7/3/2014 Henderson brooks - Bhagat report.( Sino - Indian war of 1962)

http://amutkarsh.blogspot.in/2014/05/henderson-brooks-bhagat-report-sino.html 1/4

4th May

Friends in this article we will discuss on HENDERSON BROOKS - BHAGAT REPORT.

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This is a classified report prepared by two Indian Army officers , Lieutenant-General Henderson Brooks

and Brigadier Premindra Singh Bhagat on Sino - Indian war of 1962.

This report is a 2 part report. The first part was leaked in 2014 by a retired journalist . Second Part

deals with the enduring lessons of the Chinese aggression.

This report was supposed to be an " operations review" of the cause of the Indian Army's humiliating

rout (a disorderly retreat of defeated troops) by the invading People's Liberation Army.

THE TWO INVESTIGATING OFFICER'S , HOWEVER , SKIRTED THE OPERATIONS REVIEW BY

FOCUSING ON THE POLITICAL CAUSES OF THE ROUT OF THE WAR.

Henderson brooks - Bhagat report.( Sino - Indian war of1962)

7/3/2014 Henderson brooks - Bhagat report.( Sino - Indian war of 1962)

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The report , instead of pinpointing the military aspects of the defeat , palmed off the blame on the

political leadership.

In February 2014 , Australian Journalist Maxwell , released part 1 of the report where two Army chief's

have recorded their opinions.The report blamed the indian political leadership for pursuing what the

Chinese had called " forward policy" on the borders.

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7/3/2014 Henderson brooks - Bhagat report.( Sino - Indian war of 1962)

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" According to at least one source who has seen the entire report and its annexures, there are

telegrams and reports that may be embarrassing for the political and military establishment of

those days. The source pointed out that most significant of them is some of the telegrams from Lt

General BM Kaul, who disastrously commanded the newly-raised IV Corps along the border.

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These telegrams from Lt-Gen Kaul, sent to then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru

[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Jawaharlal-Nehru] among others, include references to

his health, medical issues, weather etc at a time when he was supposed to be leading India's

military operations in the latter part of 1962. The trivial conversations may not have been

encouraged by Nehru but definitely not discouraged, the source said.

Lt-Gen Kaul's tendency to sidestep his military chain of command and talk to the political masters

directly is documented partially in the 126-page report that has become public now. Sans its

annexures, the report was released earlier this week by Australian journalist Neville Maxwell, who

worked in India during the war period for a British newspaper and later wrote a book on the

topic.

In fact, the report nails Lt-Gen Kaul's lack of respect for military hierarchy, his embarrassing

leadership practices, and direct access to the political leaders. The report directly blames him for

poor planning and conduct of operations.

The report says the signal from the Army headquarters on October 4, 1962, announcing the

formation of 4 Corps headquartered at Tezpur and appointing Lt-Gen Kaul as its chief was a

surprise. This corps was given the responsibility for the whole Indo-Tibetan border in the Eastern

Command on the same day.

In one part of the report, it discusses a trip Lt-Gen Kaul undertook to Dhola area, along with

many of his senior officers. Through most of the route Lt-Gen Kaul was carried by a porter, which

did not leave a good impression among hundreds of soldiers who saw the bizarre journey of the

general.

The report gives a few instances of Lt-Gen Kaul's powerful political links in Delhi. On October 17

when he took ill, a special plane was flown from Delhi with a doctor to evacuate him. His

7/3/2014 Henderson brooks - Bhagat report.( Sino - Indian war of 1962)

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immediate boss, the eastern army commander, and the chief of medical services of the command

had no clue of the evacuation. The aircraft was sent by defence minister VK Krishna Menon, the

report points out. A distant relative of Nehru, Lt-Gen Kaul was also Menon's favourite military

general. " (TIMES OF INDIA")

Posted 4th May by utkarsh sahay

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