Nehru thwarted two winnable wars

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Earl Mountbatten, Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten

Aroop Raha, the Indian Air Force chief recently articulated his disappointment that the country’s air power was not fully utilized during the first war with Pakistan in 1948. Likewise, he said, the airpower was not used during the 1962 war with China.

Raha said that while the Indian Air Force (IAF) was used as a “bridge” to transport troops to Kashmir for several months but when a military solution was in sight India went to the United Nations” taking the “the moral high ground”. The statement is largely true. The Air Force was used when the situation became desperate with the Pakistani regulars and tribal raiders came as close as sniffing distance of the Srinagar airfield threatening to overrun it. Even at that crucial juncture the prime minister was hesitant. The books and documents that have now come out clearly show the ambivalence of Prime Minister Nehru.

According to the various documents of the period, it seems a meeting of the Indian cabinet had been called after the Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession. Among those present were the Prime Minister, Home Minister, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Defense Minister Sardar Baldev Singh. Late Field Marshal Manekshaw, then a junior officer, was also present presumably to assist his Defense Minister. Towards the end of the meeting Manekshaw was asked to give his assessment of the situation in Kashmir which he did with precision. On hearing him, the consensus was India should intervene as soon as possible but Nehru was still in two minds and was wondering whether to refer the matter to the United Nations. That is when the Home Minister, Vallabhbhai Patel reportedly snapped at him asking whether Nehru wanted to keep Kashmir in India or let go of it. Nehru is reported to have said, “Of course, I would like Kashmir to stay in India”. The moment he answered in the affirmative Sardar Patel asked his assistants to fly the Indian army to Kashmir. Because of the delay in taking this decision most men in first few sorties were reportedly, gunned down on landing.

It is indeed surprising that throughout the campaign the Indian Air Force remained largely under-utilized. It took quite an effort for the Indian Army to slowly push back the invaders out of the Kashmir Valley though the Air Force did a commendable job of breaking the backbone of the invaders by strafing them when they were gathered in strength near the airfield. The Air Force did play its role in making the invaders run for their lives. But, that was about all for an offensive role of the IAF as it was mostly used for logistics – transporting troops and supplies. In doing so, too, it did some remarkable jobs like those of landing on an untested airfield built by 40000 refugees in a week’s time at Poonch and landing Dakotas on an airstrip along the Indus River in Leh at a height of 11000ft, a height where these planes were not supposed to fly. Hundreds of sorties were flown with troops and arms and ammunitions and in the return journey, especially from Poonch, they brought back thousands of refugees. Even the then Governor General, Earl Mountbatten had remarked that in his view it was one of the biggest airlift operations till then anywhere in the world

 Meanwhile, Delhi was getting impatient. Jawaharlal Nehru is reported to have once said that India could not be fighting this war for months or even years. Besides, the brutally cold winter was approaching and the shortage of arms and ammunitions was also telling on the operation. What is more, he was being advised by the Governor General to refer the matter to the UN. It seems the Prime Minister had expectations that a reference to the United Nations would settle the issue speedily. Unfortunately, that did not happen and it took the UN half a century to treat it as an unresolved dispute. On reference to it the Kashmir issue became a victim of the then prevailing Cold War rivalries between the Western Powers and the Soviet Union. The former had a stake in the State as it could provide a location from which they could keep an eye on the latter. The West, therefore, was never inclined that Jammu & Kashmir should merge with India. For them, for various reasons, Pakistan was a better option being tactically better located. That attitude seems to continue till today. At the UN they, therefore, weighed in for Pakistan and some very biased debates had taken place.

 What was most unfortunate, however, was that Nehru’s reference was made to the UN just as the Indian Army acquired the capability to throw out the Pakistani raiders from the State. Perhaps, under the influence of the Governor General the Army Headquarters issued an order not to initiate further operations without its orders. Some reports say that it was not Mountbatten but the US intervened and did not want India to recapture the lost J&K territories. Nonetheless, Mountbatten played a dubious (double) role. This was, therefore, not as much a matter of occupying “high moral ground” as of probably succumbing to pressure from a Big Power. So, a problem that could have been solved in 1948-49, thanks to Nehru, festers on and on till today and the country that was the aggressor has acquired in the meantime sharper teeth

It seems, Nehru’s incapacity to take independent decisions at crunch situations did quite a lot of damage to India. While in the Kashmir war of 1948 Earl Mountbatten led him up the ‘garden path’, during the 1962 war with China it was the US ambassador, John Kenneth Galbraith, who was his advisor. It was largely because of Galbraith that the Indian air power, much improved after the 1948 Kashmir Operations, was not allowed to carry our combat operations. Besides, there was a total absence of intelligence from the other side about the enemy’s capabilities in air warfare. Intelligence Bureau chief, BN Mullik, did not have any intelligence about Chinese Air Force establishments in Tibet. In fact, information was circulated about two Chinese air bases in Tibet which never existed and, probably, do not exist even today

There was thus an ‘intelligence vacuum’. For fear of an imagined retaliation by China, while the IAF planes were made to sit on their bases, Nehru wrote, surprisingly without consulting the IAF, to Kennedy requesting for air cover for the cities in the plains. This the US was not able to provide because of several reasons including the then ongoing Cuban Missiles Crisis. The result was IAF’s own Toofanies, Mysteres, Gnats, Hunters and Canberras remained virtually mothballed in their Eastern bases while the Army was deprived of much needed air support. The denial to the air force of an offensive role was such an implausible negative action that it is being researched and debated till today.   

