Sir — This refers to the articles, “Sino-Indian agenda: Border peace” by Pravin Sawhney and “The fate of a visionary diplomat” by Claude Arpi (April 26). Mr Pravin Sawhney has rightly brought out the difference between the terms, border and line of Actual Control (lAC) and has also mentioned Prime Minister Modi, asking Chinese Premier Xi Jinping the meaning of lAC which the latter avoided. This merely exposed the deceitful nature of the Chinese leadership that continues from the early 1950s without a break.
On the other hand, Mr Claude Arpi must be applauded for bringing out the name of Sumul Sinha, the official-in-charge of the Indian Mission in lhasa between 1950-52 for giving factual information in Tibet and the Chinese intentions. This was rubbished by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who admonished him (Sinha) for spoiling India-China relations. The patriotic duty performed by Sinha needs be widely acknowledged.
The first to warn Nehru in 1947 was Sri Aurobindo who said: “Beware of the Yellow peril.” He (Arpi) mentions Sardar Patel’s November 7, 1950 warning on Tibet to Nehru. In the Parliament too, JB Kripalani, HV Kamath, Mahavir Tyagi et al had warned Nehru of the Chinese ill-intentions. But Nehru ignored. In the present circumstances, India has to be very cautious vis-à-vis China and follow the policy of: Hide your strength and bide for time.