Observers say New Delhi would do well to learn from the history of its China diplomacy and formulate an appropriate policy towards Beijing. It invaded India's Ladakh in June 2020 and tried to take control of a sizeable Indian territory.
In his talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in New Delhi on March 25, 2022, Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi is said to have proposed that "to safeguard peace and stability in the region and the world," India and China "should view bilateral relations with a long-term vision, see each other's development with a win-win mentality, and take part in the multilateral process with a cooperative posture." Besides, Beijing has proposed an 'India-China Civilization Dialogue' between the two countries.
One hopes New Delhi would be cautious of Beijing's sermons on peace, stability and civilizational dialogue. History bears out India has practised this very approach towards China since ancient times. In the twentieth century, India backed China's struggle for liberation from foreign rule. Nobel laureate poet Rabindra Nath Tagore championed "the rights of the Chinese people against foreign exploitation." He established Cheena Bhawan (China House) at Santiniketan. Mahatma Gandhi—arguably the tallest leader of the then Indian National Congress (INC)—thought the friendship between India and China was based "not on economics and politics" but a mutually "irresistible attraction". He even said India's freedom could not be gained at the expense of China. The INC dispatched a medical mission to China. It also observed several China Days, including a boycott of Japanese goods, across India.
After the communist regime under Mao Zedong took over in Beijing, India continued its traditional policy toward China. Despite warnings from a section of his government, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru sought to peacefully engage with China to resolve the Sino-Indian border dispute. The successive governments in New Delhi have adhered to more or less the same policy towards Beijing.
Observers say New Delhi would do well to learn from the history of its China diplomacy and formulate an appropriate policy towards Beijing. Aggression for its imperial ambition is rooted in the culture of communist China. In tune with this, China invaded India's Ladakh in June 2020 and tried to take control of a sizeable Indian territory. Since then, there have been 15 rounds of Corps Commander-level talks and eight rounds of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Cooperation on India-China border affairs. But in vain.
China is not willing to withdraw from the previous positions behind the Line of Actual Control. In its official maps, China continues to show India's Arunachal as "south Tibet". Recently, Beijing has come up with its own names for 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh. The places include eight towns, four mountains, two rivers and a mountain pass. Beijing is constructing a bridge across Pangong Lake in Eastern Ladakh.
Beijing has also enacted a new border law (with effect from January 1, 2022). The new law calls for Chinese government bodies to take steps to "safeguard" Chinese territory along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
(The author is a New Delhi-based journalist)
