During the long-sustained diplomatic polemics which accompanied and expressed the Sino-Indian boundary dispute, each side accused the other of refusing to negotiate. The argument became involved and finally confused, with each blaming the other for setting unreasonable pre-conditions. All that is clearly appreciated is that, after the abortive Nehru-Chou En-lai summit meeting of April 1960, the boundary dispute between India and China was never submitted to negotiation. Thousands of Chinese and Indian troops have been in a standoff in the Ladakh region high in the Himalayas since early May. China's government and media have not provided casualty figures for Chinese troops, but unconfirmed Indian media reports indicated that more than forty died. It is important that India seeks good relations and reciprocates China's good behaviour. But it is also necessary to be firm when China behaves as a rogue elephant. In order to sustain peace, India and China will need to arrive at a basic understanding of the norms of political and strategic coexistence and a shared view of security in a region where their interests increasingly overlap. It is of crucial importance to India and other states in Asia that China stays on the course of reform and gradual democratisation. This book will follow the subject of negotiations through the diplomatic exchanges, and attempt to show why the dispute remained unnegotiated. This isolation of a single—though crucial—element in an extended and complex dispute will inevitably leave some questions unanswered and loose ends in the narrative.
About the Author:
Dr. Mukesh Kumar Singh, did his B.A. (Hons.) Political Science and M.A. Political Science from Delhi University and M.Phil from Jawaharlal Nehru University is an Assistant Professor under Jiwaji University, Gwalior (M.P.) for last 15 years. He has throughout a brilliant carrier and has written a number of articles in various journals and magazines. |
