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CDS General Anil Chauhan said using the Indian Air Force during the 1962 Sino-Indian War could have slowed the Chinese advance and given the Army more preparation time.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan (File photo/PTI)
The use of the Indian Air Force would have slowed the Chinese offensive considerably during the 1962 Sino-Indian war, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan said in a recorded video message on Wednesday.
He added that it may have been termed as “escalatory” then, but that is not the case now, as seen in ‘Operation Sindoor’.
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His video message, wherein he spoke about the war with China 63 years ago, was played during the release of the revised autobiography of the late Lieutenant General SPP Thorat, ‘Reveille to Retreat’, in Pune.
Lt Gen Thorat was the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, in the lead-up to the Sino-Indian war.
Chauhan also noted the forward policy should not have been applied uniformly to Ladakh and NEFA (North-East Frontier Agency) or present-day Arunachal Pradesh, arguing the two regions had different histories of dispute and entirely different terrain, and following identical policies was flawed.
Over the years, the security situation has changed, and the face of warfare itself has been transformed, the CDS maintained.
“To comment on the adequacy or inadequacy of the forward policy at this time is slightly difficult. Our views will be coloured due to many reasons, like geography has changed entirely and so has geopolitics,” he noted, as he spoke about forward policy and about not using the Indian Air Force during the 1962 war.
“All I can say is that the forward policy should not have been applied uniformly to Ladakh and NEFA. The two regions had very different histories of the dispute, a different security context and entirely different terrain.”
“In Ladakh, China had already occupied much of Indian territory, whereas in NEFA, the legitimacy of India’s claim was stronger. To equate the two and pursue identical policies was, in my view, a bit flawed,” he said.
The CDS suggested Lt Gen Thorat did think about using the IAF, but the then-government did not permit such a move.
“They would have had a significant advantage during the 1962 conflict. Shorter turnaround times, a favourable geography and the ability to bring maximum payloads to bear with maximum weight on the enemy. Use of air power would have slowed the Chinese offensive considerably, if not stymied it completely.”
“This would have given the Army much more time to prepare. In those days, I think, the use of the Air Force was considered escalatory. This, I think, is no longer true, and ‘Operation Sindoor’ is an apt example of this,” he maintained.
‘Operation Sindoor’ in May this year involved India employing its air power to dismantle terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK following the Pahalgam massacre in April.
“Reveille to Retreat is not simply an autobiography. It’s a reflection on leadership, strategy and service. It sheds light on the decisions of power, critiques them with honesty and draws lessons that largely remain relevant today,” General Chauhan stated.
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About the Author
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
September 25, 2025, 09:46 IST
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