Burying the nuclear hatchet

By C. Raja Mohan

BEIJING, MAY 30. A speech is in the making, it is said, until it is actually delivered. The media party travelling with Mr. K.R. Narayanan had first hand experience of the maxim, when the President decided to remove a full paragraph from his speech this morning at the Peking University.

There was unending speculation among mediapersons on the likely reasons behind the President's decision. The deleted paragraph was about India's decision to test nuclear weapons in May 1998 and its nuclear policy since then. There was nothing dramatic in the words that got axed, but the move to scratch the paragraph from Mr. Narayanan's speech that was circulated the media party on the flight to Beijing on Sunday did raise the spectre of a controversy.

Senior officials accompanying the President had a simple explanation that was both credible and convincing. Since the differences on the nuclear issue were not touched upon by either side in Mr. Narayanan's talks with the Chinese President, Mr. Jiang Zemin, on Monday, the President thought it would be inappropriate to hold forth on the subject in a public speech where the Chinese interlocutors had no chance to respond.

There is no question that China is among the last of the major powers to come to terms with the reality of Indian nuclear weapons. But the pragmatists that they are, it is only a matter of time before the Chinese do.

A Chinese analyst here who studies Sino-Indian relations told the media that Beijing's voice against the Indian nuclear weapon programme was already getting less intense.

The mood about Mr. Narayanan's visit is so positive that Indian officials are not willing to let the nuclear question come in the way of the prospects for what could be a significant change in the Chinese political attitudes towards India.

* * *

Sino-Indian relations have long been burdened by a huge historic baggage. The President is working hard to build on the many positive elements in the long historical engagement between India and China. He is also urging the two sides to discard those troubling aspects in recent history that have complicated bilateral relations.

In his address to the students and faculty of Peking University and earlier remarks when he unveiled a bust of Rabindranath Tagore in the library building of the University, Mr. Narayanan dug deep into the history of cultural bonds between the two Asian civilisations.

The President's message was simple. India and China must get back to where they once belonged - a cooperative engagement built on profound cultural affinities between the two civilisations.

* * *

Mr. Narayanan's diplomacy here has involved more than just a recounting of the historical associations between India and China. There was some history being made too, at least in the cultural field.

On Monday night after the banquet that Mr. Jiang hosted for Mr. Narayanan, the two leaders moved on to attend an extraordinary concert in the Forbidden City. The violin maestro, L. Subramaniam, was performing with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra conducted by Li Xincao. The fusion between Indian and Western music won huge applause from the large audience.

Diplomats here are reading a meaning into the concert. They say it is not often that Mr. Jiang puts in an appearance along with a visiting Head of State at a cultural performance. They also say the concert symbolises the possibility that Indian and Chinese artists could together produce ``an equal music''.

* * *

Travelling with Mr. Narayanan, it was not possible to escape the burden of history in Beijing - either at the imposing Tiananmen Square where he was formally received on Monday or at Peking University where spent the morning.

Most capital cities in the world have impressive squares to display state power. For example, the Red Square in Moscow or the Vijay Chowk in New Delhi.

But neither can compare with the expansive Tiananmen Square - a piece of historic real estate that is framed by the Gate of Heavenly Peace of the Forbidden City and Mao Zedong's Mausoleum.

On the other two sides are the Great Hall of People and the Museum of Revolutionary History, both reflecting the huge influence of Soviet architecture. In the middle of the square is a column for Chinese martyrs.

Historians here say the square was not always as large as it is now. It varied in size over time, but it always was at the heart of political China.

The Peking University, too, has a unique place in the modern history of China. Set up in 1898, the University has been at the centre of all the political turmoil that gripped China in the last century. Popularly known as the Beida, the university nurtured many of the revolutionaries and nationalists who have built modern China over the last hundred years.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Opinion
Previous : Gandola - a boon for Gulmarg