Early Tibet-India and Sino-Indian Relations continues..

Chairman Mao cited a version of history at the enlarged Central Military Commission meeting held on 16th October 1962 at Xishan (‘Western Hills’) on the western outskirts of Beijing where in the final decision was taken to launch the attack on India. During the discussions that preceded the decision and his final approval of the attack,he said that so far there had only been one-and-a-half wars against India,when a Tang dynasty emperor had dispatched troops to assist the legal claimant to the throne of an Indian kingdom (jieri diguo), after other claimant had killed 30 members of a Tang diplomatic mission. Another Chinese version of history! The ‘half-war’ (of the ‘One-and Half Wars’) was in 1398 CE, stated Mao at same meeting, when Temur captured Delhi, though a great victory, as per Mao was a ‘Half War’ because Temur and his army were Mongols from both Inner and Outer Mongolia, thus making the victory ‘Half Chinese’, because Mongolia was supposedly under China at the time! In point of fact, Temur himself was not a Mongol but a Barlas Turkoman born near Sakhrisabz in today’s Uzbekistan. Neither Mongolia nor Eastern Turkestan (now Xinjiang) were under China at the time, which was under the Ming dynasty. Both eastern Turkestan and the western part of Mongolia were then under rule of Islamicised and Turkicised Mongols, an eastern branch of Chaghtais. The region they ruled was known as Mughalistan, or land of the Mongols. It was ruled by Muslim Mongol Khan, Khizr Khoja, who was opposed to Temur. Cessation of hostilities between the Mongols and Temur was reached only in 1397 CE, by Temur’s marriage to the Khan’s daughter, the princess Tukal-khanum. This strategic marriage actually freed Temur’s way eastwards to the prize he craved to conquer, the infidel Ming China. Yet another example of Chinese arrogating history to suit their own chauvinism only element of truth could be that Temur’s army that invaded India had Muslim horsemen from all over Central Asian steppes, including no doubt some of the Turkicised western Mongols of Mughalistan.

To be continued....