Raha, therefore, is not the only Air Chief to have highlighted this act of omission. Earlier, ex IAF chief Air Marshal AY Tipnis, too, blamed Nehru for not using the country’s airpower and the consequential debacle in the 1962 war. Likewise, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal (Retd) NAK Browne had to say later that the outcome of the 1962 war would have been different had IAF been allowed an offensive role. But such messy situations tend to occur when, instead of defense chiefs, wars are fought, instead of defense forces, by politicians, more so of indecisive variety like Nehru. 

*Photo: from internet

DESTINATIONS: CHINA (1982): HANGZHOU

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Hangzhou, earlier Hangchhow, is only 100-odd kilometres away

Weeping willows of Hangzhou

from Suzhou and is another beautiful city in the Yangtze basin. It is also ancient and has been the capital of Southern Song Dynasty from the 12^th Century until Mogul invasions of the 13^th Century. Reckoned as one of the most beautiful cities of China, Hangzhou was probably included in our itinerary for its touristic interests. Its West Lake, a huge water body, has since been declared a World Heritage Site. Most of the touristy activities were restricted in and around it and, like Suzhou, numerous gardens were laid around it.

Among the ancient cultural items the Six Harmonies Pagoda is

A Chines porcelain vase

important. Unfortunately we could not see it. Hangzhou is known as the “Porcelain Capital”. Chinese ceramics and porcelain are known the world over from ancient times. After all, the word “china” came into being because of Chinese exquisite ceramics. Their porcelain is of a fine variety, smooth to touch, translucent and delicate in looks. In a garden we came across ceramic furniture – stools, tables and things.

Colleagues taking in the beauty of a Hangzhou garden

Like in Suzhou, the gardens are beautifully maintained with lovely colourful pavilions. Beautifully designed and painted from inside each is a work of art. In one of them a shutterless and glassless window showed well-tended plants in natural setting. It appeared like a painting and but for the window frames one would have taken it as such.  Some of the pavilions were decorated with massive porcelain vessels of various colours, mostly blue and red overlaid by painted flowers. Those were things to be seen to be believed for our uninitiated eyes.

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All photos were taken by self

A shutter-less & glass-less window

 

Ceramic furniture

 

A showy boat on Hanzhou Lake

DESTINATIONS:CHINA (1982):SUZHOU

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The green of Suzhou

We took a train from Nanking for Suzhou (earlier Souchhow) which was only around 200 kilometres away. It was not like the current Chinese trains, high-speed and streamlined. It was more or less like ours, a chair car. The car was built in East Germany (in those days Germany was divided between East and West, East Germany being a satellite of the now-dead Soviet Union and West Germany was a flourishing democracy).

While the cars were not much different but what appeared to be different was the attitude of the workers. I happened to observe

A picnic spot

from the time the train rolled in until we got off it in Suzhou the lone woman who was, in our terminology, the coach attendant. As soon as the train came to a halt she unfolded the steps for passengers to get off the train on to the platform which was at a lower level. Then she wiped with a cloth the handle bars of all the accumulated dust and stood by the side of the entrance. When we had all got in with only our hand baggage (they did not allow heavy baggage in the coach) she folded back the steps, closed the door and locked it. Then she helped stowing away our bags on overhead racks, swept the floor of the bogey and eventually served us hot coffee that she made for us. Her job included the ones across several lower level

A beautiful pavillion

hierarchies of Indian Railways and she seemed to be pretty happy about whatever she was supposed to do.

Suzhou is another ancient city of China with around 2500 years of history but, no, it never seemed to have had the privilege of being the capital in recent times. However, it was founded as the capital of Wu Kingdom in the 6^th Century BCE. Its antiqueness is seen in the waterways and roads that run together forming, as they say, a “double chess board”. Being located in the

Pathway alongside a canal 

delta region of the Yangtze it is a watery place with lots of ponds, canals, streams and lakes. No wonder it is considered the “Venice of China”. Being wet with lots of water around it is one of the greenest cities I have ever seen.

