of the Indian Air Force: He shall represent the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces, whose

responsibility is to secure the Indian airspace and conduct aerial warfare. It was substantially involved

in the 1965 and 1971 wars. Again, it is said that the Air Force was not used properly in the 1962 war. 6.) Director-General, Military Intelligence: Set up in the year 1941, it is the intelligence arm of the Indian

Armed Forces. It is responsible for generating tactical strategies and gather

intelligence about threats to India. Director-General heads the independent body, but has to submit all

reports to the Chief of Army. Little is known about its operations & activities.


7.) Director, IB: She is the head of the world’s oldest intelligence agency. Responsible for garnering

intelligence and execute counter-intelligence & counter-terrorism tasks, apart from intelligence

collection about border areas. Later, R&AW was established to look after the external intelligence in

1963 after IB’s failure in the 1962 war. 8.) Director, Special Police Establishment: He is the head of the foremost investigative police agency of

India, under the Government of India involved in major criminal probes. It is overseen by the Ministry of

Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions of the Union Cabinet. 9.) Governor, RBI: Heading the central banking institution, she will control the monetary policy. It played a

major role in reviving Indian economy in 1960s when banks crashed, with nationalization of 14 major

banks. 10.)Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha: She will lead the official opposition in the Lower House of Parliament

of India. She was in news in the 1960s for criticizing & initiating the no- confidence motion against the

Government after wars.

11.) Leader of Opposition, Rajya Sabha: Though no official post as such was created until 1969, the leader

of the party of the opposition still did exist. It is his responsibility to oppose or agree with the

Government’s policy in the Council of States of the Parliament.

12.)Minister of Home Affairs: Responsible for the maintenance of internal security & domestic policy. It

has several departments for issues like border management, internal security, et cetera. The

country’s police force comes under the ambit of the Ministry.

13.) Minister of Finance: He shall be responsible for the fiscal policy & taxation of the Union Government.

The Ministry of Finance sets up a special committee to allocate resources in times of urgency. It also

played a role in the crisis of foreign exchange crisis of thr 60s.


14.) Minister of Defence: Charged with coordinating & supervising all agencies related to national

security. Even the paramilitary forces are under the purview of the Ministry.

15.) Minister of External Affairs: Responsible for the conduct of India’s relations with foreign countries. The cadre controlling authority of the Civil Services (IFS) falls under the Ministry.

16.) Minister of Communications: The cadre controlling authority of Civil Services(ITS, IPoS, TTS, IPTAFS) are

under the administration & supervision of the Ministry. All communication cables, lines & policies about

the same are under the purview of the Ministry.

17.) Minister of I&B: The top-notch body of the Government of India to regulate the information,

broadcasting, press & films in India. Also, it is responsible for broadcasting arm of the Union Government-

Prasar Bharti, and closely works with the Communications’ Ministry.

18.) Minister of Railways & Transportation: Heads the ministry controlling the rail transport of the nation.

It has full control over the Indian Railways, and may take any decision with regards to the rail movement

in India. 19.) Minister of Agriculture: Apex body for formulating rules, regulations & laws for the agricultural

sector in India. It was closely involved during the crisis of food in 1960s.

20.) National Security Advisor: A special post created by the Government & in the Committee, to directly

contact the Prime Minister with important information after studying all facts carefully. He/She shall

advise the Board & Prime Minister of threats & possible actions that the Government could take.


Year 1960-1963 (Sino-Indian War)

History: Often, it is said that the base for the Sino-Indian War of 1962 started in the year

1950 when Tibet was annexed by China. Tibet, being the huge buffer state between India & China was

officially included as part of the Chinese territory in the official maps of their government in between

1952 and 1954. Several Indian leaders warned the then-Prime Minister Nehru of possible Chinese intrusions into the

Indian territory, but it was considered most unlikely to happen as India & China had always shared warm

and cordial relations since time immemorial. India was one of the first countries to recognize the new

Chinese government in 1950. Nehru felt strongly for our neighbor, and helped China in the international

fora too.

All of this was followed by the joint enunciation of Panchsheel or the Five Principles of Peaceful

Coexistence by Pt. Nehru & Zhou Enlai in the year 1954. It was during this time that the famous line of

‘Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai’ came into existence, as a sign of a stronger relationship between the two

countries. Through this agreement, India accepted the claim of the Chinese to have administrative

control over Tibet. In 1958, after an armed uprising in Tibet against Chinese occupation; Dalai Lama held talks with the

Indian side complaining about the Chinese influence in the Tibetan culture. The Chinese side had already

promised India that Tibet would be given greater autonomy, when the Chinese suppressed their

uprising.

