- Walong
Walong is a small cantonment and administrative town in the
Anjaw District of the state ofArunachal Pradesh in northeasternIndia . Anjaw was carved out ofLohit District in 2004. Walong's approximate position is 28 degrees 06 minutes North, 97 degrees East. It lies on the west bank of theLohit River (a tributary of theBrahmaputra ), approximately 20 kilometres south of the Chinese border. Just north of the border lies theTibet an trading town ofRima . Walong is approximately 180 km. by road from the district headquarter town ofTezu . It had an Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) capable of taking Otters and Caribous planes, which has now been abandoned. There is an operational helipad. The town is connected to Tezu by a thrice-weekly bus.In autumn of
1962 Walong was the scene of the Battle of Walong when the outnumbered Indian Army 11th Infantry Brigade blocked the thrust of the invading Chinese. The Brigade put up a valiant and tenacious defence between22 October and16 November 1962 until it was reduced to pitiful remnants, and then withdrew down the valley toHayuliang . The Chinese, who had suffered large casualties, did not follow up beyondChangwinty .A canopied memorial to the Indian war dead of 1962 was erected long ago next to the airstrip with the following verses composed by a Walong veteran inscribed on it:
:"The sentinel hills that round us stand:"bear witness that we loved our land.:"Amidst shattered rocks and flaming pine:"we fought and died on Namti Plain.
:"O Lohit gently by us glide:"pale stars above us softly shine:"as we sleep here in sun and rain.
Next to this is a marker relating the history of Walong ALG, and nearby the wreck of a Caribou which crashed here. A new large memorial to the Walong war dead of 1962 has come up in
2002 on the road leading North to Kibithu.Two small temples have also come up on 'Helmet Top', a hill position some 18 kilometres away, which was so named because of helmets and other military gear found strewn there.ee also
*
1987 Sino-Indian skirmish
*Events leading to the Sino-Indian War
*Kargil War
*Sino-Indian War
*Sino-Indian relations References
* [http://www.bharat-rakshak.com]
* [http://www.warbirdsofindia.com/wbne.html]
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