A beautifully crafted boat

And, there are gardens and gardens – there are scores of them, beautifully laid out with paths and typically Chinese pavilions. According to an old saying, the gardens located south of Yangtze are the best. Some date back to the 6^th Century BCE and attempt to, as UNESCO said, recreate natural landscape in miniature and depict the “profound metaphysical importance of natural beauty in Chinese culture”. Several of them have since been declared by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. I recall having seen a huge garden of numerous bonsais beautifully tended and displayed. There cannot be two opinions about Chinese aesthetics; it seems to be embedded in their genes.

Yunyan Temple Pagoda

A landmark of the city, the Yunyan Temple Pagoda is more than a thousand years old. It is reckoned as the most exquisite pagoda built by the Song Dynasty rulers. At a height of around 50 metres the Pagoda is of 7 storeys octagonal in construct with balconies on each floor with eaves above them. Along the inner walls there is a winding corridor but one has to use a movable ladder to go up the storeys. From inside, the Pagoda is like a tube and the absence of stairs was ascribed to the much older method of construction of pagodas

Suzhou is also known for amazingly intricate and beautiful embroidery. The embroidered items that we came across in our hotel and elsewhere were mind-blowing. The effort and patience

Intricate embroidery in progress

that had gone into them was indeed unimaginable. And then, every item was a thing of beauty and are noe exported.

Suzhou is now an industrial city with industrial parks and export processing zones. I understand it is now a glittering city at night with bustling night life. China has moved on far ahead from its not too distant past and almost every region seems to have prospered. Its swanky new super-super fast trains clocking 300 kilometres an hour make several trips to its modernised railway station from Shanghai

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All photos were taken by self

                

DESTINATIONS: CHINA (1982); NANKING

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We were at Xian airport waiting for the flight to Nanking. After

Linggu Pagoda

about a couple of hours we were told to get on to a flight that had arrived a few minutes earlier. All seven of us were bundled into it in a jiffy. While we were settling down Pat Kearney, our consultant, told me that the flight we were on was in fact the one that flew between Xian and Shanghai. As a day’s delay would have upset our schedule the Chinese authorities decided to put us on this flight which was made to make an unscheduled halt at Nanking. This was another instance of Chinese state power and it also showed the keenness Chinese to make a success of the month-long visit of the UPU delegation. They didn’t obviously want any flap. After all, their international reputation, especially with the UN agencies, was at stake. Whether in the process some passengers were offloaded at Xian is not known to me. An hour and a few minutes later we were at Nanking.

Dr. Sun Yat-sen

Located in the South-East of Xian, Nanking has been prominent in Chinese history, having been its capital on several occasions. It was capital during the reign of the first emperor of the Ming dynasty in the 14^th Century. Later rulers of the same dynasty relocated the capital to Beijing in the 15^th Century. In the 17^th Century the Ming Dynasty brought the capital back again to Nanking. In the 19^th Century it became the capital of the Taiping Kingdom and was known as Tianjing. The city saw on several occasions the capital being moved out and moved in. The establishment of the Chinese Republic in 1912 under the Presidency of Dr. Sun Yat Sen (a name we were familiar with in India), after what is known as the Xinhai Revolution, saw Nanking becoming the capital yet again. Later Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of the Kuomintang (KMT) made Nanking his capital in 1927. A decade later, sometimes called the Nanking Decade, Nanking was invaded by Japanese troops commencing the Second Sino Japanese War that had seeds in it of World War II. In 1949 the People’s Republic of China of Mao Tse-tung overran Nanking and drove out Chiang Kai-shek and his KMT forces ending its role as the capital of the country. Quite a chequered history for the city!

 Nanking had seen tumultuous times in the 19^th Century when the Taiping Rebellion raged in and around it for several years. The rebellion was against the Qing Dynasty that was ruling China at the time. The conflict saw avoidable loss of large number of innocent lives. There was a repeat of the same kind of bloodshed in 1937 when the Japanese invaded the country and were reported to have put hundreds of thousand of innocent Chinese to death. Visuals of are available of Japanese soldiers describing the way they were ordered to kill innocent Chinese.

Nanking hosts one of the most beautiful monuments dedicated to

Sun Yat-sen Memorial

one of its great leaders, Dr Sun Yat-sen. A medical doctor who later became a revolutionary fighting against the Imperial Qing Dynasty, Dr. Sun was instrumental in ending the monarchy after the revolution of 1911. He was made the Provisional President of the new republic with the capital at Nanking. Reckoned as the “Father of the Nation” and one of the greatest leaders of modern China, Dr. Sun, however, had a life of constant struggle and frequent exiles – a life that is the fate of all revolutionaries. No wonder a remarkably massive memorial has been built in one of the most beautiful sites in China on the slopes of a hill. The mausoleum blends the traditional architecture with the modern. One has to go up around 400 steps to get to the vault. The steps are dozens of metres wide on both sides of which are pine and cypress trees. It is a beautiful sight and the parks and gardens are very well maintained.  The Memorial itself is an edifying sight, easily one of the finest tourist sites I ever happened to visit. It was crowded with visitors, mostly local and the ubiquitous People’s Liberation Army soldiers with cameras in hand.

