Sino - Indian Conlfict and international politics in the Indian Sub - continent (1926-1966)

Sino-Indian conflict, shocking and disquieting while it endured, left an abiding imprint on the politics of the region. Its timing was crucial. Erupting in an uneasy international milieu, dominated by an apparent collision between the Americans and the Russians on Cuba, and a fast-growing rupture of Sino-Soviet alliance, the border war on the Himalayas became a catalyst of new dilemmas and aspirations for all concerned. The US, attentive to multi-dimensional details, responded in a manner characteristic of a global power with a network of alliances, commitments and objectives. Similarly, the Soviets found in the changed situation ample
possibilities to counteract the strains of their split with China. For the time being, therefore, South Asia became an area of identity
between the two Super Powers.
This aspect comes out vividly in the present book. The crux of the study, however, revolves around India-China-Pakistan tangle, which, arising from the dust-heap of Sino-Indian friendship, turned into one of the most important determinants of the course of events during the period under survey. The change in Pakistan's standing in Peking whereby Pakistan became not merely an ally but an indispensable factor in Chinese policy towards South Asia went beyond the scope of emergent Sino-Pak "collusion" against India.
The book offers a new set of interpretations of Sino-Pak entente, its nature and meaning to the stark reality of Indo-Pak rivalry.
Herein lies its additional value to the existing literature on the subject.