NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) wants school students to learn more about the 1962 India-China war. The invasion led to a traumatic war in which India suffered a humiliating defeat, leaving an indelible impression on a young nation and its relationship with China. The war, highlighting the unpreparedness of the country, went down as one of the biggest political and military blunders in modern Indian history.“It is time that we acknowledge it and learn the lessons from it and move on,” a senior RSS functionary told ET. With the Modi government trying to break new ground in its relationship with China, turning the spotlight on this episode of history will also help the BJP-led NDA government expose the “Himalayan blunder” of the then Congress government led by Jawaharlal Nehru However, to ensure that the bravery of Indian Army during the war is not undermined, RSS wants those battles to be highlighted where the soldiers showed exemplary courage in the face of extreme odds. “There are some battles in the war where the troops displayed tremendous courage.One was the Battle of Rezang La, officially recognised as a rare battle in military history, and the other is the battle at Tawang,” the Sangh leader said. The leader said the India-China war need not be just a shameful episode for India.“We can tell the children about one of the most embarrassing episodes of our history by highlighting the gallantry of our troops. The war could be used to instil pride and also serve as a crucial lesson in diplomacy.”At Rezang La, at an altitude of 18,000 feet in Ladakh, 120 soldiers of the Indian army fought a 5,000-strong battalion of better equipped Chinese army till the last man and the last bullet. Major Shaitan Singh was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest gallantry medal.In the Tawang war, Subedar Joginder Singh showed similar valour as he held back the Chinese invaders at Bum-La even after he and his men had no ammunition left, and advanced only with bayonets fixed to their guns. He was taken a prisoner of war and believed to have died in enemy custody. He too was decorated with Param Vir Chakra.While the RSS leader did not wish to be identified, Sangh ideologue and educationist Dinanath Batra confirmed to ET that the organisation was pushing for the 1962 war to be included in the curriculum.“History is a subject that should invoke a sense of pride in India and also a study of events that we should take lessons from. The Chinese aggression is one such episode and is likely to be included in history books,” he said. Batra admitted, though, that it was not a simple issue given the complexities of the Sino-Indian relationship.The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is also pushing for the inclusion of Ramayana and Mahabharata as part of valuebased education and promotion of Indian culture, Vedic mathematics and mandatory social service in the school curriculum.Dinanath Batra said it seems difficult to have the new textbooks in place by 2016 session as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh wants. “First, the national curriculum framework has to be in place.Based on that the syllabus will be made by NCERT in consultation with CBSE and other stakeholders, which will then be included in the textbooks. As of now, NCERT and CBSE, both are headless,” he said, adding he hoped the crucial posts would be filled up soon.