The emergence of communist China continues....

India has both existing and potential problems with China, while simultaneously maintaining friendly diplomatic relations. The present state of ‘imperfect harmony’ between the two most populous countries of the world, India and China, affects a very large chunk of the world's humanity. An understanding of the present situation requires some knowledge of the broad attitudes of the two major players in the South Asian region, which extends from Myanmar to Afghanistan. This book aims to provide such a broad understanding through an examination of the history of relations between India and China. The first part of the book traces the historical early Sino-Indian relations. It also examines relevant aspects of the history of the nation known as Tibet, which occupies a vast expanse located between Han China and Hindustan, but is now a part of the political state of China. Historical Tibet-China relations and Tibet-India relations are also outlined, so as to give the reader a background for the next two parts.

The watershed event for India in the China-India relationship has been the limited border war of 1962, which ended in an Indian defeat and a unilateral cease-fire by the Chinese victors. The second part of the book deals only with this brief episode in history. This was such a traumatic event for the 15 year-old Indian state that all Indians who were old enough to realize the defeat have not yet been able to forget it.

The Indian state still has not been able to live it down. Because it forms such a central event in the modern India-China story, it has been selectively chronicled. The politico-military actions that preceded it and the military actions have been briefly described and analysed, so that the reader can get an understanding of the developments.

To be continued....