A few Leftist leaders were watching the procession sitting in a house near the road. The Indian Leftist leaders and intellectuals were worried. The Left camp had been in a comfortable position so far because of the friendly relations between Nehru and Communist China and Russia. Of late, the pro-China stand of the Left camp had pushed them into an impossible corner. Even common people had started looking at them with suspicion.

‘See how emotional the people have become. The love for their country is true, but it is impractical. Nehru had used our people in the freedom movement; now he is going to use them again in the same way.’

‘What will one achieve with such an agenda? Will the Chinese army retreat seeing all this?’

‘Forget all that. Think of how we can keep our organization intact. The way the Congress party is after us, no one knows what will happen.’

‘But what can we do? We have to follow the directions of our leaders.’

The procession moved slowly towards Cheenapatti. There was not a single Chinese among the curious crowd of onlookers. A little while ago, a few of Chitta’s Chinese friends were seen chatting in front of his shop but with the arrival of the procession they all went inside the lane. The Chinese people standing in front of Mok Min’s shop also went inside.

Johori Khan left his shop to talk to Chitta.

‘The Chinese are all scared. But they should not be. If Pakistan attacks India, should I be afraid because I am a Muslim? This is my country. Most of the Chinese are old settlers. Still they are frightened. I feel terrible about this, Chitta.’

‘People may not think as we do. No point getting into unnecessary trouble,’ Chitta answered.

After the procession left, everything appeared to become normal again. The school gates opened. Mok Min’s shop was packed again with customers. Cyclists could be seen going towards the cinema hall. But the Chinese who sold pork in the market were absent. The shoe shops and the other shops owned by Chinese were closed. The Chinese who came to the market every day were not there. The market, otherwise teeming with Chinese people, looked empty.

People gathered near the two radio shops to listen to the news broadcast.

All the Indian posts north of the Namka Chu river are now under Chinese occupation. The Chinese army is advancing from the south of the Namka Chu, where they were positioned yesterday. In spite of heavy snowfall in some parts of the Dhola region, heavy mortar shelling continues intermittently. Today, after encroaching on the Indian border, China has for the first time fired at Indian supply planes in both the eastern and western sectors. China has also shot down an Indian helicopter engaged in rescuing injured soldiers.