History Mission Nanda Devi: The story of joint US-Indian surveillance of China
In the sixties of the last century, time was running out for America. After the embarrassing situation in the Vietnam War, the rise of China did not have much advantage in gathering intelligence for American intelligence. By that time, China had also established itself as a regional power.
In 1974, with the help of Soviet Russia, China also acquired a nuclear bomb. India is most terrified. At the time when China acquired nuclear weapons, the wounds of defeat in the Sino-Indian war two years earlier had not healed. At such a difficult time, China's nuclear test near India's border was a cause for considerable concern for India.
On the other hand, the rise of China was a new threat to America. At a time when China was testing the atomic bomb, America's fiercest rival, the guardian of capitalism, was Soviet Russia, the cradle of socialism. China's rise in world politics at the hands of Soviet Russia is a threat to the United States.
In the early sixties, the United States learned through various intelligence activities that China had acquired the capability to make an atomic bomb with the help of Soviet Russia. According to a CIA telegram, in October 1959, China set up a nuclear test base in Lop Nor (border desert).The purpose is to test nuclear devices. U-2 flights over China have become quite dangerous for surveillance. So they think, if a surveillance device could be set up on one of the Himalayan mountains, then a lot of information could be obtained. Which hill the instrument will be placed on will depend on the height of the hill.
Due to political and historical animosity, both the United States and India were in a hurry to bring China's nuclear test under surveillance. To this end, the intelligence agencies of the two countries agreed to work together. After much thought and debate, then-US President Lyndon Johnson allowed the CIA to carry out covert missions. In South Asia, the US interest is magnified.
There was another way to monitor China. Satellite. America is very good at surveillance from above with such devices. But at the time of the Cold War, almost all of America's advanced satellites were stationed on Soviet Russia. With the rest of the satellites in the hands of the United States, it would not have been possible to keep a close eye on China at all. So the powerful people in the US were in favor of setting up surveillance equipment on the mountain.
Nanda Devi is determined by the top of the mountain. The mountain from which the famous river Ganges originated. To the locals, this hill is considered as a very sacred place. The geographical importance of this place is also a lot. China to the north, India to the south and Pakistan to the west. China's nuclear missile test base is not far from here.There is no need to speed up surveillance from here. Chinese spies can monitor them from such remote areas - it doesn't even occur to them. Therefore, considering all aspects, Nanda Devi was a perfect place to set up surveillance devices.
There were some environmental problems. This mountain is one of the highest mountains in India. The temperature here is very low. And there is the fear of snow-storm Climbing to the top is quite difficult.India's then-intelligence agency, the Intelligence Bureau, and the US intelligence agency, the CIA, were tasked with carrying out the mission. Four Indian and nine American - a total of thirteen experienced mountaineers - formed a team to set up surveillance devices. India captain Manmohan Singh Kohli has been named captain. With the exception of Captain MS Kohli, the identities of the remaining members were kept strictly confidential.
The team, made up of members from both countries, was taken to Alaska in the United States for training. There, after ‘warming up’ in the McKinley Mountains at an altitude of more than twenty thousand feet, they were prepared for the final mission.