My friend Deng Xiao Ping

No Indian except me in his personal capacity has ever been received by the recently departed
China's great leader Deng Xiao Ping. Deng invited me in April 1981 to China for a discussion
with him on Sino-Indian and other international issues. This meeting, which lasted 100
minutes was hailed by our newspapers as historic as it revived the normalization of our
relations with China, which had begun earlier when Morarji Desai become the first Janata
PM, but was briefly interrupted after Mrs.Gandhi returned to power. The Chinese had a deep
distrust of Mrs. Gandhi because of her pro-Soviet Union tilt in policies, and had broken off
the normalization abruptly after she returned to power in 1980. Mrs.Gandhi was however
concerned that if the Chinese started to help the Assam students in agitation, India's
Northeast would go out of control of New Delhi. There were Intelligence reports with
Mrs.Gandhi that the Assam extremists were planning to send a team to China across the Tibet
border to seek arms from that country. This Mrs.Gandhi wanted to stop. And that is why she
wanted to make up with China. But she could not talk to the Chinese at the senior level since
their leader Deng Xiao Ping refused to meet the Indian Ambassador in China, Mr.Shankar
Bajpai. Indian diplomats told Mrs.Gandhi that the only Indian who enjoyed the Chinese trust
was me, and Deng Xiao Ping should be approached through me.
At that time, I was a staunch opponent of Mrs.Gandhi. Her action of denying me three
professorships (Delhi, Nehru and IIT Universities) at the bidding of communists in 1971-73,
which forced me to join politics ( the other alternative was to return to Harvard University in
USA) and later the struggle against the Emergency, had made me a bitter opponent of
Mrs.Gandhi.
But it is a tribute to Mrs.Gandhi's patriotism that she did not allow political enmity to come in
the way of national interest. At first she tried to convince me through Narasimha Rao to help
her break the Chinese hostility. Then she appealed to me directly. So when Deng Xiao Ping
invited me in 1981, I decided to help her for the nation's sake. This mutual gesture

completely dissolved the enmity between me and Mrs.Gandhi. We became good friends from
that date, so much so that the Madurai MP Subbaraman once came to see me to plead with
me that since Mrs.Gandhi had so much regard for me, I should join Congress Party. He even
offered to resign his Lok Sabha seat to send me to Parliament. I was, at that time, a Lok
Sabha MP from Bombay, so I politely put him off. But it is an irony today that the son of
Subbaraman, Rambabu, not only deserted Mrs.Gandhi's Congress Party, but actually defeated
me by unfair means, in the 1996 elections for Madurai Lok Sabha seat. Mr.Subbaraman must
be writhing in pain in heavan at this turn of events caused by his wayward son.
The question often asked of me is why a communist country like China gave me a known
anti-communist- so much importance. The reasons for this are many. To begin with,
communist countries ill-treat anticommunists only of their own country. But in dealing with
those abroad, they look to see only if such persons are hostile to their own country. In my
case, since for long I have advocated normal relations with China, when it was unpopular to
do so, the Chinese leaders felt special warmth of feeling for me. My argument for supporting
dialogue with China was that we should not have two enemies China and Pakistan, in the
borders of our country. A Sino-Pakistan axis was dangerous for us, and it was making us
depend on Russia too much. Therefore, I felt either China or Pakistan should be befriended.
Pakistan could not be tackled because it was dominated by the USA, therefore not
independent and could not be relied upon. China was an independent country, so we could
talk with that country. China in turn had two enemies, Russia and USA and so it wanted to
normalise relations with countries which could help either of its enemies. In our case, China's
normal relations with us meant that Russia could not use us to trouble China especially
through Tibet. So both India and China would mutually gain from normal relations. This was
my argument.
When I first raised the issue in 1967 of improving relations with China, K.R.Narayanan, our
President today, was then a Joint Secretary in our External Affairs Ministry. He wrote me a
letter once in 1967 saying it was unpatriotic to raise the issue since China had attacked India
in 1962. Of course I did not agree. France and Germany attacked each other for centuries.