Among other ancient monuments Nanking has is the tomb of founder of the Ming Dynasty. Situated a little away from the town it is known as Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum. Approximately six

Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum

centuries old, ravages of time are quite apparent. In any case, I found the monument somewhat undistinguished. What was more impressive was the Linggu Pagoda which, having been destroyed quite a few times, was rebuilt again and again and the last reconstruction undertaken was in 1929. It was first built in the sixth century AD and was destroyed in warfare after about a millennium. It had again an Indian connection as here, apart from Buddhas and Bodhistvas,  Xuangsang (whom we know as Huen-tsang) and his relic were worshipped. The Pagoda is reputed for the beamless hall built centuries ago that was meant for worship of Buddha. Much later, in 1928 it was converted as a memorial for the 30000 soldiers who lost their lives in the war of 1926-27. Speeches of Dr. Sun Yat-sen are inscribed on the Pagoda.

A modern monument that was shown to us was the Yangtze River Bridge at Nanking. Opened to traffic in 1968 it was first ever massive double-decker bridge that was designed and built entirely

The Yangtze Bridge

by Chinese expertise. It is a rail-cum-road bridge, the upper deck is continuation of a highway and the lower deck is for railways. The bridge facilitated and speeded up rail traffic between Shanghai and Beijing. The superfast Chinese trains now thunder down to Beijing via Nanking through this bridge. It is a massive bridge, more than a kilometre and half long. The Chinese officials were justifiably proud of it. It was, perhaps, one of the biggest projects undertaken by them until 1982. The Three Gorges Dam on Yangtze and some more bridges on it were still in the future.

Nanking, in 1982, was seemingly a quiet, small town. Roads were devoid of motorised traffic as in two other cities we had visited so far. We were put up in a rather small hotel yet it had all the comforts and beautiful grounds all around. The city, I understand,

Beautiful roads but no vehicular traffic

has markedly changed after China’s “Great Leap Forward” into an economy that is more capitalistic than socialistic. It is now a thriving town with industries (which were not there earlier), educational institutions and massive urban expansion. There are high-rises galore and, as happens in a booming economy, a large number of hotels have come up, with some close to the Yangtze Bridge. 

Destination China (1982): Xi'an

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The "terracotta warriors"

About a couple hours away by a jet Xian is in the North West of Beijing. The airport was non-descript but, I understand, it has now been converted into a swanky international airport.

One of the four great ancient capitals of China Xian is now the capital of Shanxi province. With more than 3100 years of history it is from where the fabled Silk Route took off. It had, therefore, direct linkage with India. It too was a walled city. The wall is still there but unfortunately we were not taken to see it. Xian, in its long history, saw not only a great many dynasties and emperors, it also was named and renamed repeatedly. The current name was given in 1369 during the Ming Dynasty. From then on its name was change twice more. In 1930 it was renamed Xijing meaning the Western Capital, which, one supposes, it has always been. In 1943 it reverted back to its Ming era name of Xi’an. The city is now one of the 13 emerging megalopolises of China.

After the city was devastated in 904 CE not much was left and yet there are numerous temples and pagodas

Cyclists in Xian

and other remnants of the past. Dominating the town, however, is the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. There used to be a Little Wild Goose Pagoda as well but it was damaged in the earthquake that shook Western China in the later part of the first millennium.

 The Great Wild Goose Pagoda was built in 692 CE during the Tang dynasty. Weak construction led to its collapse and it had to be rebuilt in 704. Another massive earthquake in the 16^th Century reduced its height by three stories and brought it down to its current 7 stories touching 64 metres. From the top one gets a stunning view of the town. I did go up three or four stories and then gave up finding it hard work climbing all those steps. For us in India it is of interest as it was built by the emperor at the request of a Buddhist monk Xuangsang, whom we know as Huentsang, to store Buddhist sutras (religious texts), Buddha’s figurines, etc that were brought by him from India. His statue stands right in front of the Temple of Maternal Grace close to the Pagoda.

 

The Big Wild Goose Pagoda

We had read about him in our school history books. Another ancient Chinese traveller whom we knew as Fahiyan is now called Faxian. The latter, too, had set off from Xi’an, then known as Chang’an, at the age of 60 years and trekked over treacherous Taklamakan desert down to India, wandered all over the country visiting Buddhist sites and then proceeded on to Sri Lanka. After 17 years of travels in the sub-continent he got back to China by the sea route. One cannot but wonder how these itinerants travelled all the way over tall mountains, deep valleys, crossed broad rivers facing numerous adversities and persisted through Indian jungles infested by wild predatory animals and yet survived to tell the tale. They all went through the travails as India was the country of origin of their faith. Their travelogues have largely been the basis for recording our ancient history.

