Interrogating Panchsheel: and The 1962 Indo-China War

As published in the Volume 3(1) of Ramjas Political Review

Abstract

The Agreement between the Republic of India and the People's Republic of China on Trade and Intercourse between the Tibet Region of China and India, in particular the espousing of the ‘Panchsheel Doctrine’ [Five Principles for Peaceful Coexistence], is often cited as a watershed moment in the history of Sino-Indian relations. Crucially, however, the ramifications of the same for the forthcoming Sino-Indian War of 1962 are grossly underexplored. To explore this linkage, the author employs a historical methodology to construct a composite archive for examination, with the agreement as its fulcrum. The subsequent examination of the assembled archive builds upon the historical research conducted by K Gupta (1978) and J Bandyopadhyaya (1962), while being guided by the ideas of EH Carr (1964) and MR Trouillot (1995).

Keywords: Silences in history, Hierarchy of causes, Expansion, Legitimation, Asymmetry

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The author, Divyansh Shah, is a student at St Stephen’s College, University of Delhi.

Featured image credit: Ministry of External Affairs