Hindi Chini Bhai-Bhai
Hindi- Chini Bhai Bhai
Hindi- Chini Bhai-bhai, which in Hindi means Indians and Chinese are brothers, was the catch phrase for India- China diplomacy in the 1950s. The People’s Republic of China was established in 1949 and the Chinese army invaded Tibet as Mao thought that it was an integral part of the Chinese State.
China saw Indian concern over Tibet as interference in the affairs of China. The PRC wanted to reassert control over Tibet and end feudalism and Lamaism. To avoid antagonizing the People's Republic of China, Nehru informed Chinese leaders that India did not have political or territorial ambitions in Tibet. However it maintained that traditional trading rights must continue. With Indian support, Tibetan delegates signed an agreement in May 1951 which recognised the sovereignty of the PRC. Tibet had been a geographical and physical buffer zone. With the invasion of Tibet by China, Nehru concluded that India’s best guarantee of security was to establish a ‘psychological’ buffer zone in the place of the physical buffer. In 1954 India and China signed an eight year agreement on Tibet which was known as the Panchsheela or the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence. It emphasised the mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, mutual no aggression, mutual non interference, equality and peaceful co-existence. Up until 1959, despite border skirmishes and discrepancies between Indian and Chinese maps, Chinese leaders had assured India that there was no territorial controversy on the border even though there is some evidence that India avoided bringing up the border issue in high level meetings.
Following the Tibetan uprising in 1959, the Dalai Lama, together with a group of Tibetan leaders fled to India and set up the Government of Tibet in Exile in Dharamshala. Beijing and the Government-in-exile disagree when Tibet became a part of China, and whether the incorporation into China of Tibet is legitimate according to international law. Disagreement and skirmishes over the disputed territory increased, particularly over the Aksai Chin area, ultimately leading to the Sino- Indian war in 1962.