The post office for 'small town' Xian as it was then

Another site not quite developed then but appeared extraordinary was that of the “Terracotta warriors” who were uncovered in 1974 to the east of the town. They were discovered accidentally by a few farmers who were out to tap sub-soil water. What their find led to was one of the remarkable discoveries. Thousands of terracotta warriors in their battle dresses complete with arms and other finery standing in battle formation were buried underground. When we saw it was like an on-the-spot museum exactly where the figures were unearthed. We could only see about half a dozen or so warriors and a couple of horses in their terracotta finery. Later when the Chinese archaeologists concentrated on the site they uncovered thousands of figures of warriors, hundreds of horses and scores of chariots.

It is a form of funerary art that was buried with Emperor of China Quin Shi Huang in 209-210 BC for his protection and wellbeing after his death. Researchers suggest that the figures were assembled in sort of an assembly line, only the facial features, tunics and other details were added later to give them a semblance of uniqueness. About 700000 workers are estimated to have been engaged in the work. Only a section of the site is open and photography is prohibited.

Later archaeologists seem to have discovered that there are four main pits and the army is placed in a manner so as to be able to protect the tomb of the emperor. Pit one has 6000 figures; pit 2 has cavalry and infantry units and chariots; pit 3 was apparently a command post with high ranking officers and a war chariot; pit 4

Postal workers of Xian. Note their tunic

was empty, probably left unfinished. Reports also say that swords, spears, battle-axes, scimitars, shields, crossbows and arrowheads were also found and some of the swords had great sharpness at the time of discovery. It must have been a mindboggling effort for the Emperor to fix it all in his lifetime.

Xi’an today is a thriving metropolis and not a provincial town. It has become a hub of education with numerous universities and institutes of scientific importance. It is now a modern city with well laid-out roads, metro and is well-connected by rail, road and air.  

Photograph of “Terracotta warriors” is from the Internet

DESTINATIONS: CHINA (1982): BEIJING (II)

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Having taken the responsibility to host us the Chinese did an 
excellent job of it. We never had to ask for anything. From food to sight-seeing and shopping, they had taken great care in planning 
and organising our visit. Though there were no malls, they took us to shops that looked ordinary but had some fantastic ceramic and porcelain-ware as also beautiful woollen garments. As for sight-seeing, they took us to all the major sights. China, after all, has a long history and historical sites are littered all over.

The first on the list had to be the Great Wall - an hour or so away. Not much need be said about it except that it now transpires the Wall was built by several dynasties and not only by those of Ming and Qing and is much older and longer than what was earlier reckoned. As we reached we found it crawling with tourists – mostly whites. It was like an Indian mela and people were milling around – in shops, in restaurants or out in the open. A large number, generally advanced in age, were already going up the Wall. It was strenuous, the last bit being very steep and tough and one could see people bending forward to go up holding the metal railings. The Chinese say that one wouldn’t

Self at the Wall

be enough of a man if he didn’t go right up to the Observation Post. I did huff and puff up to the Post. From there one gets a stunning sight of the Wall continuing onwards and the surrounding country-side. As we came down more and more tourist batches had arrived and were going up in a crowd.

 To say that the Wall was impressive would be an understatement. The widest wall I had seen till then was that of Bhuj in Kutch in 1963 which was, if my memory serves me right, was about 10 to 12 ft wide. This is about 30 ft wide and can very well accommodate a truck leaving enough space on both sides. No wonder, people had come in thousands travelling over long distances to see it and tuck away in their consciousness the sheer feel of this Great Wonder, a World Heritage Site to boot.

One of the gates of the Forbidden City

Like the Great Wall we had heard since childhood of the Forbidden City in the Chinese capital where commoners were not allowed to enter. Located in the centre of the city, the Forbidden City is also known as the Imperial Palace which hosted a couple of dozen emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties for almost 500 years until 1912. Exemplifying the Chinese palatial architecture, its influence can be seen elsewhere in East Asia. It is a mammoth place and cannot be covered in half a day. Built over a period of 14 years in early 15^th Century it is spread over an area of more than 700,000 square feet accommodating about a thousand monuments. Well fortified by about 25 feet high wall that is as wide as 15 feet at its base and a wide, pretty deep moat, it served as not only as residences but also as political and cultural centre of th

Display of artifacts in the Imperial Museum

e Empire. A profusion of walls, gates and pavilions dominate the landscape. I found very little greenery in such a big complex which was mostly paved. The beautifully laid out Imperial Garden in the surrounding grounds compensated for the lack of greenery in the Palace. A museum was established in the complex in 1925 after the last of the emperors, hanging on in a corner of the Palace, was ousted from it and the whole complex is now known as Palace Museum, another World Heritage Site, displaying some exquisite pieces of Chinese art and craft.   

