Zhou en Lai & Nehru: what went wrong?

The 40th death anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru falls on May 27. K R N Swamy recollects the relationship between Nehru and the Chinese Prime Minister Zhou en Lai.

Historians agree that the death of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India was hastened by the Chinese defeat of India in 1962 and the way Zhou en Lai, the Prime Minister of China outwitted him. Nehru had planned for a friendly India-China, with an open border between the two nations like USA and Canada, so that the saved defence expenses could be diverted to nation-building activities. But Zhou had no such inhibitions and practiced real politick that of cutting down India to size.

Archives state that in August 1939, when Nehru visited China as a delegate of the Congress party and met many political leaders, Zhou in the opposition as a Communist leader was anxious to confer with him. But due to the breakout of the Second World War Nehru had to return to India cutting short the visit and it was 15 years later in 1954 that they could meet. One historian feels if these two emerging leaders of Asia had met in 1939. they might have developed a camaraderie, it would have helped them resolve matters that arose when they became prime ministers. In 1947 Nehru took over as the Prime Minister of India and Zhou became his counterpart in China in 1949.

In 1954, Chou En Lai arrived in New Delhi and an official banquet was arranged for him. It was during this visit that the famous Panch Sheel Doctrine - five principles of peaceful co-existence was formulated. There seems to have been a desultory mention of the border problems - "incorrect maps" as the Chinese called them. Two years earlier in 1952, the Indian Army had warned that the Chinese were building a road in Indian territory of Aksaichin. Unfortunately the implications were lost on Nehru. Once they built the road, the Chinese became truculent and began to talk of borders imposed by "British Imperialists".

Then came the Bandung Conference of Non-aligned Nations in 1955. It was to be China's first foray into international politics. Nehru, ebullient that history was in the making, as India and China were entering the world forum as friends, introduced Zhou to other leaders. As one commentator remarks "Both Zhou and Nehru were well educated statesmen from the upper class, both had swung around to a radical view of politics. They were the aristocrats, sophisticates and internationalists in political parties which had been led by those far more earthy and anchored characters - Mahatma Gandhi and Mao. Nehru was nine years older than Zhou and "naturally he felt like an elder brother to him."

Historians aver that these sentiments were wasted, as Zhou felt offended at Bandung, as if a new boy was being introduced to his classmates. India and China were called the twin pillars of Bandung Conference, but Nehru had not realised how much India was being undermined by Zhou. In 1955 Nehru paid a State visit to China and came back hurt at the patronising attitude taken by Mao, Zhou and other Chinese leaders towards India. Meanwhile the Chinese incursions into India continued and in 1956, when Chou visited India, Zhou seems to have had an idea that he could tell Nehru that China would accept the Macmahon line as the border in North East India in return for the Aksaichin plateau. But the Indian public opinion indicated to Nehru, that there could not be any real parity until India regained the territory taken by China.

The first armed clash between India and China took place in Longju in the Ladakh in 1959. Meanwhile the asylum given by India to the Dalai Lama put an end to any hopes of reconciliation, although another effort towards mending fences led to Zhou's visit to India in 1960. Arriving at the Indian Prime Minister's residence, Zhou claims that he was shocked to see Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi welcoming him, herself clad in a Tibetan dress. Zhou felt that it was a deliberate attempt to offend him. His attempts to convince other prominent Indians of the rightness of China's demands ended in failure. In fact Zhou walked out of the meeting with Morarji Desai.

Then came the Chinese victory over India in 1962, and the unilateral withdrawal of Chinese forces to the pre-war borders (except in Aksaichin). In Chinese political circles the opinion was that, China as a mighty nation could afford to be forgiving to a smaller country like India and Chinese newspapers compared Nehru to the mythical Burmese warrior Mon On, who attacked China seven times and was every time, captured, pardoned and released to go back to his own country, until overcame by remorse at attacking such a magnanimous neighbour, Mon On turned to be a grateful vassal.

But Zhou seem to have been dismayed at the pro-India attitude shown by some of the important Non Aligned nations, especially Nasser - the Egyptian Prime Minister and Habib Bourguiba - the Tunisian President, who berated him openly in a diplomatic function in Tunis for attacking India!

In January 1963, Zhou's verbal message to Nehru, through the Indian Ambassador to China P K Bannerjee that "war has never solved any problem. The need is to search for peace and for understanding. I do understand Mr Nehru's difficulties, but he must also try to understand my difficulties", elicited no reply from Nehru.

In April 1963 the eminent Chinese journalist Han Suyin met Nehru and told him, "Zhou holds you in high esteem." Nehru told her, "I have had enough of Zhou's friendship." Going back to China, Han Suyin met the Chinese Prime Minister and told him "I think Nehru is ill. He is imprecise in speech." Zhou scathingly replied "he has been saying imprecise things for a long time."

The Mandarin had no further use of the Pandit.