India, May 11 -- As a child during the 1962 India-China war, I remember watching workers dig up the roundabout near our Lutyens' bungalow-transforming it into a trench, a makeshift shelter in case of a Chinese air attack. Since I was very young, the trenches were curiosities-places to play and hide, unaware of the real threat looming overhead. The gravity of the situation didn't quite strike me then, but it was clear that New Delhi was not considered beyond the Chinese depredations.

But even in the face of a threat of this magnitude, I noticed a marked change in the demeanour, behaviour, and reactions of my parents, family, and their circle of friends and acquaintances. The threat did not frighten them. Instead, I sensed a steely resolve...