I do not remember much about the Ming Tombs where we went one noon for a brief visit. About 50 kilometres away the tombs of thirteen emperors of 14^th to 17^th Centuries of the Ming Dynasty are situated over an area of around 120 square kilometres in a

Monument to People's Heroes

scenic area at the foot of a mountain range. It is difficult to cover all those tombs unless one is a fanatic and tombs buff. In any case only one or two tombs were open to public. Nothing spectacular about the place except that it is scenic, but there must be more to it than what we saw as it is another World Heritage Site. I, however, remember the lunch that was hosted – about the finest lunch that I had during my brief sojourn in China. Looking at the facilities at the Great Wall and the Ming tombs and later even at other places one must appreciate the Chinese efforts and that nothing of this kind is available in our country even now at the tourist places. Neither there are decent eating places, nor are there shops selling curios or memorabilia for tourists.  

  

We have all heard about the Tiananmen Square. It was made more popular outside China by a revolutionary rush for democracy spearheaded by students in 1989. The Square, however, has generally been famous for demonstrations and marches. The Chinese official parades and military displays are also held here. Constructed in the 15^th

Outside Mao's tomb

Century by the Ming Dynasty adjoining the Forbidden City, it is the largest square in the world covering around 450,000 square metres. Chairman Mao’s mausoleum is located here as also the Monument to the People’s Heroes. Apart from the Gates it is flanked by the Great Hall of the People and the National Museum of China.  The place is spectacular and one cannot but get amazed by its sheer scale.

We also had a taste of Chinese performing arts. One evening we were taken to a piano recital – by the musician who, we were told, had stood second in the world piano playing championships. The recital started on a slow note but towards the end it became slightly athletic, ending in a crescendo of sorts. On another evening we were at a circus. Chinese are known for their acrobatic acumen. What interested me most was the sight of a panda – white, furry and roly-poly with two black blobs for eyes. We also were lucky to visit the famous Peking Opera. Conceptualised in 18^th Century, it became

Mao's tomb

popular in the Qing Dynasty, incorporating as it did music, mime, dance, acrobatics and, of course, vocal music. Silk Route was being played out with lavish sets. As the travellers passed through the Indian portion of the Route the dancers broke into a semblance of Bharat Natyam and our interpreter, Liu, sitting next to me gave me a nudge asking me to take photographs. I did her bidding and the results are in the album – not satisfactory because of the surrounding darkness and distance.  

The Beijing stay was rounded off with a banquet hosted by the Vice Minister of Communications. We sat at a huge round table with the typical Chinese rotating centre. The food was excellent and every dish was beautifully presented. The Chinese are very good at food presentation. The food in China changes from region to region and we went through several types of cuisine during our travels. In Beijing I did not find much

Peking Opera

to choose but as we progressed to Shanghai we came across more familiar tastes and flavours. In any case, I was mostly on continental food, tucking away steaks and things.

 It was at this banquet that I first came across that tough, stinging and fiery Chinese spirit Maotai. The hosts insisted on finishing it in one gulp from the little wine glass. It assaulted you in the throat and burned the insides as it went down. Maotai was, kind of, de re-gueur at the end of formal dinners everywhere we went. 

All the photos taken by self except one

DESTINATIONS: CHINA (1982)

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BEIJING

In the summer of 1982 I was put on a professional course conducted by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in Delhi, China/Philippines, Japan and Thailand. I had fellow

An old photo of Beijing Hotel

participants from Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and Indonesia. The course ran for eight weeks in Delhi after which our group was to spend four weeks in Peoples’ Republic of China (PRoC), two weeks in Japan and another couple of weeks in Thailand.

In August 1982 we were all set to leave for Beijing. A little delay in ticketing prevented us to fly via Hong Kong as the flights were heavily booked. China was just opening up and there was a rush of westerners to see the land that was considered mysterious, veiled off, as it were, by a bamboo curtain. There was no direct flight from India to China. The closest was a linkage from Karachi which was on the route of China Airline’s flight from Tirana in Albania to Beijing via Addis Ababa. The Airline used to fly to only friendly countries. While Pakistan was a friendly country Albania and Ethiopia, like China, were communist “revisionists” at that point of time.

Thirty years ago China, unlike today, was not flush with US dollars. It used to be short of the stuff – in fact, very short. It had, therefore, sealed a deal with the UPU that it would take care of us all and the allowances that were due to us would be paid to it in dollars. The Chinese Administration would advance to us a small amount of 15 yuans per day in the local currency (especially printed for foreigners) for out-of-pocket expenses. In the event, I was not advanced any hard currency before departure. What was advanced to me by the Delhi UNDP was a travellers’ cheque of measly $40.