After sensing the growing unrest and the worsening situation, the Dalai Lama crossed over to India and

asked for asylum. The Indian government gave him refuge in the city of Dharamshala in Himachal

Pradesh, which is the largest refuge settlement of Tibetans in India. The Chinese side did not like this

step of the Indian government & publicly condemned it through various newspapers too.


In the year 1960, a leading newspaper daily under the Chinese government control ‘People’s Daily’ wrote

an article about the completion of the road between Xinjiang & Tibet, which crossed over the disputed

region of Aksai Chin. It raised many eyebrows in India, as Aksai Chin was always considered to be a part

of the Indian territory. There were reports, at the same time, that China had full control over 40000 sq.

kilometres of Indian land which was a cause of worry for the Indian side. Responding to the Indian side, the Chinese proposed a ‘status quo agreement’ wherein the troops of

both sides shall remain where they did currently i.e. Chinese in Aksai Chin, while India in North East

Frontier Agency.

The boundary dispute between the two nations was regarding two territories: Aksai Chin in the Ladakh

region, while North East Frontier Agency in the North-East. At that time, the Ladakh-Aksai Chin region was

guarded by the Central Reserve Police Force while the border at the North East Frontier Agency was

guarded by the Assam Rifles.

Aksai Chin is the disputed border area, claimed by China as part of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region and

also by India as part of the Ladakh district of the Jammu & Kashmir. The line separating J&K from Aksai

Chin is the Line of Actual Control i.e. concurrent with the Chinese claim over Aksai Chin. The territory is

exactly 37,245.53 square kilometers, and largely a barren mountaineous region, which is reason enough

for a large section of the Indian expert team to say that India has been wasting resources on a barren

land which could be used productively for development of other regions.

Historically, Ladakh has been a part of the Tibetan region annexed into the Indian territory by the Sikh

Confederacy of Jammu in 1834. The defeat of the Sikh by the hands of the British transferred the land to

the British India. The boundary agreements, about the extremeities of Aksai Chin were well-defined but the

Aksai Chin area per se lay undefined.


In the year 1865, the Survey of India led by W.H. Johnson proposed the Johnson Line putting Aksai Chin in

the region of Kashmir. At this time, the Chinese did not control Tibet. Later, the Maharaja of Kashmir sent

forces to claim an 18000 sq. miles area as Kashmiri territory, but soon the Chinese forces laid

foundations and boundary markers to mark their claim. In another attempt by the British, Sir John Ardagh proposed a new boundary line along the Kun Lun

Mountains as the British feared Russian expansion. Thus, the new line came to be known as the

‘Johnson-Ardagh Line’ in 1897. But soon in 1898, the Chinese proposed a new line to the British Consul-General, placing both Lingzi Tang

plains & Aksai Chin in China. The British Consul-General agreed & forwarded it to the British Indian

government. Taking the Karakoram mountains to be the natural Indian boundaries, the British presented

this line as the MacCartney-MacDonald line in 1899.The Chinese government did not respond to the

proposal and it was taken as Chinese reluctance. But later, China claimed that this was their accepted

boundary always though no formal official boundaries had been negotiated.

From the Independence era, the Government of India used the Johnson Line as the boundary. This

Johnson Line is not used west of the Karakoram Pass, where China adjoins Pakistan in the Pakistan-

administered Gilgit-Baltistan. In 1962, after negotiations over the region, China and Pakistan accepted

boundaries on the basis of MacCartney-MacDonald Line. India still does not recognize that China-Pakistan

have a common border as the particular region is within the domains of the pre-1947 state of Kashmir &

Jammu.

War: What started in the March of 1962 as a killing of three soldiers at an Indian outpost turned into a full

war between the two nations in October. The Chinese invaded India on both the sides of the border, with

the first attack lasting one week. The Chinese forces captured key areas of the Arunachal Pradesh. The

second attack came in the form of a two-pronged approach from Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh; which

Indians blocked in Ladakh but could not in Arunachal. The Chinese soon reached Assam in November 1962,

even planting a flag there.


Later, the Chinese declared a unilateral ceasefire, withdrew its troops & went back where it initially was.

The effect of this loss was huge. India lost the war, incurred huge financial losses, induced humiliation,

dented its image both home & abroad. Most commanders of the Indian Army had to resign or had to be

fired, while Ministers also left the Cabinet with the Defence Minister V.K. Menon resigning first. A no-

confidence motion was also raised by the Opposition for the first time in the history of Indian polity. The

war with China alerted India of the volatile situation in the North East region, which was both under-

developed & presented India with a huge challenge of national integration. Later, the Indian government

granted statehood to Nagaland, and many constructive steps had to be taken to unite the North East

states with the Indian side.


