India's Naivete, Soldiers Die; Nehru Goes Into Decline...

1962: Indian troops labour with outdated arsenal at the Sela Pass (Arunachal Pradesh) during the Sino-Indian conflict ; the memorial  of Joginder Singh, the first Indian soldier to die fighting the Chinese in Bumla, and , an Indian soldier fights the harsh climate in inadequate gear. On September 20, China attacks India, blames Nehru for the conflict and says he is "bellicose to the bone". (‘The People’s Daily’). India loses the war and V.K. Krishna Menon his defence portfolio. Menon says of Nehru: "I think he collapsed. It demoralised him completely...." In London, Mountbatten later comments: "Menon killed him (Nehru) with the disastrous Chinese war." On November 21, Chinese troops withdraw.

March,1959: The Dalai Lama flees Tibet, 14,000 disciples follow suit; India g rants them asylum,incurring the wrath of China’s communist government.

May 27,1964:End of an era. Broken by the China debacle, his charisma a trifle frayed, his legendary resourcefulness and energy on the wane, India’s great helmsman dies after a series of cerebral strokes at 75. Daughter Indira Gandhi with sons Rajiv and Sanjay leave for Prayag (above) with the urn carrying his ashes. Thousands join the funeral procession. As the nation grieves and the Congress gropes with the loss of a colossus,Gulzarilal Nanda is sworn in as interim prime minister. On June 9,the Congress Parliamentary Party elects Lal Bahadur Shastri as its leader and he takes over as India’s second PM.