It is a sign of the maturity of the Indian people that in politics there is nothing sacred and public opinion is always willing and almost eager to take a second, third and any number of fresh looks at policies. It is also understand¬able to argue that the world situation has changed conside¬rably since 1962 and what happened then need not be taken as freezing relations between India and China. But what is unnecessary, and in fact regrettable, is, in the process of recasting policies in the light of fresh circumst¬ances, to indulge in self-flagell¬ation and to contend that past policies were mistaken or, what is even less justified, to argue that these policies were founded on erroneous facts. The desire for friendship with China can be supported with¬out pretending that our case on the border with China is weak. The two are independ¬ent of each other, and to assume that they are not shows an intellectual weakness which pseudo-scholarship is only too ready to exploit.
May-June 1982, volume 6, No 6