Year 1963-1965 (Indo-Pak War)

Often known as the ‘Second Kashmir War’, the 1965 war between India and Pakistan was primarily over

the disputed region of Jammu & Kashmir. But the clash eventually did not resolve this dispute, but it

did engage the US and the Soviet Union in ways that finally had implications for subsequent power

involvement in the region. In January 1965, Pakistani patrols began patrolling in territory controlled by India while it was in

February-March that Pakistan began a secret ‘Operation Gibraltar’, to infiltrate forces into J&K to

precipitate an insurgency against the Indian rule in the state. However

this failed, as local Kashmiris reported about the covert infiltrators in cities of Srinagar. The

initial attack took place on the 8th

April, 1965 by both the countries on each other’s posts. Pakistan Army made advances in the Gujarati territory of Kutch of Rann, and successfully captured around

1400 sq. kilometers, including a small city of Kanjharkot. On the 5th

of August, 1965 around 25000-32000

Pakistani soldiers crossed the Line of Control headed for various areas within Kashmir, as reported by

Indian outposts. By the end of August, following a gradual advancement strategy by both the sides, India

captured three mountain positions

8 km into the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir while Pakistan captured three cities of Tithwal, Uri

& Poonch.

On 1st

of September, Pakistan launched ‘Operation Grand Slam’ to capture key towns and severe

communications & cut off supply routes to the Indian troops. The Pakistani Army managed to capture the

town of Chhamb in Jammu & Kashmir, and made gains by attacking with superior tanks (rumoured to be

supplied by the United States). The Pakistani strategy was to simply move forward through the Kashmir

front with heavy artillery. But the Indians opened up the fronts of Punjab & Rajasthan, forcing the Pakistan

Army to relocate its troops to defend its province of Punjab. India crossed the International Border on

6th

, marking the official beginning of the war. India captured the cities of Sialkot, Haji-Pir & was 12

kilometres

from the largest city of Pakistan, Lahore.


The war also saw the engagement of the air forces of the both the nations in combat for the first time. It

was the Indian Army which incurred more losses in terms of the number of air crafts, while Pakistan lost

more when it came to air combat. Also, the largest tank battle since World War II took place in the war of

1965. Here, it was the Pakistani Army which had a numerical & a technological advantage with Patton M-47

and M-48 tanks made in the United States. About the naval hostilities, India claimed that it wanted the war

to remain a land- based one while Pakistan claims to have stopped INS Vikrant from even leaving the

Bombay Port with its PNS Ghazi. Finally, with the ceasefire, Pakistan had captured around 800 sq. km while India captured around 2100 sq.

km. The Soviet Union Premier Kosygin hosted ceasefire negotiations in Tashkent, where the Prime Minister

Lal Bahadur Shastri & President Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent agreement, by virtue of which there was a

ceasfire, a promise to resolve problems

via talks & withdrawal of troops to pre-August lines by the 25th

of February, 1966. India is often criticized to have bowed down to growing international diplomatic pressure & accepted the

ceasefire after the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling for an unconditional

ceasefire. On the very next day of the signing of the agreement, the Prime Minister of India suffered a

heart attack and died in Tashkent. Mystery over his death still remains.

The implications of the war, though India won it, were manifold. India was already suffering from an

agricultural crisis when the war increased the financial losses to the Government. Also, the Indian

military intelligence Intelligence Bureau & the Military Intelligence gave no warning of the impending

Pakistani invasion. The Ministry of Defence of India, along with the Finance Ministry in its report gave up

some astounding facts about how the Army had lied about using up of 70% of ammunition when only 14%

had been used.

Though Lal Bahadur Shastri was always considered a soft & weak leader by his own countrymen, the

decision about the war came to shun this fact completely as he was hailed as a national hero now.


Agricultural crisis of 1965-1967

The agricultural production of India worsened in the years 1965, 1966 and 1967. This resulted in a severe

food shortage & famine-like conditions in many parts of the country, especially in the state of Bihar. This

period is often said to be a ‘Ship-to-mouth’ existence. Food deprivation in Bihar led to acute & widespread malnutrition, with calorie intake dropping from 2200

calories per capita per day to 1155 calories per capita per day; as per official Health Ministry figures of

the Government of India.

