Neutral Star Over A Quarrel

On page 347바카라�an apt point to begin with바카라�the author tells us that he wrote this book bec­ause he 바카라�strongly바카라� believed that there was an 바카라�urgent need to make Indians aware of the historical facts behind the border dispute...(they) deserve the right to this information....바카라� Nary were truer words said! Border incursions by China have dominated media in India바카라�in a manner that has demonstrated passionate, but UNI­n­formed, intensity. Their eternal vigilance on this issue would be laudable, were it not the case that it has genera­ted more heat than light. Unsurprisin­gly, the uninitiated citizen is con­­vinced that China is lulling India into (econ­omic) complacency with the perfidious intention of gobbling up our territory.

This quest for 바카라�enlighten(ment)바카라� has been a driving factor behind Raghavan바카라�s journey into a historical thicket spanning more than a century and a quarter. Rem­arkably, he emerges from there with a lucid road-map for the lay reader. His background바카라�medicine and thence a car­eer in the Indian Revenue Service바카라�is an asset, for he embarks on his journey with 바카라�abiding love for history바카라� and analyses policy (both foreign/diplomatic and military) with the objective of acquiring clarity, sans narrow nationalist blinkers.

But, that is also the reason why he mistakenly contends that 바카라�all Indian writers tended to look at 1962 and the defeat바카라� thr­­ough the same prism of Chinese treachery and Indian gullibility. This is certainly not the case; one wishes he had cast his net a little wider and read some serious Indian scholars바카라�Mira Sinha Bha­ttacharjea, Giri Deshingkar, G.P. Desh­­p­ande, V.P. Dutt, Parshottam Mehra come to mind immediately바카라�who have produced remarkable insights into this complex story. To be fair, Raghavan has read extensively바카라�all major accounts by the Indian bureaucracy, civil and military, and some of the authoritative Western scholars, not­ably Garver, Maxwell, Wood­man, Hoff­man, Lamb, and Bell, on whom he relies and who are his main references. Ragh­a­van바카라�s account is easily one of the most concise, coherent and objective acc­ounts of imperialist intrigues and problematic legacies involving Britain, India and China to have appeared in recent years.

For Raghavan, the 바카라�dividing lines바카라� are fundamentally about how far back in history does one go and whose history does one privilege. The reach of the Indian civilisation (as opposed to territorial control)바카라�east, west and north바카라�went way beyond the maps that the logic of an expanding British power ruthlessly, and in total disregard of people it affected, imposed. Modern nation-states need fixed boundaries, but in choosing to follow the imperial logic, and selectively at that, we have shackled our ima­ginaries, straitjacketed our peripheries and boxed ourselves in rigid positions.

A spirit of critical enquiry animates this account. From the later 1950s, the period immediately before the war and then the war itself, it asks tough questions and apportions blame fairly. The chapters are compact and pithy sub-headings sum up sections, making it easy to refresh or cross-check. One wishes that more and better maps had been provided바카라�it would have quadrupled the impact of the narrative, for the illustrations provided are ext­remely unfriendly.

We are informed that this is a second edition바카라�(first published in 2012)바카라�with an additional chapter: Postscript to Armed Conflict (1962 to the Present Day). This stands in sharp contrast to the quality of the preceding account. Clearly, it has been put together hurriedly바카라�and far less auth­oritatively바카라�and is characterised by inaccuracies [바카라�(1962-1976): a period when no diplomatic ties existed바카라� (p. 303)] and notable omissions. The agreements of 1993 and 1996, which have enabled the maintenance of peace on the borders for nearly three decades now, and the landmark agr­ee­ments of 2003 (Setting up the Spe­cial Political Representatives) and 2005 (Political Parameters and Guiding Princi­ples) do not find any mention. Was the publishing/printing done at record-breaking speed? There are technical glitches too바카라�sentences break midway and start a new para; the font switches to italics without reason; there are no italics where they should be; footnote numbers suddenly vanish and are replaced by symbols, typos etc, which punctuate reading flow.

Raghavan has targeted this book at the average Indian for whom China is looming larger. Given the critical role played by public opinion, this account could be use­ful in tackling some popular hardy myths, raising uncomfortable questions, and maybe promoting honest debate. This book could justifiably have been titled 바카라�The Intelligent Indian바카라�s Guide to the India-China Boundary Conflict바카라�.

(Alka Acharya is with the School of International Studies, JNU)