Today they are good friends. Nations have permanents interests, not permanent friendships or
permanent enmities. When interests coincide, friendships follow. When interests clash,
enmity will be inevitable.
This exchange between me and Narayanan became public. Many people could not understand
how I, a perceived pro-American, Harvard educated person be for friendship with China.
Because I was anti-communist, people automatically thought that I was pro-American. This is
wrong. I would be Pro-or-anti a country according what is in India's interests. Everyone
abroad understands this (but not my critics in India). That is why the Iraq's leader Sadam
Hussein, a bitter foe of USA & Israel, had personally invited me twice to Iraq. Last month,
the leftist Prime Minister of Namibia (in Africa) invited me to lead a conference. In June,
Vietnam had invited me to participate in an international get-together,
Chinese leaders therefore clearly understood that despite my anti-communism, it was my
fierce concern for India's interests which was motivating me for good relations with China,
and that I had the courage to challenge the Russian lobbies in India, who were against China
(despite being communists)! The Chinese admired me for this.
There was another reason why the Chinese found it easier to make friends with me. When I
had just become a Professor at Harvard after getting my Ph.D. the world's most famous and
revered China Scholar at Harvard, John Fairbank called me up. This was in early 1964, just
one and half years after the 1962 Chinese attack. Fairbank taunted me with the assertion:
"Why are Indians so poor in learning Chinese? Six students from India were brought here by
me on Scholarship at the request of Prime Minister Nehru for a three years course, to learn
Chinese. All six have failed in the first semester." My pride was hurt, so I retorted: "God
knows where you got these six students. But if I wanted to, I can learn all the Chinese of a
three year course in just six months." Fairbank challenged me to prove it.
Later Fairbank told me that he had used this ploy to attract me to China studies. He
succeeded. I went back to classes at Harvard to learn Chinese. I was a star student, and indeed
in six months learn all the Chinese in a three year long course. But surprisingly the little

Tamil I had learnt from my mother came useful. For example, Chinese and Tamil had some
common words "Nii" means "You" in both languages. The exclamation "Aiyoyo" is the same
in both the languages. Most American students could not pronounce the ('zh') sounds in
Chinese. Since I had learnt to pronounce ('pazham =fruit') in Tamil from childhood, I had no
difficulty. So I was a hit and favourite with my Chinese Teacher. She was convinced despite
my denial, that I had spent my childhood in China. Otherwise how could I pronounce 'zh' so
beautifully and so naturally, while American students floundered on it, struggling to say it as
'zz'.
Because I could speak Chinese fluently, it was natural for the Chinese leaders to feel
comfortable in my company. Chinese is a hard language to learn and so if some one learnt it,
they assumed that the person had a love for China. Little did the Chinese realise that it had
nothing to do with my love for China but more to disprove Fairbanks assertion.
After I learnt Chinese, I wrote many articles and books on Chinese Economy. Between 1970
and 1980 I published nearly 100 such writings. Most of it were critical of Chinese economic
performance and Chairman Mao Tse Tungs dictatorial policies. I was condemned by leftist
intellectuals for these critical articles who thought Mao had revolutionized China. But the
political changes in China during 1976 - 80, went in my favour. Mr.Deng Xiao Ping who
took over the leadership in 1978 repudiated Mao, and said that he had ruined the Chinese
Economy. World over among China Scholars, only I had written that in vain. Therefore the
Chinese scholars immediately began quoting my articles to support Deng's view.
At that time in 1980, China had applied to the World Bank for a soft loan (i.e., at low 1/2 %
interest rate). This meant that China became a competitor with India for loans from the World
Bank. To prevent China from getting the loans, the then Finance Minister Mr.R.Venkatraman
foolishly argued with the World Bank that China did not qualify for the loans since according
to some leftist economists, China's per capita income was US$1000 compared India's $250.
To qualify for low interest loans from World Bank, the per capita income had to be less than
$400. The World Bank President Mr.Robert McNamara made Mr.Venkatraman's negative

attitude look silly by quoting to him my study in which I had concluded that China's per
capita income was the same as India's $250. So therefore, China qualified for the loan. Rather
than correct himself, Mr.Venkatraman made his position more ridiculous by later suggesting
to Mrs.Gandhi that on patriotic grounds I should be asked to revise my estimate of China's
per capita income upward to $1000! Mrs.Gandhi politely referred Mr.Venkatraman's demand
to me. I laughed at the request, but told her that she should call all the government experts to
come to a conference with me, and prove my estimate wrong. Then I would revise it. Such a
conference was arranged. About 40 government experts including the Reserve Bank
Governor assembled in the then Foreign Secretary Mr.Ram Sathe's office. For four hours I sat
with them, but they could not find anything wrong with my estimate of China's per capita
income. Therefore, I did not revise my estimate. China got the soft loan from the World Bank
despite Venkatraman's protest because of my research paper on the Chinese economy. But
our country's name was spoiled by this negative attitude of our Finance Minister. The
Chinese leaders came to know of this through the World Bank President Mr. McNamara. So
they were emotionally moved. Therefore to thank me, the Chinese invited me to China to
meet Mr.Deng Xiao Ping, considered as a great honor by one and all. Both India Today and
Indian Express described my meeting with Deng as "historic" and covered it extensively.
When I reached Beijing in April 1981 I informed the Chinese Foreign Ministry that I would
bring with me our Ambassador Mr.Shankar Bajpai to Mr.Deng's meeting. The Chinese were
upset, and said that this visit was for honouring me in my personal capacity as a scholar, and
not as a representative of India. I insisted, saying that Our Ambassador must be present to
take notes, and give me clarifications. Besides, I was an MP, hence automatically a
representative of India. The Chinese were adamant. So finally I said that I will have to leave
China without meeting Mr.Deng if the Ambassador cannot accompany me. This firmness on
my part, that abroad I will not separate myself from our government, impressed the Chinese
ultimately. They finally understood that I was for truth, but at the same time would stand by
my own country.

