What do you think?
Rate this book
Contested Lands: India, China and the Boundary Dispute
About the Book
A COMPREHENSIVE AND INTERESTINGLY TOLD HISTORY OF THE INDO-CHINA BOUNDARY DISPUTE
The India–China border dispute predates Independence, going back a century and a half. As complex as the issue is, it pivots on two key Who does Aksai Chin belong to? Will China accept the McMahon Line—which separates India’s northeastern front regions—as the international border between the two countries?
The dispute over Aksai Chin can be traced back to the military expeditions of General Zorawar Singh of the Sikh Empire into north Baltistan and Tibet in 1841–42 and the Treaty of Chushul of 1842. The McMahon Line, on the other hand, came into being after a long-drawn-out boundary conference in Simla in 1913–14. India and China have had a chequered the month-long military confrontation in 1962 and several instances of incursions, including the recent troop confrontation in May 2020, bear testimony to this. The fact that the Dalai Lama and his followers found refuge in India has only complicated equations further.
In Contested Lands, Maroof Raza dives deep into the history of this long-standing territorial dispute, going right to the root of the problem to understand why the two Asian neighbours have never managed to move beyond talks and towards a resolution. Clear-sighted, measured and rigorously researched, this is a necessary addition to the literature on India–China relations.
About the Author
Maroof Raza, a former Indian Army officer, was educated at Mayo College, St. Stephen’s College, King’s College, London and Cambridge University. He is now a well-known media commentator on global, military and security issues. He is currently consulting editor with Times TV Network, where he hosts award-winning shows like Line of Duty and Tales of Valour. Maroof’s areas of interest include the Kashmir issue, Sino-Indian relations and what India should do to become a great power, and he also lectures on ‘Leadership Lessons from the Armed Forces’. His published books include, among others, an anthology of essays, titled Confronting Terrorism, Kashmir’s Untold Story (co-authored with Iqbal Malhotra) and Shourya Bharat Ke Veer Senani (co-authored with Lt. Col. Sheodan Singh).
A COMPREHENSIVE AND INTERESTINGLY TOLD HISTORY OF THE INDO-CHINA BOUNDARY DISPUTE
The India–China border dispute predates Independence, going back a century and a half. As complex as the issue is, it pivots on two key Who does Aksai Chin belong to? Will China accept the McMahon Line—which separates India’s northeastern front regions—as the international border between the two countries?
The dispute over Aksai Chin can be traced back to the military expeditions of General Zorawar Singh of the Sikh Empire into north Baltistan and Tibet in 1841–42 and the Treaty of Chushul of 1842. The McMahon Line, on the other hand, came into being after a long-drawn-out boundary conference in Simla in 1913–14. India and China have had a chequered the month-long military confrontation in 1962 and several instances of incursions, including the recent troop confrontation in May 2020, bear testimony to this. The fact that the Dalai Lama and his followers found refuge in India has only complicated equations further.
In Contested Lands, Maroof Raza dives deep into the history of this long-standing territorial dispute, going right to the root of the problem to understand why the two Asian neighbours have never managed to move beyond talks and towards a resolution. Clear-sighted, measured and rigorously researched, this is a necessary addition to the literature on India–China relations.
About the Author
Maroof Raza, a former Indian Army officer, was educated at Mayo College, St. Stephen’s College, King’s College, London and Cambridge University. He is now a well-known media commentator on global, military and security issues. He is currently consulting editor with Times TV Network, where he hosts award-winning shows like Line of Duty and Tales of Valour. Maroof’s areas of interest include the Kashmir issue, Sino-Indian relations and what India should do to become a great power, and he also lectures on ‘Leadership Lessons from the Armed Forces’. His published books include, among others, an anthology of essays, titled Confronting Terrorism, Kashmir’s Untold Story (co-authored with Iqbal Malhotra) and Shourya Bharat Ke Veer Senani (co-authored with Lt. Col. Sheodan Singh).
290 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 13, 2024
4 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 29, 2021
Amongst the recent books on the India China imbroglio, Maroof Raza has written a superior treatise. The long Introduction by Inder Malhotra, the doyen of Indian geo-political writers sets the stage, though some of his conclusions somewhat surprised me. The Author writes with deep knowledge and logically goes into the background to give out the causes of the present tensions. The British looked at the area as a stage for the Great Game played by them with Russia. They also wrested concessions from a weakened semi-independent Tibet. However China refused to endorse the boundary as demarcated by the British. China was incapable of challenging the powers till 1949, when it began aggressively to show its presence. By the time India woke up to the threat, it had already built a road through the Aksai Chin and effectively annexed it. Nehruvian style of geo-politics suited China's ambitions. On the other hand, the escape of the Dalai Lama to India aroused its suspicions about India's intentions. By 1960, Krishna Menon was effectively dominating the narrative and was happy to have weak military leaders at the helm. The truly competent ones were sidelined. The Author brings this out lucidly. The 1962 War changed border politics but India was never in the driving seat. The Author shows how a confident Indian Army effectively responded to Chinese threats till Xi Jinping took charge of China. The Doklam standoff showed India was no longer a pushover. However, the LAC remained dormant with occasional local flare ups. Then in 2020, China raised the ante and the LAC as the Author points out has became a metaphorical LOC. Troops are now deployed along the length and Indian armed forces, rapidly making up for years of neglect, are making up their armament. In his conclusion the Author sound optimistic about India's capability to face China. The reviewer is not so sanguine. The Chinese are past masters at judging body language and political utterances. Behind the bombast it well knows the fear of our political leaders. It's military budget is six times India. It's technology is far superior to India. It knows it has a comfortable window to resolve the LAC till at least 2025 and it will do so. Only the armed forces and the Indian Infantry stands in the way and China well knows that. India is not well served by its leaders. Maroof has written a lucid account which is an excellent primer for those who would like to learn about India's contested borders with China. Recommended.
December 30, 2021
If you wish to read a short and sharp account of Sino Indian disputes that continue to dominate relations between the two countries, then this book by Maroof Raza has it all. A well known strategic and military affairs commentator, the author gives us an objective and well researched book, that is easy to read and understand, and that should be handily available to anyone with any desire to know why India and China contest their Himalayan lands.
September 5, 2022
The author decodes China’s border policy vis-a-vis India as well as its consequences for Indian security policy and Sino-Indian ties. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing about India’s border dispute with China and the historical context for the same. I had earlier read some works on this topic. But Dr Raza provides greater and newer historical insights than what I had read about earlier.
July 16, 2023
Good book for background on the Indo - China border issue. However, this would be tough for a person unfamiliar with the geography of the area to read. There weren’t enough maps associated with the text. That said, if how the author puts it, the world’s in for a rough ride as this issue has much more to offer
September 6, 2022
This book held great promise and I was looking forward to gaining some knowledge on the issue. However, it is nothing but an encyclopedia of facts littered with exclamation marks. It starts abruptly and ends abruptly. Didn't enjoy reading it much.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews