China deceived naive Nehru: CIA

New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru was a naive leader who China deceived on the border issue. That's the spin given by recently declassified CIA documents of that period. China's Premier Zhou en-Lai deceived and misled Nehru on the border issue, say these documents, which date back to the 1950s.

The documents say that Zhou en-Lai took advantage of Prime Minister Nehru's naiviety and desire for good relations with Beijing.

He was able to convince Nehru that the border issue was a petty problem better sorted out by local officials.

He told Nehru that Communist China had not had time to correct maps prepared by the previous regime - these maps showed Ladakh as Chinese territory.

This went on for more than five years, enough time for China to build a highway across Aksai Chin in Ladakh to aid its occupation of Tibet.

However, a former senior Indian diplomat, Vinod Khanna, says he's not suprrised. "We have to remember who is writing this report and what period of history it refers to. As you know, the US was very angry with India's non-aligned policy," says Khanna.

The documents have revived interest in reports that Nehru tried to keep a lid on China's activities by striking a secret deal with Zhou en-Lai no less.

Apparently Nehru promised to recognise China's occupation of Tibet through a border trade agreement.

In return Zhou en-Lai committed himself to an eight year moratorium on the border in Ladakh. That moratorium expired in 1962, when India and China went to war.

However, CIA documents released earlier have proved accurate, for example, the anti-Indian tenor of conversations between Zhou en-Lai and Kissinger or the Chinese leader urging Pakistan to counter India during a visit to Karachi in 1964. A year later India and Pakistan were at war.

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