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The Battle of Lhagyala on November 23, 1962, fought by the 4 Rajput Regiment against the Chinese PLA, remains a forgotten chapter of heroism, with no survivors left to tell their story.
Arunachal Pradesh, the Land of the Dawn-Lit Mountains, is a place full of mysteries; for example, in several cases it is not precisely known what has happened to the Indian troops during the 1962 border war with China and contrary to popular perception, the Indian troops did very well in several areas on the front; there are a number of battles which should make every Indian proud. Unfortunately, they have remained unknown to the general public.
Arunachal also possessed several mysterious hidden paradises and sacred Buddhist gompas.
One of the less known 'special' places is Lhagyala Gompa in Kameng district where heroism converges with spirituality; the troops of the Rajput regiment fought an epic battle against the Chinese near the oldest monastery in the state. The bravery of these Indian troops has however been forgotten by history.
I recently visited this place with a local guide, Sonam Gechen Trangpoder, a former BSF officer, today running a residential school at Morshing, the closest village near the Lhagyala Gompa. Sonam's father, 35 years old in 1962, was in Morshing during the epic battle.
The site of the battle is located just behind the gompa built in the 16th century, at least 50 years before the renowned Tawang Gompa.
Perched on the top of the hill, at 9,100 feet above sea level, it is not easy to reach because the 6 km long road from Morshing is in poor condition and during a rainy day, the gompa is hardly accessible. This could, of course, be remedied by the road getting tarred.
Like in Tawang, the area is known as Monyul, traditionally inhabited by the Monpa tribe.
As the gompa is close to the Bhutan border (some 10 km as the crow flies or a two day walk), on the way, one crosses a Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) camp; not far is the Sakteng wildlife sanctuary in Bhutan, today disputed by China (like the entire state of Arunachal).
The Lhagyala Gompa
The gompa is the oldest monastery in the state.
It is older than the majestic Tawang monastery founded by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso in 1680-1681 on the orders of Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, the 5th Dalai Lama,.
Both monasteries belong to the Gelug school of Vajrayana Buddhism, but while the Tawang gompa used to be affiliated with the Drepung Loseling Monastery of Lhasa, the Lhagyala Gompa depended on the Ganden Jangtse monastery, also located near Lhasa.
The place is sacred for another reason, Khandro (Dakini) Drowa Sangmo, a great mediator with tantric siddhis; she was the beautiful younger queen of King (Gyalpo) Kala Wangpo.
She bore the king two children -- a boy and a girl. The son was named Kintu Legpa.
The older and childless queen, Duem Hacham, harbored extreme jealousy and eventually masterminded the death of Drowa Sangmo and then attempts to assassinate Kintu Legpa and his sister.
The henchmen, however, spared them but the two children fell into a river ...and the story goes on; it is the subject of a famous opera
The dakini's footprint can be seen just behind the field where the battle of Lhagyala took place in 1962.
There is also a sacred pond on the top of hill near the Khandro's retreat. The Drowa Sangmo's life is important for the local people who trace their ancestry from the 7th century.
The Monastery
Just below the dakini's retreat is the very beautiful and well-kept ancient monastery. Presently there is only one monk caretaker, Ngawang Tashi.
A collection of old statues from the 16th and 17th century, particularly, statues of Je Tsongkapa and his disciples, the nine Lhagyala Rinpoches (since the foundation of the gompa by the 1st Lhagyala Rinpoche), Chenresig (Avalokiteshvara), Hayagriva, etc, can be seen.
The 9th Lhagyala Rinpoche used to live there, at times with 40 monks around him. The 10th Lhagyala is 10 years old, very bright, born in Zanskar.
His father served in the Indian Army (Ladakh Scouts). He studies in the Namgyal Datsang Dharamsala.
The reincarnation was found by the present Dalai Lama.
The 10th Lhagyala seems to be very popular among the Monpa population, especially on social media.
Lhagyala is one of the 3 main lineages in Monyul.
The Battle of Lhagyala
The battle took place on November 23, 1962, two days after the ceasefire was declared.
Apparently, Lieutenant Colonel Brahmananda Avasthy, the Commanding Officer of the 4 Rajputs while he was taking the direction towards Kalaktang and Assam, was not aware of the ceasefire, an informant told us.
The fact that the Battle of Lhagyala took place after the war had officially ended, perhaps explains why it is hardly mentioned in the Official Report of the 1962 conflict published by the ministry of defence and no awards were given to the 4 Rajput who suffered 100% casualties.
Another reason for the lack of recognition of the sacrifice of the 4 Rajput is that there was no survivor left to tell their story.
