When commemorating the 65th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Indian diplomatic relations, we cannot forget the leaders and personnel of all circles making due contributions over the years. Here, I would like to mention former Indian President Narayanan. In the 1960s, I began to work in the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I was in charge of Indian affairs for 20 years, so I heard of the great name of Narayanan early on. With a full name of “Kocheril Raman Narayanan,” he was born in a poor family in the southern state Kerala on October 27, 1920. He belonged to the “Dalit” meaning “oppressed people,” namely “untouchables” or “untouchable people” who are at the lowest level of society. His grandfather and father were both rural doctors. He was often reprimanded by teachers and teased by his classmates due to failure to pay the tuition fees because of poverty. Due to his excellent academic performance, however, his family supported him to go on to receive a college education. After graduation, he served as a reporter of two newspapers successively. Later he pursued advanced studies in the London School of Economics and Political Science, whose dean at the time greatly appreciated this Indian student with such a good academic performance. When he graduated in 1949, the dean recommended him to Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in a letter. Then, he began to work in the Ministry of External Affairs of India. By 1950, he was working in the Indian Embassy in Myanmar (then known as Burma). In Yangon (Rangoon), he fell in love with a girl named Matingting. At that time, Indian diplomats were not allowed to marry foreigners. Therefore, he directly wrote a letter to Prime Minister Nehru, seeking approval of their marriage. Prime Minister Nehru replied warmly: “She might be able to represent India abroad.” Thus, the lovers finally got married.
In the Ministry of External Affairs, Narayanan fully demonstrated his diplomatic talent, and gradually rose from junior diplomat to director and secretary. He successively served as ambassador to Thailand, Turkey and the United States. In July 1976, he was dispatched to China, becoming the first Indian ambassador after the two countries called back their ambassadors in 1961 and 1962 due to border clashes. In November 1978, he and his wife Usha left China after two years and four months. During that period, he did a lot of work for improvement and development of Sino- Indian relations. In 1984, he retired after ending tenure of office as the ambassador of India to the United States. After that, he joined the Indian Congress Party, and began to devote himself to politics. He was elected as a member of the Lok Sabha (lower house) three times, and successively served as the Minister of Science and Technology, and the Minister of state of External Affairs. From 1992 to 1997, he served as the Vice President and the Speaker of the Rajya Sabha (upper house). In July 1997, he was elected as India’s 11th president, a most popular choice.
However, I did not see Narayanan face to face until I served as ambassador to India and he was already acting as president.
Preface I
Promote the Further Development of the Sino-Indian Friendship
At a time when China and India are celebrating the 65th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relationsand are working hard to promote the further development of theirbilateral relations, I am very glad, and deeply inspired, to learn that the book You and US: Stories of China and India will be published soon. Luckily, I had a chance to be one of the first to read it, and I was deeply impressed by its rich contents, profound thoughts and sincere feelings. It fully reflects the historical origin of Sino-Indian friendship for thousands of years and the promising development prospects. It is advisable for every person engaged in and concerned about Sino-Indian relations to read and treasure this book.
Thanks to the painstaking efforts and wisdom of State leaders of the older generations of the two countries, Sino-Indian relations have achievedgreat development and advancement today. Reading the remembrances and thoughts of people of the older generation, I realize how hard they worked for the development of Sino-Indian friendship as well as theircontented expressions for the results so far achieved. This book tells lots of touching storiesof the work done by people of several generations. Had it not been for their careful watering and cultivation, the tree of Sino-Indianfriendship would not have established suchdeep roots and produced suchluxuriant foliage.
In the past one year or more since I served as the Chinese Ambassador to India, I have had the honor to witness new changes in bilateral relations. The loving care and efforts made to promote and guide the development of bilateral relations of leaders of the two countries add strong impetus to the development of thebilateral relations. An encouraging spell of “China fever” and “India fever” has appeared on each side. Bilateral cooperation in various fields is in full swing. In particular, the people-to-people exchanges are booming, bringing about lots of moving stories. Not long ago, a Chinese volunteerdonated stem cells to an Indianleukemia patient. Whenan 11-year-old Indian girl in Bombay read the report in the newspaper, she wrote to me saying China and India should go beyond the past and face the future. She said she was willing to be an envoy of Sino-Indian friendship. I invited her and her family to attend our National Day receptionin the ChineseEmbassy and encouraged her to study hard and be the successor to the cause of Sino-Indian friendship in the future. These vivid examples are only a few dropsof water in the long river of theSino-Indianfriendship and severalfootnotes in the movement of Sino-Indian exchanges. From this wesee the wonderfulprospects of the bilateral relations and the common wish of the two peoplesfor China and India to be good neighbors,partners and friendsin the true sense, and theSino-Indian friendshipwill continue forever.
At present, both China and India are at a crucial stage of national revival, thus facing enormous development opportunities. With approximately the same concepts and complementary resources, the two countries should be able to cooperate in implementation of each other’s development strategies and build up a closer partnershipfor development so as to more deeply benefit the two peoples. They should also be able to bring in more people to support and take part in the cause of Sino-Indian friendshipforbetter bilateral relations. As a member of the new generation engaged in the cause, I will make great efforts to inherit and carry on thefine tradition of the older generations and take over and pass on the baton of Sino-Indian friendship so as to prosper the cause continuously and bring more benefits to the two countries and their peoples.
Le Yucheng
Chinese Ambassador to India
November 18, 2015
Preface II
The volume, “Stories of China and India,” comes at an apt time when relations between our two countries are advancing in an all-round manner. Through essays and recollections, this book captures the contributions made by eminent personalities in bringing bilateral engagement to this exciting juncture.
Recently, at a lecture in Peking University, I recalled for the audience my first visit to the campus in 1982. At that time, there were about a dozen Indian students in all of China. Today, that number has grown to more than 14,000. However, the students and faculty agreed that even this number is too small for two large Asian dynamos which are also close neighbours. This example encapsulates the distance we have travelled as well as the potential that exists for us to grow further.
Linked through the ages by scholars, monks, and traders, and led by the vision, dynamism and commitment of our leaders today, our two ancient civilizations are engaging at an accelerating pace. India and China are embracing new areas of cooperation across global, regional and bilateral fields. The simultaneous re-emergence of these two major poles in the emerging global architecture marks a fresh and more intense phase in our relationship under the rubric of a closer developmental partnership.
New peaks were scaled during President Xi Jinping’s successful visit to India in September 2014, followed by the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to China just eight months later. Closer partnership as defined by these two visits is reflected in growing political, economic, and defence ties and strengthened people-to-people linkages. While economic and commercial interaction is rapidly entering new realms, other areas such as space, ocean research, urbanization and many more are now included in the lexicon of bilateral relations. Though we have our differences, we have not let these affect the growth of our bilateral ties. We are constantly seeking to add positive content to our engagement, even as we strive to resolve outstanding issues.
Many people including political leaders, experts, academicians, businesspersons, and so on have played a role in the resurgent evolution of bilateral ties. By bringing together these experiences, “Stories of China and India” serves as a guidepost for the future. I believe this book will prove valuable for further strengthening our relationship.
Ashok K. Kantha
Ambassador of India to China
