EVENTS

This Wednesday Seminar presentation examines the factors that influenced India’s decision to recognise the People’s Republic of China in 1949, and seeks to challenge the conventional narratives that attribute this policy to Prime Minister Nehru’s idealism or naiveté. Rather, the speakers argue that the lingering influence of British colonialism on India’s foreign policy elite played a crucial role in shaping this decision. Their research suggests that India’s alignment with other Commonwealth countries in recognising China, was largely guided by British strategic interests, despite the availability of an alternative approach advocated by the United States, which favored maintaining distance from China. Through an analysis of archival records, this research demonstrates that India’s China policy was primarily driven by a consensus within the Indian foreign policy establishment to adhere to British policy directives. By exploring this often-overlooked dimension of India’s early foreign policy formulation, the presentation contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between post-colonial influences and emerging national interests in shaping India’s diplomatic trajectory during the formative years of its independence.

Speaker

Atul Bhardwaj is an academic and strategic affairs analyst, currently affiliated with the School of Policy and Global Affairs at City, University of London. His research examines the intersection of geopolitics, maritime strategy, and shifting connectivity paradigms. This interest was deepened during his recent two-year fellowship at the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML), New Delhi, where he investigated emerging Eurasian land bridges and their challenge to established maritime orders. He is the author of Indo-American Relations (1942- 1962): Rooted in the Liberal International Order (Routledge, 2019) and has contributed a strategic affairs column to the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) since 2013.

Md. Chingiz Khan is Assistant Professor at the Centre for Comparative Religions and Civilizations (CCRC), Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Previously, Dr. Khan taught at Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, and served as a Research Assistant in the Manuscripts Section of the Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML), Teen Murti House, New Delhi. He specialises in the Medieval and Early Modern History of North East India, with significant contributions to its historiography, genealogical history, military warfare, and technology. His doctoral thesis focused on Mughal warfare and technology in north eastern India (17th-19th centuries). An expert reviewer for a Manipur government history textbook, he has over 48 publications, including 22 peer-reviewed articles in journals like Economic and Political Weekly, and Contemporary South Asia (Routledge, 2025), SUMMERHILL. He is an annual member of the Indian History Congress and the PMML, New Delhi.

Chair

Vijay K. Nambiar is a veteran Indian diplomat who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1967. Over the span of his illustrious career, he held several high-profile positions that spanned critical moments in Indian and global diplomacy. He specialised in Chinese and served in Beijing, Yugoslavia, Algeria, Afghanistan, Malaysia, China, and Pakistan. As Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs, he played a key role in Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s 1988 China visit. Ambassador Nambiar was India’s Permanent Representative to the UN (2002-2004) and later served as Deputy National Security Adviser. Post-retirement, he was a Special Adviser to Kofi Annan and Chef de Cabinet to Ban Ki-moon. He also served as Adviser on Myanmar.

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