Agricultural production of the food grains dropped from 7.3mn tones to 4.3mn tones in a span of two

years from 1965 to 1967. The national agricultural production also dropped 19%. Food prices in Bihar hit a

record high in Bihar, with the price of costly grains of wheat

double than that of the price in wheat-growing state of Punjab. The official death toll of the famine was

2353, half of which were in the state of Bihar.

A number of times, the Government of India had to ask the United States & other Western nations for

aid. The Government even set up several ration & fair price shops to limit the impact of the famine

apart from improving communication, issuing famine bulletins and offering employment to those

affected by the famine.

These events & factors led to the Green Revolution strategy, giving support & subsidies to well-off

farmers & peasants to increase production rapidly. After proper deliberations between the Union

Ministry of Agriculture and Union Ministry of External Affairs, the Green Revolution took place.


Foreign Exchange crisis of 1965-1967

Foreign exchange reserves are an extremely critical aspect of any country’s ability to engage in

commerce with other countries. A large stock of foreign currency reserves facilitates trade with other

nations and lowers transaction costs associated with international commerce. If a nation depletes its

foreign currency reserves and finds that its own currency is not accepted abroad, the only option left to

the country is to borrow from abroad. As a developing economy, it is to be expected that India would import more than it exports. Despite

government attempts to obtain a positive trade balance, India has had consistent balance of

payments deficits since the 1950s. The 1966 devaluation was the result of the first major financial

crisis the government faced. Due to the prevailing agricultural food grain shortage, the United States asked the Indian government

to change their agricultural policies which would indirectly benefit the West. During the Indo-Pak War

1965 and the subsequent years of hostility, the United States responded by suspending food aid on a

long-term basis.

The idea behind their action, along with the World Bank was to force India adopt a new agricultural policy

and devalue the currency, Rupee. This step was seen as a major step to benefit the West world, which

would then enable them to infiltrate more into the Indian economy & entitle them to more profits. In

August 1966, India was asked by the World Bank to liberalise its restrictions on trade before foreign aid

would materialize. At the end of the

decade in 1969, the Indian Rupee traded around 13 British Pence, at an all-time low until then which stated

an urgent need to have fiscal policies away from populist measures. Later, the Government nationalized 14

major commercial banks.

Henceforth, the Rupee was devalued by 36.5% in June 1966 after negotiations between the Union Finance Ministry & the Reserve Bank of India, and substantial rationalization of tariffs

& export subsidies took place.


The Balance of Payments improved considerably, not because of the reinstating of the foreign aid

but because of the decline in imports. By borrowing from the Reserve Bank of India and, therefore, essentially printing money, the government

could finance its extravagant spending through an inflation tax. Additionally, the large amounts of foreign

aid that flowed into India clearly did not encourage fiscal or economic responsibility of the government.

Although it helped the Indian government, the food aid had a net inflationary effect on the Indian economy

i.e. prices eventually rose from the normal range. New money was already created in those years as per

peculiar financial procedures. The shipments to India were executed in exchange for India Rupee funds,

accumulated in the Indian banks & used to cover local US government expenses(with the balance to be

returned to the Government of India in the form of concessional loans & grants). There was a huge

liquidizing process whereby special securities were first converted into Indian public debt, which was then

purchased by the Central Bank & passed on to the US account as new money. The US account would

disburse that money to the Indian public sector as loans & grants, which was noted to have increased

the inflation rate by 9.8% in 1966-67.


Year 1970-71 (Indo-Pak War/Bangladesh

Liberation War)

Late 1970 and early 1971 saw many media reports unveiling the dark truth behind the unfair practices of

the Pakistani Army towards the Bengali-speaking East Pakistani citizens. Many reports stated how a

step-motherly treatment was meted out to these citizens, and how a large number of killings were also

taking place at the same time in East Pakistan.

Though the East of Pakistan had a slight majority of the country’s population, political power

& financial dominance remained in the hands of West Pakistanis. To counter the balance of the East

wing’s votes, the West Pakistan rulers established a ‘One Unit Scheme’ where all West Pakistan was

considered one province. It was observed that any East Pakistani elected as the Prime Minister of

Pakistan would be swiftly deposed by the West Pakistani establishment. Leaders like Khwaja Nazimuddin,

Md. Bogra or Huseyn Suhrawardy were denied their fair rights over the Prime Ministership, solely because

they were residents of the East Pakistan.

