Chinese attempts at ‘ brain washing’ Indian PoWs

Jaipur: Chinese attempts at “brain washing” Indian prisoners of war in 1962 made no lasting impression on them, Col. Kirpal Singh, the Indian Psychiatric Society’s new president, told the 20th Annual Conference here yesterday.

Col. Kirpal Singh said that his study of a sample group of repatriated Indian prisoners of war indicated that there was “frank resentment” in them against the Chinese. They described the Chinese methods “as treacherous and ruthless”.

Despite the tremendous efforts at “systematic indoctrination” the Chinese methods can at best be described as having been only partly effective in the case of the American prisoners of war, Col. Kirpal Singh said.

“By a sophisticated use of small group discussion where prisoners were encouraged to participate actively, physical privations and enforced lack of sleep and a selective use of rewards and punishments. they were able to elicit a certain amount of collaboration, but the lasting effects of their indoctrination programme were negligible as evidenced by the fact that only 21 out of a very large number of PoWs refused repatriation.”

“There is nothing new in the Chinese methods and they are certainly not irresistible,” he added.

Col. Kirpal Singh said that efforts were made by the Chinese to alienate the Indian prisoners of war from their own government through sweetness. As a rule, at the time of their capture, they were received with slogans such as “Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai”, repeating them frequently.

The Chinese propaganda centred around statements to the effect that it was the Indian government and not Government of China which was guilty of aggressive intentions.

“The Chinese tried to strike at the roots of discipline by telling our men that in the Chinese Army, no special privileges were given to officers and the men they commanded.

Another device was to divide the Indians from the Gurkha soldiers. “Indians were told that Gurkhas were not trustworthy and that they were fighting for an alien country,” Col. Kirpal Singh said.

The Chinese in contrast to the Russians, referred in most cases to keep a prisoner along with a few other prisoners who were more advanced in their thought reform.