Mumbai: A loud deafening roar of battle guns, hurried thuds of footsteps moving forward unceasingly, the quick ambush, the spurt of fresh blood and a series of vivid images tinged by emotion. That is all that remains of the 1962 Indo-China war at Walong, in the far North Eastern corner of the country.

The long forgotten pristine white marble memorial erected at the spot with a sweet epitaph asleep in the Mishmi hills. The Sentinel Hills that round stand, bear witness that we loved our land, however, never fails to bring tears to the eyes of Lt Col (retd) Shyam Chavan whenever he visits the 1962 Walong war memorial.

Forty years later, sitting here in Mumbai, Lt Col (retd) Shyam Chavan remembers the battle he fought, and survived to tell about it, as a young Lieutenant, in the erstwhile NEFA (North East Frontier Agency, the area today known as Arunachal Pradesh).

The Chinese opened two fronts in NEFA, on October 20, 1962 at Dhola in the Western part and on October 22, 1962 at Kibithoo in Lohit district in the Eastern part.

The Indian soldiers, less than a 1,000 when the war broke out, bravely fought and killed many a Chinese, who came in large numbers, nearly a division, equipped with modern weapons before many of them were taken as prisoners of war (PoW).

"The Chinese also had the experience of Korea war. In contrast our men and officers had not fought any war after Independence. Moreover, Walong, Kibithoo and other places were not even connected with a road - for replenishing ration and ammunition supply," Chavan observes. "I'll say the '62 war was a real eye-opener for us," Chavan says even as he is unable to hide the overwhelming emotion of anger for the "faulty execution, skin- saving mentality of politicians and also of the senior Army officers", he added.

However, without wanting to delve deep into the reasons-political or otherwise - for the '62 debacle, he says the experience helped the Indian soldiers in all subsequent wars.

Chavan, who was posted at NEFA immediately after passing out from Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehra Doon, was the youngest officer in the 6-Kumaon posted at Walong then. He was among the 20-odd officers, who along with more than 150 jawans from their battalion and others, were retained as PoWs in the Chinese territory for nearly six months after Walong fell to the Chinese ambush.

Remembering the time in Chinese land, on the banks of Lohit (known as Brahmaputra after it enters Assam), Chavan says "leave apart the hardships, the worst feeling is – you are alive and you are not able to convey it to your family members".

Chavan later penned his experiences in a book "Walong - ek yuddha kaidyachi bakhar" (diary of a PoW), which won him a Maharashtra state award besides wide acclaim.

"In a way, my book tries to document an important part of history and also can help generate interest in the younger generation," the soldier-turned-writer says.

Walong was not much in reckoning then and unfortunately even now, not many know about this beautiful place in the Mishmi hills in Arunachal Pradesh.

Very thinly populated even today, Walong, on the banks of Lohit river, reminds visitors of the '62 war at every nook and corner. A war memorial was later built for the soldiers who laid down their lives in the harsh winter four decades ago.

"Just like today you know Kargil and Drass and Tiger Hill, it was the yellow pimple, Dacota hill, 100 hill in those days for us in Walong/Kibithoo area," Chavan recalls with a twinkle in his eyes.

After spending nearly six months as a PoW, Chavan returned to Indian land in April 1963. He later fought in the '65 and '71 wars too.

PTI