Mention 1962, and the conversation usually turns to what India lost: territory, military positions and confidence in its leadership. The soldiers themselves often enter the discussion only as casualties.
Yet the story of Indian soldiers in the 1962 war includes men who repelled repeated attacks, commanders who continued leading after being wounded, and small units that fought against overwhelming strength. Their actions deserve a place at the centre of India’s memory of the conflict.
India suffered a military defeat. Understanding how its soldiers fought is essential to understanding that defeat honestly.
The war exposed serious weaknesses in preparation, coordination and command. At several forward positions, troops lacked the support needed to sustain their defence. In his analysis published by MP-IDSA, Air Marshal Ramesh Phadke highlighted the danger of deploying small groups along the border without adequate logistical backing or supporting fire from neighbouring positions.
For a soldier holding an isolated post, these shortcomings had immediate consequences. Reinforcements, ammunition and clear orders could determine whether a position survived. Courage could help men hold on, it could not repair the entire system behind them.
What happened at individual posts shows how much those men nevertheless achieved.
Major Dhan Singh Thapa’s stand began on 20 October 1962, when Chinese troops attacked his forward post in Ladakh after an intense artillery and mortar bombardment.
Thapa, serving with the 1st Battalion of the 8th Gorkha Rifles, led his men in repelling two attacks. A third assault brought Chinese infantry supported by tanks. With the defenders’ numbers severely reduced, the fighting continued at close quarters. Thapa was eventually overpowered after engaging enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat. He received the Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest wartime gallantry award.
A position being overrun tells us the outcome. The resistance that preceded it tells us what the defenders gave.
Three days later, Subedar Joginder Singh faced another desperate battle in the Bum La area of what is now Arunachal Pradesh.
His platoon from the 1st Battalion of the Sikh Regiment repelled two Chinese attacks. By then, it had lost half its men. Wounded in the thigh, Joginder Singh refused evacuation and continued directing the defence.
During the next assault, he operated a light machine gun himself. When ammunition ran out, he led his remaining men into a bayonet fight. His leadership earned him a posthumous Param Vir Chakra.
The details matter: a wounded platoon commander, mounting losses and men continuing to resist as their ammunition disappeared. Reducing their experience to a retreat on a map leaves out almost everything that made their stand extraordinary.
At Rezang La on 18 November, Major Shaitan Singh and Charlie Company of 13 Kumaon faced overwhelming Chinese attacks in eastern Ladakh.
Shaitan Singh moved between platoon positions at great personal risk, encouraging his soldiers and directing the defence. Even after being gravely wounded, he continued leading them. He was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously. The Ministry of Defence records that he and 113 soldiers attained veergati in the battle.
Rezang La deserves to be remembered through those men and their actions. Their sacrifice needs no inflated enemy casualty figures or invented battlefield dialogue to make it powerful.
These accounts also place a responsibility on India. Remembering bravery should sharpen scrutiny of the decisions that sent soldiers into battle. Political judgement, senior military leadership, supplies and communications all deserve examination. The men at the front deserve that honesty.
They also deserve recognition beyond anniversary tributes. Their names belong in classrooms, military histories and the national conversation about 1962.
As another anniversary approaches, India should remember the war with both grief and pride: grief for the lives lost and the failures that made their task harder; pride in the soldiers who continued to fight under those conditions.
The outcome of 1962 is part of our history. So are Thapa’s resistance, Joginder Singh’s leadership and the men of Rezang La. India owes its soldiers a memory large enough to hold all of it.