One August morning we flew to Karachi but I had no visa for Pakistan. In fact, I couldn’t have had one as my official passport was not even endorsed for Pakistan (as also for South Africa and Israel). At the Karachi immigration my passport and that of the Bangladeshi were promptly put in a locked box to be collected before departure. The result was that both of us could not go into the arrival area. We had to loiter around in the veranda without even drinking-water, leave alone snacks or cold drinks. There was no vendor around anyway.

Thankfully, the China Airline flight arrived on time and the cabin crew served dinner soon after take-off. That put to rest my hunger. It was rather late when we finished the dinner but Chinese passengers were chattering away. They seemed like a talkative lot. The Australian consultant, Pat Kearney, told me there were no seats available even on this flight too and the Chinese Administration had off-loaded seven Chinese at Karachi to accommodate us. Rather unusual, but the Chinese Administration could take such extraordinary measures without anybody protesting. The flight was over the Himalayas and after nine hours or so in the air we touched down at Beijing around six in the morning.

The Airport was nothing much, though, it was certainly better than what we had then in Bombay and Delhi – but not like the new massive one they have got now. It was here that I came across for the first time the automated walkway which saves the passengers the effort at least for some distances of walking and lugging the baggage. These have since become common in Indian bigger airports. They now even have a name –“travellator” (to rhyme with escalator?) The formalities were completed in a jiffy because of the rep of the Chinese Administration and soon we were on a rather narrow road to Beijing in an air-conditioned Toyota minibus.

We were put up at the Beijing Hotel – a fairly old hotel, a contemporary of Taj Mahal Palace of Bombay. Like the one in Bombay, it had an old block and modern-looking newer block. Its construction had commenced in 1900 and was completed in 1915. It had hosted many distinguished people from Sun Yat Sen, Ho Chi Minh, to Nikita

A recent photo of the same hotel

Khrushchev and Richard Nixon.  I was allotted a room in the older block with that typical old-world charm. The Chinese aesthetics made it more welcoming and hospitable. Located close to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square we were all very comfortably placed.

Only, we could not have walked on to these well-known places on our own any time of our choosing. Foreigners, as we were told, needed to be escorted. Only certain areas of the country were at that time open to foreigners. For instance, in our four weeks in the country we were to visit Beijing, Xian, Nanjing, Soochow, Hangchow and Shanghai – a tourist circuit that was initially opened for foreigners in late 1970s and early '80s. We were to do the same circuit and escorted right through to several tourist sites in the six cities.

A little before eight on the second morning an interpreter arrived to pick us up and take to the headquarters. Roads were largely empty with no motor vehicles but there were lots of bicycles and electric trolley buses. Signs of China opening up could be discerned from billboards of famous Japanese firms like Hitachi, National, Citizen Watches and so on.

The Chinese working hours are long – from 8.00 AM to 12 noon and from 2 PM to 6.00 PM with a lunch break of two hours for all the six days of the week. The first day in office was as usual – speeches of welcome and the response by the consultant. The top bosses of Chinese Postal Administration seemed to have made it a point to be present. But they all were an informal lot. All wearing light grey bush shirts, they were somewhat surprised to see us all in suits and ties. As soon as the formalities were over they gestured to us to pull out the ties and things. It was indeed uncomfortable wearing a tie in that humid heat. Beijing in August can be uncomfortably warm. A bit of refreshments followed and then the Course commenced with visits to field units in Beijing.

Photos of Beijing Hotel are from the Internet

(To be continued)

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Kanas National Park sets an example for india

China is generally known for the environmental degradation that it has wrought in its various regions in its quest for rapid economic growth. Reports of extensive desertification, contamination of its rivers, air pollution, acid-rains and so on frequently emanate from the country. That it has been taking firm steps to protect and nurture its natural assets – of late, with greater vigour – is, however, not so well-known. It has created numerous national parks in several batches since 1982, with the last and the seventh batch of national parks coming into existence in 2008. As on date the country has as many as 208 national parks. Massive investments are being made to modernise these parks, conserve their ecology and to provide good and sufficient facilities for inland and foreign tourists.

The Chinese are pretty thorough in whatever they do. This was amply exhibited during the last Olympics held at Beijing. In their pursuit of thoroughness they can go the whole hog as they have a couple of trillion dollars of foreign currency reserves to back them up. Besides, an authoritarian way of governance, too, helps. In so far as national parks are concerned they seem to take care of every aspect to ensure that the environment is preserved and the human impact on it is minimised, the locals are taken care of and tourism flourishes. This approach is exemplified by the Kanas National Park, the latest addition in the, seemingly, ever-growing list of Chinese national parks.

