Today the northern fringes of the country are promoted as hotspots of nationalist tourism. President Kalam attended the recent Buddha Mahotsav in Tawang (fraturing Bollywood acts and patriotic songs). L.K. Advani instigated the annual natak of the Sindhu Darahan (Amrish Puri and patriotic speeches) after he ?discovered? his favorite river flowing quietly through Ladakh. These were wonderful destinations long before the jamborees but it's worth remembering the harsh geography lesson that first put them the map.

Forty years ago, few Indians had heard of Ladakh and hardly anyone had been there. Arunachal Pradesh was still NEFA, a wild frontier of tribal reservations. The first Indian official to reach the town of Tawang in 1951 found it under Tibetan administration. There were hardly any roads either, and when one was built through the northeastern corner of Ladakh, it turned out to be Chinese.

Then came the India-China war of October-November 1962. Unheard of corners of the country suddenly seized the headlines as they fell to the Chinese Chipchap, Kibithoo, Tawang, and Bomdila. With the enemy at the gates of Assam, it was rumored that Lt. Gen. Kaul, the man in charge of the whole debacle, had been captured (prompting President Radhakrishnan to remark, ?it is unfortunately, untrue?). Fortunately the Chinese then withdrew to the McMahon Line, leaving you the option of holidaying in Tawang or Pangong. Or, for that matter, Beijing.

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