probal-book

About The Book

Watershed 1967: India’s Forgotten Victory Over China

A war of redemption that was forgotten

Synopsis:-

What happened when India and China last went to battle with each other? China won? Wrong, India won. The sole India–China conflict that remains etched in our collective memory is the 1962 war, which India tragically lost. But five years later, in 1967, India and China faced off once again at Nathu La and Cho La at the Sikkim border.

This time, overcoming the odds, India triumphed. The fallout of these forgotten battles was immense. China shied away from actively allying with Pakistan and the US during the 1971 India–Pakistan war. And despite several stand-offs in the half-century since then, Beijing never again launched a military offensive against India, until the events of 2020. This incredible book tells us why these battles ushered in an era of peace.

Starting from the period after the first Indo-China war in 1962 through the 1965 India-Pakistan war and extending into the period after 1967, the book is full of thrilling international intrigue and nail-biting battle scenes. It covers the events that led to the battles in 1967, their impact on India’s relationship with other countries, especially China. The book narrates the various standoffs between India and China in the last 50 years, including Sumdorung Chu in 1986, Depsang, Dault Beg Oldi and Doklam in 2017.

Based on extensive research and interviews with army officers and soldiers who participated in these historic battles, the book aims to rectify a blind spot in history and shine the spotlight on a story of incredible bravery that India should be proud of.

Excerpt

“It is the first day of October in the year 1967. Debi Prasad and his fellow Indian soldiers are engaged in a fierce battle with the Chinese at the Cho La pass on the Sikkim–China border. Letting out the war cry ‘Jai Maa Kali, Ayo Gorkhali’, the young Gorkha turns into a raging tiger and rushes towards the well-armed Chinese soldiers. In a flash, he draws out the deadly khukri from the scabbard, raises it to the sky and brings it down on the Chinese light machine gunner before his forefinger can pull the trigger.

Debi moves like lightning as he swipes, swings and slashes, letting the traditional shiny dagger heave and strike in a fearsome display of hand-to-hand combat. He scythes through the Chinese forward line of defence, lopping off five heads as soldiers fall around him. The collective might of the enemy front line is not enough to stop this short, sturdy young man. By the time a desperate bullet knocks him dead, Debi Prasad has destroyed the much-vaunted Chinese defensive wall.

Debi’s khukri continues to haunt the Chinese. His heroics steered India towards certain victory, an outcome that would change Indo-China relations forever. However, the seeds of India’s battles with China in 1967 had been sown two years earlier, in 1965, when signs of a sinister design had begun to show, far, far away.”

People Behind the Story

Watershed 1967 has been a result of the support of many people, which included Mehr Gill, Mangesh Sawant and Jason Jacob, author and literary agent Kanishka Gupta and his team at Writer’s Side, the Juggernaut team of publisher Chiki Sarkar, Parth Mehrotra who helped in shaping the draft and the editors Arushi Singh and Swarnima Narayan, and Disha Naik and the marketing team. Sriram Karri, with his keen eye and feedback, was part of the author’s journey. Probal’s journey would not have been possible without supportive friends – Manish Kumar, Maj General (retd) V.K. Pillai, Shankar Rajesh, Col Anand Sinha, Maj General B.J. Gupta, Sudesh Dhanda, Col Avinash Rayarikar, Aakash Brahmachari, Lt General Narasimhan, Sangram Nalwaya, Ambassador P. Stopdan, Col Abhishek Dwivedi, Lathika Swami, Brig S.S. Pundir, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Maj Vivek Naithani, who helped track primary sources, and Maj Manish Mall, with whom Probal exchanged opinions about the subject. One of the biggest contributors in this journey is his school teacher, Ahmed Ansari, who taught him to write early on.

Last but not the least, Probal’s family has been his constant strength. Watershed 1967 would not have been possible without their unwavering faith in him and his vision for the book. His wife Nisha, kids – Siddharth and Arayna, mother Shyamla, mother in law Lathika and brother Protip are his backbone, motivation, and inspiration for going forward with Watershed 1967.