Perspectives on Rao’s Magnum Opus

Nirupama Rao (nee Menon), 28th Foreign Secretary of India with strong academic and cultural leanings, has come out with a masterly presentation entitled THE FRACTURED HIMALAYA: India, Tibet, China, 1949-1962 that provides a glimpse of India-China relations for 13 years soon after their respective emergence in the world in a new format, India shaking off colonial yoke in 1947 and China embracing Communism in 1949.

The widely read and discussed book encapsulates relations between the two most populous states with Tibet the Chinese prefer to call Xizang, as the critical fulcrum, with innate and intimate details of individuals, politicians, diplomats and security personnel, and events involved.

There is no dearth of diplomatic writing in India on various aspects of foreign policy, including those from foreign secretaries. Rao's work is taken as a judicious mixture of authoritative text, scholarly work, and even a cautionary tale by her immediate predecessor and prolific diplomat, Shivshankar Menon, the second Foreign Secretary after Mani Dixit to assume the powerful position of National Security Adviser on retirement.

For Kanwar Natwar Singh, another prolific member of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), taking voluntary retirement to join politics and become External Affairs Minister later, the book is deeply researched, insightful, balanced, absorbing, and eminently readable.

The 600-plus-page book entails painstaking research based on extensive studies of literature as exemplified by a massive 119-page-long section with maps, notes, acknowledgments, bibliography, and extensive practical experience.

Divided into 16 chapters with pros and cons of India-China relations for the most critical period, the writer has also given passing references to relevant events and people including border skirmishes witnessed in recent years.

While it starts with the names of the major dramatic personas involved, there is a separate concluding part, Coda, that highlights the border dispute as the crux of the complex relationships between competing rivals as they tend to jostle for power and influence in the region and beyond.

That there was an inkling about the publication of Rao's magnum opus much earlier was perceptively hinted by Gopal Krishna Gandhi, a brainy former administrator holding such key assignments as ambassador, Secretary to President, and Governor.

While referring to the brilliant writing skills of Indian diplomats, Gandhi had amply stated at the beginning of 2017 that all three women foreign secretaries (Chokila Iyer, Nirupama Rao, and Sujatha Singh) must have 'great narratives to share' but Rao was eminently qualified to write a book that 'historiography expects and deserves based on the tremendous experience of involvement in India-China ties.

One major quality of Rao, as depicted in the book, is to grill Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and his political, diplomatic, and security associates in the touchstone of realism as the first Prime Minister and maker of IFS is apparently caught between excessive deification and utter vilification.

She skillfully draws a dividing line, albeit a complex task, hailing his apparently lofty motive and not absolving him from perceived faulty judgment.

A woman of many firsts, including top scores in the academic field and All India Combined Examinations, Rao joined IFS in 1973.

As the first lady to serve as India's top diplomat in key capitals, Colombo and Beijing, with other ambassadorial assignments being to Peru and the US, she is the first and only woman so far to serve as Spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry as she won accolades as Queen of the Cool in handling the sensitive assignment that is less aspired by many.

Rao started her career as Under-Secretary (Nepal) and has extensive knowledge of our country. The book makes some cursory references to Nepal, like the

Asian Relations Conference, China's traditional approach towards smaller neighbors, and Nehru's correspondence with Matrika Prasad Koirala after his 1954 official visit to China are taken as a milestone in terms of enunciation of Panchsheel and Peaceful Co-existence.

Nepal also figures in a passing manner in respect of the Bandung Conference and India's reading between the lines in terms of Nepal-China diplomatic relations.

There is every reason to support Shivshankar Menon's expectation of Rao narrating her practical perspective in the post-1962 era too. There is an absolutely valid ground for us to similarly expect concrete work on Nepal-India ties from such a methodical person with deep study and experience as we have personally witnessed during the last 48 years of our most friendly association.

She and her batchmate, Meera Shankar (nee Choudhary) as probationers, played the role of liaison in early 1974 when I as a student was one of two ICCR fellows from Nepal invited to India.

The bond remained not only intact, calling each other by their first name but also grew over the years. We became Foreign Secretary at the same time and with roughly the same duration, another surprising coincidence.

Rao accompanied External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna to Kathmandu to negotiate, among other things, India's offer to undertake printing machine-readable passports that attracted lots of political fodder.

The team was composed of all relevant people, including the Foreign Secretary, normally a rarity in case of simultaneous travels by both unlike our case with an unnecessary penchant for tours, and the Indian ambassador to Nepal.

Or possibly more knowledgeable and powerful Foreign Minister armed with a popular political appendage in Nepal, Deputy Prime Minister, thought it prudent and expedient to exclude me from the team. There is no need to further deal with the matter.

We were in Thimphu together when Bhutan hosted the 16th SAARC Summit in April 2010 and continued our talks on bilateral ties. The same was the case with the 33rd session of the SAARC Council of Ministers.

Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir and this humble self were hurriedly upgraded to a ministerial status protocol in hotel arrangements as both of us shared the commonality of abruptly losing Foreign Ministers and our respective headquarters, directing us to play the role of aide interim.

For special reasons known to them, Bhutanese friends, however, singled out me and Bashir as they denied the routine privilege of being received by their Head of State. Rao also invited us to India once to continue our parleys as a reciprocal gesture.

In a nutshell, Rao's book is a masterpiece as it starkly differs from others. It is neither autobiographical nor anecdotal but is based on solid experience and focused study. I congratulate our friends Nirupama and Sudhakar Rao on such a defining accomplishment.