EVENTS

In his latest book, Nehru, Tibet and China, A.S. Bhasin seeks to challenge the conventional narrative handed down since the fifties of last century that China was perfidious and stabbed India in the back, while India promoted China's interests both bilaterally and internationally. By examining archives from the period, the author provides a new narrative about what transpired before and ultimately led to the 1962 War between India and China. The discussants will provide their comments on the book as well their expert understanding of the current scenario on the India-China border. The speakers will also provide varying perspectives on the rapidly changing geopolitical context in South Asia, and particularly India-China relations.

About the Speakers

Avtar Singh Bhasin is a retired Director of the Historical Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. His main focus has been India's relations with its neighbours. He has over the years succeeded in publishing a documentary study of India's relations with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and China in 5 volumes each. His study on Pakistan is spread over in ten volumes running into 10,000 pages. He published an annual series called 'India's Foreign Relations' for the Ministry of External Affairs from 2002 to 2013. His latest book is titled Nehru, Tibet and China published by Penguin Random House.

Tanvi Madan is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. She is the author of Fateful Triangle: How China Shaped US-India Relations During the Cold War (2020). Her ongoing work includes a book project on the recent past, present and future of the China-India-US triangle. Madan is a member of the editorial board of Asia Policy, a contributing editor at War on the Rocks, and a member of the Australian National University's National Security College's Futures Council. Her prior experience includes work at universities, a think tank, and the information technology industry. Madan has a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.A. in international relations from Yale University, and a B.A. (Hons.) in history from Lady Shri Ram College.

Ananth Krishnan is the China correspondent for The Hindu. In 2019, he was a Visiting Fellow at Brookings India. He was previously the Beijing-based Associate Editor at the India Today Group until August 2018. He has lived in Beijing since 2009, earlier reporting for The Hindu. His reporting in China has taken him to all but three of China's 33 provinces and regions. His interests include India-China relations as well as Tibet, Xinjiang and ethnic minorities in China. Before moving to China, Ananth was based at The Hindu's headquarters in Chennai. He has authored a book titled India's China Challenge (HarperCollins, 2020).

About the Chair

Kishan S Rana BA (Hons), MA economics, St Stephen's College, Delhi. Indian Foreign Service (1960-95); Ambassador/High Commissioner: Algeria, Czechoslovakia, Kenya, Mauritius, Germany. On PM Indira Gandhi's staff for one year (1981-82). Emeritus Fellow, Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi; Professor Emeritus, DiploFoundation; Archives By-Fellow, Churchill College, Cambridge. Written & edited eleven books on diplomatic studies (two translated in Chinese, one in Farsi). 300 articles and book reviews in journals and newspaper columns. Lectured at 25+ foreign ministries, and for several years at LSE, London, Diplomatic Academy Vienna, China Foreign Affairs University Beijing.

Event Registration Link Here