When I finally met Mr.Deng, he grabbed my arm and said in Chinese: "Lao peng yeou". This
is the ultimate compliment in China to be called "an old friend" and that too by Mr.Deng, the
Supreme leader of China. I raised the Assam agitators question with him right away, as I had
promised Mrs.Gandhi. Deng asked me why I wanted to help Mrs.Gandhi who had tried to put
me in jail during Emergency. I told him it was not a personal issue. If China gave arms to
Assam agitators, then people of India will never forgive China, and it will ruin Sino-Indian
relations. This would, of course, help Russia to create tensions between our two countries.
Deng appeared convinced. He said "Tell Mrs.Gandhi, if anyone crosses our border from India
unauthorized, we will catch that person and hand him to your Border police". This was the
assurance Mrs.Gandhi was looking for.
Deng smiled at me, said "Anything else?" I immediately jumped at that, and said "You have
closed Manasarovar for 25 years. This is our holy spot, so please open it for our pilgrims".
Deng did not know anything about Mount Kailash, but his officers explained in Chinese to
him, about how difficult the place was to travel to etc. Deng turned to me said with a
challenging smile: "If you promise to go there yourself, by walking to Mount Kailash, I will
order its re-opening". In September 1981 later that year, I became the first Indian to visit
Kailash and Manasarovar after 25 years. Kailash has been open to Hindu pilgrims ever since.
Every year about 200 - 300 pilgrims go there.
Deng then turned to his other favourite topics like Vietnam, Russia, economic reform etc., He
took me and our Ambassador however by surprise by suddenly declaring to me: "Tell
Mrs.Gandhi, I want to improve relations with India. So I am sending our Foreign Minister
Huang Hua to India later this year". Huang Hua came in June 1981, and after that Sino-Indian
relations has been steadily improving without a break.
After about 100 minutes of meeting, I took leave of the then 71 years Mr.Deng. He said "you
look so young (I was 41 years old then). In your long career ahead, there will be ups and
down, but always be optimistic. We thank you for your help to us".

I felt very pleased with that meeting because despite my not being a Minister then, my efforts
laid the foundations for improvement in Sino-Indian relations. Ten years later in 1991 when I
returned to Beijing as India's Commerce Minister, India signed the first Trade Protocol with
China in which exports and imports were given a boost. Within two days, I could complete
the negotiations, because I was China's and Deng's "Lao peng yeou" (old friend). The
Chinese were ready to please, because unlike us, are a grateful people. They never forget
favours . President Nixon of USA had normalized American relations with China in 1972.
After that Nixon landed into the Watergate scandal, and had to resign in 1974. But the
Chinese never forgot him for normalizing Sino-US relations and treated him with honour as if
nothing had happened. That is why China has so many friends in the world today and we
have so few.
After my meeting with Deng Xiao Ping, I was widely recognised all over the world as one
who could talk to China frankly. Many business people asked me if I would become their
consultant for fat fees, for trade with China. I turned them all down, because the best relations
are non-commercial. In 1988, Rajiv Gandhi was to go to China. He asked me to accompany
him so that I could help him with Deng. I agreed but later Rajiv changed his mind. He
laughingly told me: "My advisers say that if you come with me to China, the Chinese will
treat you better and on a higher status than me". He quoted M.J.Akbar, a newspaper editor in
support of this view. Since Rajiv and I were good friends, I did not mind his frankness. At
least he was truthful.
India and China should try to be friends. Only then we can manage Pakistan. Deng helped us
to restore normal relations and we should never forget that.