McMahon Line marks the international boundary between Tibet and India in the eastern Himalayan region. The McMohan Line is also a demarcation line drawn on the map referred to the ‘Simla Convention’, a treaty between Britain and Tibet signed in 1914. This line is named after Sir Henry McMahon, foreign secretary for the British-run Government of India and the chief British negotiator of the convention. The McMahon Line is regarded by India as a legal national border. The Dalai Lama’s Tibetan government-in-exile also accepts the line as an official border. China rejects the Simla Convention on the grounds that the Tibetan government was not sovereign and therefore did not have the power to conclude treaties. Strangely, China does not dispute the international border with Burma that was also drawn as part of the McMahon Line! The line was the focus of a brief war in 1962 between China and India. On October 20, 1962 China launched a major attack across the McMahon as well as another attack further north. The Sino-Indian War which followed was a national humiliation for India, with China quickly gaining control of NEFA.
The Soviet Union, the United States, and Great Britain all pledged military aid to the Indians. China then withdrew to the McMahon Line and repatriated the Indian prisoners of war (1963). New Delhi attributes the retreat to the superiority of the Indian Air Force and to Chinese logistical problems. NEFA (North East Frontier Agency) was renamed Arunachal Pradesh in 1972. (Chinese maps refer to the area as South Tibet). In 1981, Chinese leader Deng Xioping offered India a “package settlement” of the border issue. Eight rounds of talks followed but no agreement was reached. In October 1986, Deng threatened to “teach India a lesson”. The Indian Army airlifted a task force to the valley. The confrontation was defused in May 1987 and the armies have since withdrawn. Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited China in 1988.
Filed under: Indo-China relations Tagged: | Agni Rekha, Arunachal Pradesh, boundary between Tibet and India, chief British negotiator of the convention, China quickly gaining control of NEFA, Chinese leader Deng Xioping, Chinese logistical problems, eastern Himalayan region, foreign secretary for the British-run Government of Ind, Indian Air Force, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited China in 198, international border with Burma, McMohan Line, national humiliation for India, North East Frontier Agency, October 20th 1962, pledged military aid to the Indians, repatriated the Indian prisoners, Simla Convention, Sino-Indian War, Sir Henry McMohan, South Tibet, Soviet Union, teach India a lesson, The Indian Army airlifted a task force, treaty between Britain and Tibet signed in 1914, United States and Great Britain
[...] McMahon Line is India’s ‘Agni Rekha’ [...]