Sarah Paine

But actually, he felt much more in common with Russia.

Why?

Because he favored Fabian socialist economic values.

policies that were much more akin to what's going on in Russia than it was in the United States.

Moreover, the United States was segregated, which appalled Nehru.

In addition, the United States was cozying up to all the colonial powers, so Nehru thought the Russians were the better bet.

While all this is going on, the Indians were non-aligned and they treated the Chinese really generously.

And I've got a whole list of generosity.

So India immediately recognizes China in 1950.

Countries like the United States didn't forever.

And when the San Francisco Treaty, I think it's signed in 1951 in the United States, ending the war with Japan,

India refuses to sign because China and Russia aren't there to sign as well.

And then to help China break out of its diplomatic isolation at the end of the Korean War, India signs a friendship treaty with China.

And as part of that friendship treaty, it recognizes Chinese sovereignty over Tibet.

Under international law, contrary to what Vladimir Putin is doing lately, under international law, if you recognize someone's sovereignty over territory, that is permanent.

You cannot back out of it legally under international law.

So the Chinese promise, I don't know, there's something like peaceful coexistence or whatever, they're promising the Indians, but that has no permanence under international law, whereas this thing does.

And then from 1960 on, the Indians are voting to seat the People's Republic of China, not Taiwan, on the UN.

Meanwhile, in the background, all this road building is going on.

Those roads are being built between 1950 and 1957.