Exercise Lal Qila was a military exercise conducted on 17 March 1960, at the headquarters of the Indian Army's Eastern Command in Lucknow. The wargame simulated an attack on India's eastern sector by the Chinese armed forces. While the exercise was conducted to sensitize the leadership, it did not have the desired effect.
Exercise Lal Qila was conducted under Major General SPP Thorat, the commanding officer of the Eastern Command. Thorat's report detailing the defense of the eastern sector, sometimes referred to as the 'Lal Qila report', 'Thorat plan' or 'Thorat doctrine', had similarities with the exercise: it outlined a Chinese attack, and the inability of Indian forces to contain (or even delay) it. Thorat suggested defensive measures that took into account Sikkim, East Pakistan and Nepal, as well as the northeastern sector. In October 1962, India and China went to war; Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru only saw Thorat's report as the war was ending.