How Russia’s Turkestan gift to China rewrote the history of Himalayas and compromised India’s security

History can’t be rewritten, but it is worth pondering, what if… What if Turkestan had been given independence by Russia, like Outer Mongolia? Military annexation of Xinjiang and the revolutionary changes On 1 October 1949, the new People’s Republic of China was proclaimed; during the following months, the new regime did not miss an opportunity to tell the world that China would soon ‘liberate’ large areas at the periphery of the Middle Kingdom. Mikoyan was aware of nationalist forces in the district: “This movement was triggered by the incorrect policy of the Chinese [nationalist> government, which does not want to take into account the national specifics of these nationalities, does not present rights of self-rule, does not permit the development of the national culture.” The Soviets defended the autonomy of the Uyghurs and other nationalities: “If the nationalities of Xinjiang were given autonomy, the soil for the independence movement would likely not remain.” When Mao told Mikoyan that China was planning on “giving Xinjiang autonomy, in the same manner as for Inner Mongolia, which is already an autonomous region,” Mao got the green light he needed. The PLA walked some 3,000 km in six months to complete their mission; the main force, in more than two months’ time, successively liberated each important town and city in the north and south of Xinjiang, and “pinned down uprising launched by reactionaries of Nationalist Party”, said a report. China kept its claims on Indian territory undisclosed till 1959 though it had already, in 1957, surreptitiously cleared a motor road across the uninhabited Aksai Chin area of Ladakh.” The Publication Division booklet explained: “Since then the Chinese claim line has varied according to China’s bargaining convenience and the progressively increasing extent of occupation of Indian territory through force.