Why Pandit Nehru wanted Panchsheel Agreement with China? CDS Anil Chauhan explains
The CDS was delivering the keynote address at the Bharat Himalayan Strategy Forum at Lok Bhavan in Dehradun, focusing on the concepts of frontiers, borders, and the historical connectivity of the "Middle Sector."
Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan on Friday reflected on India-China relations in the post-Independence period, stating that the 1954 Panchsheel Agreement, under which India recognised Tibet as part of China, was intended to preserve regional stability and promote a cooperative relationship between the two nations.
India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai signed the Panchsheel Agreement, which laid down five principles, including peaceful coexistence, to guide relations between the two countries.
CDS on Panchsheel Agreement with China
Speaking at an event in Dehradun, General Chauhan said that after the British departure, India had to determine its own frontiers. He observed that first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was aware of India's claims, including the McMahon Line in the east and certain areas in Ladakh, but believed that a broad understanding through the Panchsheel framework could help stabilise relations.
"On independence, the British left, and it was for India actually to decide where a front is. Nehru probably knew that we had something, as the McMahon Line in the east, and we had some kind of a claim in the Ladakh area, but it was not here. So that's why he wanted to go in for a Panchsheel agreement, probably," the CDS said.
The McMahon Line, stretching about 890 km, served as the boundary between British India and Tibet in the eastern sector.
CDS on Tibet
He further said that the Chinese wanted stability in the area after its "so-called" liberation of Tibet. And for the Chinese also. When they had kind of liberated Tibet, they had moved into Lhasa. they had moved into Xinjiang. This particular area was extreme at both ends."
"So this area assumed some kind of priority. So they wanted stability, probably in this particular region. Independent India was keen to build a good relationship with China. In 1954, India recognised Tibet as part of China. Both countries signed the Panchsheel Agreement," he said.
With this, India assumed that it had settled its border, the northern border, the only area which we assumed that was not settled, through a formal kind of a treaty," he said.
CDS explains difference between borders and frontiers
During his address, General Chauhan also elaborated on the difference between borders and frontiers. He said borders are clearly demarcated political and legal lines agreed upon by nation-states, while frontiers are broader zones shaped by geography, customs, traditions, and historical interactions between civilisations.
"Borders are identified by a line on a particular map as well as on the ground, whereas a frontier is an area or a zone that is diffused and generic in nature... A border is a concept that separates two nation-states, whereas the frontier is a meeting point of two civilisations. Borders define the political and legal limits of a nation," the CDS said.
"A frontier may be based on political factors. Borders, being political entities, are well guarded; they are well defended. Whereas frontiers, because of the ruggedness, may not be well guarded. A border is agreed to between two nation-states through formal documentation. A frontier is generally through customs, traditions, and usage," he said.
"Uttarakhand is a frontline state. Sometimes we forget this particular aspect because the border over here is peaceful as compared to what is there in say Ladakh, in say Sikkim, or in Arunachal Pradesh. But then I think most of us forget that the initial dispute between us and China on the border actually germinated over here. That was even before we signed the Panchsheel agreement and immediately after the Panchsheel agreement. So this particular border is as important as other borders," General Chauhan said.