Amid concerns over reported presence of Chinese troops in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, a top Chinese leader has paid tribute to first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, saying he gave China ‘panchsheel’.
“We still use it [panchsheel] to solve our problems with other countries,” Li Changchun, China’s propaganda chief and fifth-highest ranking leader in the Communist Party, said at Beijing International Book Fair recently.
‘Panchsheel’ stipulates mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence. The Indian pavilion at the book fair was decorated with portraits of Nehru and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.Li praised Nehru while looking at the Indian leader’s portrait containing one of his famous quotes: “In future, the mighty nations that will emerge will be India and China.”
He also mentioned how China was influenced for centuries by Buddhism that came from India as well as the writings andvisits of Tagore, which made a lasting impression on generations of Chinese intellectuals.
The timing of Li’s visit to the Indian pavilion and his praise of Nehru, portrayed as a “villain” during Mao Zedong’s cultural revolution, left Indian officials surprised. They view this as China’s way of making a conciliatory gesture.
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