Not many would have heard of Lake Kanas, around which Kanas National Park has been created. Established in 2008, the Park is located in Xinjiang province in north-west China and is, perhaps, the world’s largest at around 10,000 square kilometres. It is a vast area much of which is inaccessible. The park is in the shadows of the Altai Mountains that spread across Central Asia, beginning in Russia, stretching through Mongolia and Kazakhstan and ending in Xinjiang. It is scenic with jagged peaks, forests of birch and fir, grasslands that bloom in summers and rivers that flow by with their crystal- clear waters. It hosts a rich wildlife, inter alia, of birds and bears and is inhabited by nomadic Mongol and Kazakh herders.

What India is currently trying to do in its national parks the Chinese have already done it. We are yet to demarcate the core and buffer areas in all our national parks, and at places, such as in Madhya Pradesh, there are even misgivings about delineating such areas for reasons not exactly scientific. The Chinese have divided Kanas National Park into three zones – the “core zone”, the “experimental zone” and the “buffer zone”. The 1700 square kilometres “core zone” is totally barred for entry of people and is inviolate, limited human activities like research or “exploratory tourism” are allowed within 7800 square kilometres of “experimental zone” and tourism is allowed only in the “buffer zone of 500 square kilometres” which has been open to tourism for some time and has already been environmentally disturbed. The “Buffer Zone” has also been the home to the natives of the area, Tuwa, an indigenous hunting and herding community of Mongol stock, numbering less than 2000.

More importantly, the administration has already determined the carrying-capacity of tourists in the park, according to which the buffer could support a million tourists in a year without in anyway damaging the park’s environment. The number of tourists has already touched around 700,000. The administration, not as lax as in India, is not going to allow the number of tourists to go beyond the one million mark. Tourism is important as, indeed, it is for every administration. Although, the Chinese people are now much richer than what they were a couple of decades ago and have become peripatetic yet there is no show of indulgence towards them. Obviously, interests of conservation of the park have been retained as of prime importance.

The administration has, at great cost, even relocated 30 kilometres away a number of hotels that had come up on the shores of Lake Kanas before the area was designated as a national park. Tourism close to wetlands always is harmful. No wonder the lake has been rendered free from their deleterious effects. At the new site of hotels also preservation of the environment was given its due importance. Attempts have been made to keep it clean and green by making provision for treating sewage and arranging for proper disposal of the garbage that is generated.

Again, with a view to reducing the human impact on the ecology of the park, the Chinese administration is moving the Tuwa from their scattered hamlets in the mountains to a central Tuwa village. They are being made to give up their traditional way of life for the sake of environmental conservation and lending a helping hand to promote tourism. They will no longer be hunters and herders and, instead, will earn their keep by taking active part in the tourism trade. Not only will they be taking tourists on horse-riding expeditions, they will and are also being encouraged to open shops and restaurants. They are also being encouraged to extend their homes in order to accommodate tourists to provide the visitors with an ethnic experience. In fact, the engagement of Tuwas in the tourist trade of the park has already commenced. The provincial tourism organisation engages some of them as drivers, cleaners, guards, etc.

The various measures taken by the administration has already started paying dividends. Swans, which had disappeared from the Kanas Lake, have now returned. Likewise, other rare animals have also returned to the buffer zone. Although it is generally admitted that some key species are decreasing due to the degradation of the habitat, yet the area has begun to get repopulated by, among others, brown bear, snow leopards, red deer, many species of birds.

Kanas National Park holds out a very good example to the Indian authorities for management of national parks and other protected areas. Although India has a far longer history of conservation of its ecologically sensitive natural sites, yet it has not been able to prevent their degradation that has occurred over time. Unfortunately, In India there are certain holy cows which it refuses to get rid of. Tourism is one. Howsoever damaging it is the authorities, leave alone banning it (like China), wouldn’t even control it. Whether it is a so-called holy river, a Himalayan glacial area of fragile eco-systems, an important wetland – like the one in Bhopal – or a tiger-reserve, tourism of the most malefic kind is winked at, even promoted, for the sake of generating revenues. Worse, the guardians of the Indian forests and wildlife fight court-battles to continue uncontrolled tourism in core areas of tiger reserves which the national government seeks to keep free from human interference. More importantly, despite availability of recommendations of experts in regard to carrying-capacities of tourists in the national parks, these are hardly ever acted upon. Then again, hotels and resorts may be crowding around the reserves, even choking the wildlife migratory corridors (like in the Corbett Tiger Reserve), yet none would ever try and relocate them away from these protected enclaves. It is the powerful vested interests that call the shots. As regards the forest-dwellers, steps are taken only to relocate them and that too far away from their native surroundings – never ever trying to integrate them into the efforts to conserve the parks, make use of their innate knowledge of the local biodiversity or to take their assistance in providing to tourists a different experience.

It is time the country changed its attitudes towards conservation of its natural assets. Taking a leaf out of China’s experience it needs to improve governance within the national parks, which will be good for our natural assets – or whatever is left of them – as also for the country.

(The piece was inspired by a feature in the May 2009 issue of Geographic magazine, the monthly periodical of the Royal Geographic Society)