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Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s1: A. Concepts

Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s1

Language
English

Contents

A. Concepts

Panchsheel (Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence)

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Panchsheel, the principles guiding interstate relations and diplomatic policies jointly initiated by India and China, is also known as the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence or Five Principles. The

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Prime Ministers of India and China in Beijing in 1954

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specific contents of the Five Principles are: mutual respect of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference into each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.

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In December 1953, delegations of the Chinese Government and Indian Government held negotiations to discuss the relations between India and China in the Chinese Tibetan region in Beijing. On December 31, the first day of the negotiations, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai proposed the Five Principles of “mutual respect of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference into each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence,” to deal with the relations between the two countries when meeting the delegation of Indian Government. The Indian delegation accepted this proposal and took these principles as the guiding principles for the negotiations. The negotiations were concluded on April 29, 1954 and representatives of both countries signed the *Agreement on Trade and Intercourse between the Tibet Region of China and India* and relevant exchange of notes. The agreement designated the above-mentioned Five Principles as the guiding principles for bilateral relations in the preface.

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On June 25, 1954, Zhou Enlai was invited to pay an official visit to India. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru suggested extending the Five Principles to Southeast Asia so as to build a peaceful region free from wars and fear. In the joint statement published later, he made it clear that the Five Principles was applicable not only to India and China, but also to other Asian countries and all countries in the world. As proposed by Jawaharlal Nehru, the Five Principles applied the Indian religious term 'Panchsheel'.

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On June 29, 1954, Zhou Enlai and U Nu, Prime Minister of Myanmar, issued a joint statement in Rangoon (present-day Yangon) and affirmed the universal significance of the Five Principles for guiding international relations. Later, India and China applied the Five Principles extensively to international relations, which was accepted by most countries in the world. The Five Principles have become one of the important principles for international relations.

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(*Zhang Minyu*)

Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai

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'Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai' “印度中国亲如兄弟” (India and China are brothers) was a slogan popular in India and China in the 1950s. India and China were first described as 'brothers' by Liang Qichao in Beijing in 1924. It was actually used to mobilise the Chinese intellectuals to welcome the Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore. It was also mentioned

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A show to commemorate the 60ᵗʰ anniversary of the establishment of China-India Friendship Association

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by Tagore in his lectures in China the same year. Later, the concept of “India and China are brothers” became a popular Indian slogan during the 1950. India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru coined the slogan 'Hindi Chini Bhai-Bhai' in the 1950s to glorify India-China relations. This can be regarded as an indication of the effort made by Nehru to implement the original Tagorean perception. During this period, based on this famous slogan, a song was composed by legendary Bengali singer, Debabrata Biswas. He performed the song at various places in China when he had visited China as a member of the Indian Cultural Delegation in the early 1950s, and was warmly appreciated by the Chinese audience. These performances were organised by Chinese People’s Committee in the Defence of World Peace, the organisation that hosted the Delegation.