The Lifted Veil

For his 73rd birthday last week. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was flooded with gifts ranging from cakes and garlands to gold dust and bank notes for national defense. Most welcome gift of all was the news that India's army, for the first time since the Red Chinese breakthrough on the border last month, in a small way had gone on the offensive. In NEFA (North East Frontier Agency), an Indian patrol raided a Chinese strongpoint near Towang. killed a number of Communist troops and returned to its lines without loss. A heavier attack was mounted outside Walong where, after an artillery barrage, 1,000 Indian jawans (G.I.s) stormed into "the forward slopes of the Chinese position in spite of heavy enemy fire." The Chinese counterattack was beaten off and, at day's end the fighting flared north and west of Walong as the Chinese tried to pinch off the Indian salient in their lines.

At week's end the news from the front took a turn for the worse. Peking radio, boasting that the Chinese had already captured 927 Indian officers and men, claimed that the new Red counterattacks around Walong had "smashed" the Indian defenses. New Delhi conceded its troops had given some ground. Shipments of U.S. and British weapons have not yet reached many forward positions, but regardless of materiel, the Indian jawans are determined to hold back the invader by any means, even, said one officer, "if we have to use the knife."

Worst Racket. A similar spirit of determination radiated from New Delhi. Prime Minister Nehru, who is almost totally innocent of military matters, turned over his Defense portfolio to burly, tough-minded Y. B. Chavan, 48, a former wrestler and anti-British terrorist, who has successfully served as Chief Minister of Bombay, the largest, richest and most heavily industrialized state in India. The vastly unpopular Krishna Menon, fired as Defense Minister two weeks ago. sent a plaintive message to Chavan, "Such services as you ask of me as a private citizen are always at your disposal.'' Chavan. who is a member of the Kshatriya warrior caste, spoke like a fighting man in warning Indians not to count (as Nehru does) on Russia's help against Red China. Said Chavan bluntly: "A Communist country never gives up violence or abjures the use of force."

Nehru, himself, was still speaking softly and. some Western observers felt, snidely. in Parliament. Explaining why India had not purchased automatic arms from the

West before now, Nehru said: "The House knows that the arms racket is the worst racket of all. If they know you want something, they will make you pay for it through the nose." By waiting until China invaded India, Nehru pointed out, he was able to get British and U.S. arms "in large numbers" and "on very special terms."

Red Consolation. He continued to praise the Soviet Union, "which has been and is the ally of China. We did not expect them to do anything that would mean a breach with an ally. But we have had their good will and good wishes all along, even recently, and that is a consolation to us." As for the U.S. and Britain, their generosity in arms was self-serving: "It is not a mere matter of India's being invaded by China; it raises issues of vast importance to the world and Asia. Realizing this, they help us--they feel this involves many issues in which they themselves are intensely interested."

Nehru hinted that he would welcome a truce on reasonably favorable terms. But when Nuclear Disarmer Bertrand Russell asked India to accept the present Chinese terms "in the interest of world peace." Nehru, who has often given similar advice to the West, flatly rejected the notion; the Red terms would imply a major loss of Indian territory. The invasion, he told Parliament, "has lifted the veil from the face of India--a serene face, calm yet strong, an ancient face which is ever young. I don't think we will ever forget this powerful, emotional upheaval. No country that evokes this feeling in a moment of crisis can ever be suppressed.''

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