After the battle, some Army personnel along with local villagers searched for the mortal remains of the Indian soldiers which were found scattered around the hill. The bodies were collected and buried.
On December 11, Major Kukrety from the 4 Rajput, a company commander who had managed to reach Assam, came back to the site where he identified some of the officers and jawans.
According to The Chinese Invasion of NEFA by Major Sitaram Johri, among the few officers who died at Lhagyala were: Lieutenant Colonel Brahmananda Avasthy, CO 4 Rajput, Major Trilok Nath, Second-in-Command, Captain Y Tandon, the Battalion Adjutant, and Captain Dayal Singh, Company Commander.
The body of the CO (Avasthy) was found, because in his pocket, Major Kukrety recovered a letter written to his wife and a piece of paper with a prayer written on it.
As per the wishes of his wife, his ashes are kept below the small memorial on the top of the hill.
According to the elders from Morshing village, there was a long cowshed located just below the Lhagyala Gompa (nearby a recently built stupa); the mortal remains of the Chinese troops were collected there. The locals saw them at night.
The next morning, all the bodies had disappeared. They had been carried away by the PLA, probably to Tibet as no remains/pyres have ever been found in the area.
The number of Chinese casualties is probably much higher than shown in Beijing's account which said that the third battalion of the 154th Regiment suffered 36 casualties (25 injured, 11 dead); while on the Indian side, 209 soldiers who would have died.
Hardly Mentioned in Indian Records
The only mention of the battle in the Official Report of 1962 War says: 'On 22 November, the first day of cease-fire, a group of Indians just south of Dirang Dzong was fired upon with machine guns and mortars.
'At about 10.00 hrs the same day, another ambush took place near Lagala Gompa, 13 km south of Dirang Dzong. In this incident about 300 Indian soldiers were fired upon by the Chinese. In the prevailing confusion, no accurate estimate of casualties could be made, but these were very heavy.'
The small memorial has just a poem penned by the wife of the CO. Unfortunately, it does not mention the names of the causalities or the circumstances of the battle; it can hopefully be remedied.
The Chinese Account
The only detailed account of the battle is from a Chinese book: The Sino-Indian Border War of Self Defense and Counter Attack (Yes, China says that India attacked China in 1962), compiled by the Chronicler Group of the History of the Sino-Indian Border War.
It says: 'At 10:30 on November 23, the 5th Company's [of the 3rd Battalion of the 154th Regiment] sentry found that on the mountain road from Dirang to Lhagyala Temple, there were many Indian troops walking down the mountain, but they were far apart. According to the guide, the Indian troops must pass through Lhagyala Temple to escape to India.
'Based on this, the 2nd Regiment decided to set up an ambush on the northwest side of Lhagyala Temple. The 5th Company ambushed them on the left side of the road and cut off their escape route to Gemo Pass.'
The Chinese narrative continues: 'The 6th Company ambushed on the right side of the road. At about 11 o'clock, the troops arrived at the ambush position. At 11:30, the Indian Army's vanguard squad (12 people) entered the ambush circle. When they were some 10 meters away from the second row of the sixth company, the soldiers of the row suddenly jumped out of the bushes. ...
'The main force of the Indian army retreated and occupied favorable terrain to resist stubbornly. The battalion immediately switched from setting an ambush to a strong attack.
'The sixth company was on the right wing, and the fifth company was on the left wing to attack the Indian army. Under the fierce attack, the Indian army retreated to a hill on a ridge, and the two sides confronted each other.
'The Indian army was eager to escape and launched nearly 10 counterattacks, all of which were repelled, killing more than 100 people in total. In order to quickly wipe out the stubborn Indian army, the battalion surrounded it. The fifth, sixth, and ninth companies worked closely together to quickly wipe out the surrounded Indian army. The battle lasted until 1:30 pm.'
Some Suggestions
A proper memorial should be built to commemorate the supreme sacrifice of Colonel Avasthy and his men of 4 Rajput. All the names of the casualties should be mentioned.
The state government should construct a tar road between Morshing and Lhagyala and open the Lhagyala Gompa area to eco-tourism.
Visitors could stay in Morshing and come for the day to the Gompa and visit the site of the battle.
In this area, spiritual, ecological and war memorial tourism could easily be combined as home-stays already exist in Morshing.
One can hope that electric shuttles could be organised between Morshing and Lhagyala or alternatively a trek through the beautiful forest.
The bonus could be the possibility of practicing paragliding during the winter season.
Claude Arpi is Distinguished Fellow, Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (Delhi).
Claude Arpi is a long-time contributor to Rediff.com and you can read his earlier columns here.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com