India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru did not trust the Chinese one bit and he thought of the neighbouring country as “arrogant, untrustworthy, devious and hegemonistic”, revealed a new book citing notes from former diplomat G. Parthasarathi, who was closely associated with Nehru.
GP’s son and science and technology advisor to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Prof Ashok Parthasarathi, has published a new book on his father titled ‘GP:1915-1995’ in which he has quoted Nehru as speaking to GP on China.
The revelations in the book shatter the popular perception about Nehru’s stand on China. An Outlook article in 2014 had listed 10 brickbats that lay stacked against Nehru’s name in history books and why they may be unfair. One of them was on his dealings with China.
“Even Nehruvians agree that an otherwise exceptional leader and a realist, he (Nehru) —and his defence minister V.K. Krishna Menon—fell far short of expectations in their dealings with China during the 1962 war. But he cannot be faulted for seeking friendship with China. Verdict: He came to bear the cross of subjecting India to a humiliating defeat,” said the article.
According to a report by The Times of India, the book on GP reveals that Nehru wanted his diplomats to report directly to him on matters pertaining to China and he did not want his defence minister V.K Krishna Menon to know about this policy guideline.
In a meeting with GP, Nehru said (as quoted in GP’s notes and reproduced in Parthasarathi’s book): “So GP, what has the Foreign Office told you? Hindi-Chini Bhai-bhai? Don’t you believe it. I don’t trust the Chinese one bit,” is how Nehru began the meeting. “They are an arrogant, untrustworthy, devious and hegemonistic lot. Your watchword should be eternal vigilance. On important matters, you should send your telegrams only to me. You must ensure that Krishna (Menon) does not come to know of these policy guidelines of mine to you. This is because, although Krishna, you and I all have a common worldview — left of centre, non-alignment and close relations with the Soviet Union and other socialist countries — Krishna believes that no socialist country (read China) would ever attack a non-aligned country (read India).”
The book is scheduled for release later this month and it has a foreword by former president of India Pranab Mukherjee.