Soon, Pakistan was under the military dictatorship of General Ayub Khan(1958-69) and later General

Yahya Khan(1969-71). Both of them were West Pakistanis. In the year 1971 when the Awami League won a

clear majority, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman got a decisive mandate winning

167 of the 169 seats in East Pakistan. However, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto(leader of the Pakistan People’s

Party) refused to allow Rehman to become the PM. Instead, his idea was to have two different Prime

Ministers for the two wing. In the mean while, Pakistan Army had secretly started with its pet project ‘Operation Searchlight’ to

demolish the political unrest against the West Pakistani rulers. It is reported how 3,00,000 civilians were

killed, while 10,00,000 civilians went missing or crossed over to the Indian territory. Although the violence

focused on the provincial capital Dhaka, it also affected all parts of East Pakistan. Residential halls of the

University of Dhaka were particularly targeted.


The only Hindu residential hall was destroyed by the Pakistani armed forces, and estimated 600-700

residents were killed. Fearing a brutal civil war, Bhutto proposed a meeting between him and Rehman to

work out a solution for the current political scenario. Though initial considerations yielded consensus, the

fallout between the two leaders became evident soon after and no proper agreement could be reached

out.

Facing pressures from the states of India over the ‘refugee problems’, the central government thought

of some solution. It appealed, in an official document & open speech by the Prime Minister herself to

stop the ‘apparent genocide’ in East Pakistan. The Indian government, at the same time, set up a large

number of refugee camps for these civilians.

Slowly, India tried to contact the United States(then a supporter of the Pakistani rulers) to persuade

Pakistan to cease the killings of innocent East Pakistani civilians. Though the United States promised

certain action, the Western countries openly backed Pakistani by placing no sanctions against it.

Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, on 25th

March 1971, in a strong speech in Bangladesh raised the slogan ‘Joi

Bongla!’ and reaffirmed his stance of the struggle of the East Pakistanis’ for freedom from Pakistani

suppressing rule. He signed an official declaration that read that Bangladesh was a sovereign &

independent country. This was enough to blow things out of proportion for the West Pakistan rulers, who

immediately sent their trusted General as the Governor of East Bengal among huge resentment against

the political establishment; and started an official war with violent clashes between the Bangladeshi

police and the armed forces of Pakistan.

As expected, the East Pakistani resistance was disorganized & spontaneous but surprisingly, it was a

prolonged one. The resistance gradually grew, with every crack down by the Pakistani Army. The

Bangladeshi forces combined to form a ‘Mukti Bahini’- an organization aimed at dislodging the Pakistani

Army from the ruling position.


It is often said that it was in mid-June or early-July that the Mukti Bahini started receiving indirect aid

from the Indian side, in terms of money and arms. Adopting the techniques from the Indian side, around

2000-5000 guerilla warfare soldiers attacked the Pakistan Army but failed to achieve their objectives

because of the monsoon.

Scared of a possible military intervention by the Indian side, the Pakistani Air Force launched pre-emptive

air strikes after publicly threatening India to ‘face war and demolition in the

next 10 days’ on 1st

December, 1971. India soon retaliated with air strikes on Pakistani air bases. The Pakistani Army followed a strategy of capturing Western Indian territory, while holding on to

the East Pakistan territory.

Indian Navy, unlike previous wars, actively participated in the war of 1971 & launched an offensive on

the port city of Karachi destroying key Naval bases. The Indian naval forces approached the battle

via a ‘two way approach’ simultaneously attacking Karachi & Chittagong on the two different sides of

the Indian territory.

Ultimately, capturing a 5000 sq. miles territory of Pakistan & forcing the surrender of the East Pakistani

forces in Dhaka after surrounding it from three sides; 16th

December, 1971 saw the victory of the Indian

forces and the official independence of the Bangladeshi population. India declared a unilateral ceasefire

and later in 1972, the Simla Agreement saw an official pact been signed between Zulfikar Ali Bhutto & Indira

Gandhi ending the war between the two nations with the release of prisoners of wars.

Questions to be addressed

1.) Was India naïve in its assessment of Chinese intentions? 2.) How could India have prepared itself in case of a military engagement?

3.) Would it be better if more diplomatic talks had taken place?

4.) Should India have given asylum to the Dalai Lama?

5.) Which border line demarcates India’s border with Pakistan & China?

6.) Was there a conspiracy in the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri?

7.) Was there an intelligence failure in the war of 1962?

8.) Did the Army actually lie about details to stop the 1965 war?

9.) Could India prepare itself better for an agricultural crisis?

10.) What caused the foreign exchange crisis?

11.) Why did India sign the Shimla Agreement of 1972?

12.) Should India have bargained more?

13.) India should have taken up all these issues at an international forum?

background guide cabinet committee on security

Documents