The main cause of the war was a dispute over the sovereignty of the widely separated Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh border regions.

[citation needed] The post at Bum La Pass was attacked by the Chinese forces on 23 October 1962.

[8] The Sikh troops "...mowed down the first wave and the enemy temporarily halted by the heavy losses it suffered".

[10] "Within a few minutes, a second wave came over and was dealt with similarly," reads the Citation of Indian Army about Joginder Singh and the battle of IB Ridge.

[12] As the third wave of Chinese troops advanced, Singh manned a machine gun and ordered his remaining soldiers fix bayonets.