Book Review: A Conflict in Thin Air by Prosenjit Das Gupta

A Conflict in Thin Air by Prosenjit Das Gupta is a work of non-fiction, inspired by the books based on India and China that at length discuss history, diplomatic stand-off, wars, culture and much more. The author is a well-learnt man who admits reading many books and research papers on Indo-China topic.

According to this book, which is nowadays hard to get via offline or online, India's tension with China is not new or rooted in the year 1962. It actually delves deep into the history. The author has provided lucid explanation of 8th century when all three countries (China, Tibet, India) were equal on the lines of trade and often crossed the mighty Himalayan borders to trade with great equality.

Next focus on history is when the British started ruling India and at the same time Tibet and China were fighting for their space or say independence scuffle. When China totally took over Tibet, the relationship between India and its biggest geographical neighbor China begins worsening. One of the reasons could be protection of Lama and several fake treaties between these two countries since the British Raj. My point is to say that Sino-Indian conflict is not merely a border dispute. It goes back to history and tries to explain that these countries were never on the same wavelength.

China could have felt humiliated in trade or when India sided with Tibet. The Sino-India conflict of 1962 was a sort of pent-up frustration of China that it wanted to vent out hurriedly. The author is a well-travelled and well-read guy. He has done a careful work of research to put the final picture in the book about these two countries. The book is non-fiction but highly engaging due to its depth in the history, geography, and contemporary crises.

Anyone interested in Sino-Indian conflict history or wants to look deep inside the historical and cultural cusp can definitely pick up this book. I would urge the author to make this book re-alive at least on Internet, if not in libraries and bookstores. Inside pictures were enticing and content is superbly written and researched. Prosenjit Das Gupta has done a marvelous job by stitching the loose strands of history to form a relevant book for current and future generations. Being a student of history and geography, I totally agree with the book and its resounding appeal.

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