Chushul airfield in Ladakh
India had allowed transit, and supply of rice to the PLA in the Chumbi Valley for two years since 1950
the first intrusion by the People’s Liberation Army into the Indian territory took place in Barahoti Plains in Uttarakhand in July 1954, soon after the signing of the Panchsheel Agreement. India’s first armed clash with the PLA took place at Longju on 25 August 1959 when the PLA intruded on the Tsari Valley and attacked a post of nine Assam Rifles resulting in two casualties.
followed by the Kongka La incident in Ladakh on 21 October 1959 wherein the PLA ambushed a patrol of Indo-Tibetan Border Force (ITBF)—a subsidiary of the Intelligence Bureau.
On 7 November 1950, ITBF was created. This organisation consisted of Intelligence Bureau operatives and a small protection force seconded by CRPF
Nine personnel were killed and 10 personnel were taken Prisoner of War including the three missing personnel captured earlier.
ceasefire with Pakistan on 1 January 1949, due to a lack of road communications, only limited troops were deployed in Kargil and Eastern Ladakh
PLA secured Xinjiang in 1949 and invaded Tibet on 6 October 1950.
we inherited a frontier region shaped by the Himalayan chapter of the Great Game, with dysfunctional Tibet and the semi-autonomous Xinjiang as buffer states.
the boundary of the Aksai Chin area along the Kunlun Mountains was shown as “undefined” with dotted lines until 1954, implying non-delimitation.
In the North-East Frontier Agency (note the name), India pre-empted China and secured the areas up to the McMahon Line in February 1951 using the Assam Rifles.
In the Western sector, China pre-empted India, secured two-thirds of Aksai Chin, and began building a road linking Xinjiang to Tibet in 1952.
In June 1951, Kargil Garrison also known as Ladakh Garrison was created at Kargil to control the security of Ladakh, but no additional troops were provided.
The first confrontation
The Indian Army’s first brush with the PLA took place in August 1951 at Chushul, Ladakh, under unusual circumstances when a Kazakh-Cossack Cavalry Brigade of the National Revolutionary Army of Chiang Kai-shek pursued by the PLA sought asylum in India at Chushul.
This cavalry brigade consisted of Russian Cossacks who had emigrated to Kazakhstan, which was part of the Imperial Russian Empire and later USSR.
Intelligence reports about the location of a Kazakh Brigade of the National Revolutionary Army of Chiang Kai-shek, at Rudok 100 km east of the Spanggur Gap.
The PLA was in hot pursuit of the Kazakh Cavalry Brigade and a threat could develop on the border. At that time, there was no LAC and the International Boundary ran 20 km east of the Spanggur Gap.
the Commander at Chushul (without any additional troops) to prevent the Kazakhs from entering India.
The Kazakh Brigade was engaged in a rearguard action against the PLA to safeguard their troops, families and livestock.
The brigade sought asylum in India, which was refused.
They carried out a fighting withdrawal from Rudok, setting up defences three kilometres from the International border, where they prepared for a final battle that started on 1 September.
After consultations with Delhi, it was decided to grant asylum to the Kazakhs.
On the night of 3 and 4 September, the Kazakhs crossed over to India, despite “violent protestation” of the PLA.
However, Indian troops stood their ground and the PLA withdrew.
The Kazakh Brigade moved to Leh and probably went to Kazakhstan, either via the Karakoram Pass or via Pakistan.
Chushul Airfield
flat piece of ground in the Chushul bowl, 4,000 yards long and 100 yards wide
Squadron leader Dhawan trekked to Chushul and approved the airfield “fit for landing” on 3 August, 1952.
27 August 1952, Colonel Bagh Singh, told the PM, “I want to present the highest airfield in the world to you”.
Nehru evinced great interest and agreed to be on the inaugural flight.
On 29 August, Nehru and other VIPs landed at the airfield to make history.
