ABSTRACT

India achieved independence on 15 August 1947 after a long and nonviolent nationalist movement. China attained independence on 1 October 1949 in what was the culmination of the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949). There was a brief period of cooperation from 1949-1957 where diplomatic relations were formally established (1 April 1950) and high-level visits were exchanged. India was the first non-socialist country to establish formal diplomatic relations with the PRC. India also strongly advocated the PRC’s presence in the United Nations Security Council and consistently voted in the PRC’s favor until 1962 (Swamy, 2001: Appendix IV). In 1954, the two states signed an agreement on Trade and Intercourse between the Tibet region of China and India and had an Exchange of Notes. India thus signed away all its inherited privileges in Tibet by virtue of earlier pacts (see, for instance, Ganguly, 2004: 105-120). The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (Panchsheel) and the Bandung Conference were highlights of Sino-Indian cooperation. However, the cooperation was not to last. By the late 1950s, serious differences between the two states had begun to surface, particularly over the undemarcated border. The unresolved border issue would lead to war by 1962.