Former Union minister and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has once again sparked controversy with his remarks on China. During a speech at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia, Aiyar referred to the 1962 Indo-China war as an “alleged Chinese invasion.”
In a video that has gone viral, he is heard saying, “In October 1962, the Chinese allegedly invaded India.” When an audience member questioned his use of “allegedly,” Aiyar apologized, acknowledging he had used the term mistakenly. During the launch event for the book ‘Nehru’s First Recruits‘, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar remarked, “In October 1962, the Chinese allegedly invaded India. On the day that Tawang fell, the foreign service exams began in London. When they were over, the newspapers used to make references to me as being very left wing and a communist”
#WATCH | Delhi: At the book launch of 'Nehru's First Recruits', Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar says, "… In October 1962, the Chinese allegedly invaded India. On the day that Tawang fell, the foreign service exams began in London. When they were over, the newspapers used to… pic.twitter.com/BiNnvayyqr
— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2024
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly criticized Aiyar’s comments, with BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya accusing him of attempting to “whitewash the Chinese invasion.” Malviya pointed to historical actions by Congress leaders, claiming Nehru, Rahul Gandhi, and others had compromised India’s stance on China. He cited Nehru’s decision against a permanent UN Security Council seat in favor of China, a secret MoU signed by Rahul Gandhi, funds accepted by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation from the Chinese Embassy, and market access granted to Chinese companies under Sonia Gandhi’s UPA government, which hurt Indian MSMEs. Malviya asserted that Aiyar’s recent comments were part of a continued pattern.
Amit Malviya in his official X account stated, “Mani Shankar Aiyar, speaking at the FCC, during launch of a book called Nehru’s First Recruits, refers to Chinese invasion in 1962 as ‘alleged’. This is a brazen attempt at revisionism. Nehru gave up India’s claim on permanent seat at the UNSC in favour of the Chinese, Rahul Gandhi signed a secret MoU, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation accepted funds from the Chinese Embassy and published reports recommending market access for Chinese companies, based on them, Sonia Gandhi’s UPA opened up Indian market for Chinese goods, hurting MSMEs and now Congress leader Aiyar wants to whitewash the Chinese invasion, post which the Chinese have been in illegal occupation of 38,000 sq km of Indian territory. What explains Congress’s love for the Chinese?”
Mani Shankar Aiyar, speaking at the FCC, during launch of a book called Nehru’s First Recruits, refers to Chinese invasion in 1962 as ‘alleged’. This is a brazen attempt at revisionism.
Nehru gave up India’s claim on permanent seat at the UNSC in favour of the Chinese, Rahul… pic.twitter.com/Z7T0tUgJiD
— Amit Malviya (मोदी का परिवार) (@amitmalviya) May 28, 2024
The Congress party quickly distanced itself from Aiyar’s statements with General Secretary Jairam Ramesh emphasized that Aiyar had apologized unreservedly for his “mistaken” use of “alleged invasion” and attributed the error to his age. Ramesh reaffirmed that the Chinese invasion of India in 1962 was real, as were the incursions in Ladakh in May 2020, which resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and a disrupted status quo.
Congress General Secretary in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh stated in his X official account that, “Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar has subequently apologised unreservedly for using the term “alleged invasion” mistakenkly. Allowances must be made for his age. The INC distances itself from his original phraseology. The Chinese invasion of India that began on October 20, 1962 was for REAL. So too were the Chinese incursions in Ladakh in early May 2020 in which 20 of our soldiers were martyred and the status quo disturbed. The outgoing PM, however, gave a clean chit publicly to the Chinese on June 19th 2020, seriously weakening our negotiating position. 2000 sq km of territory including Depsang and Demchok remain out of bounds for Indian troops.”
Jairam Ramesh’s initially peddled that 40 Indian soldiers were martyred but later corrected it to 20 in the now-edited tweet.
Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar has subequently apologised unreservedly for using the term "alleged invasion" mistakenkly. Allowances must be made for his age. The INC distances itself from his original phraseology.
The Chinese invasion of India that began on October 20 1962 was for… https://t.co/74oXfL1Ur2
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) May 28, 2024
Jairam Ramesh is currently asserting that the Modi administration exonerated China for its unlawful incursions into Indian territory in 2020. He references a partial video of Prime Minister Modi’s comments from a June 2020 all-party meeting. However, PM Modi did acknowledge the Galwan clashes.
The Prime Minister stated, “Neither have they intruded into our border, nor has any post been taken over by them (China). Twenty of our jawans were martyred, but those who dared Bharat Mata, they were taught a lesson.”
Commie Days of Mani Shankar Aiyar:
During his time at Cambridge, Mani Shankar Aiyar was a full-blown Communist. In 1986, Journalist Dhiren Bhagat in the satirical magazine, Private Eye, described Mani Shankar Aiyar as a “privileged asshole” who had “romped” as “general secretary of a local Communist cell” to raise money for the Chinese against the backdrop of the India-China war. This was again republished in his book “The Contemporary Conservative,” in 1990. Here’s the excerpt from the book:
In 1962 China invaded India and while we (ineffectually) fought the yellow bastards and our wives’ knitted sweaters and donated their jewelry for the nation’s defense, this privileged asshole romped about the Backs as General Secretary of the local Communist cell raising money for the Chinese! In a just world he’d have been strung and quartered the day he came back home; the world being what it is, Mani had the gall to apply to join our foreign service. The police — reasonable enough — considered him a security risk and handed the examining authorities the file on him; Aiyar’s family pulled strings and the President finally intervened to ease Mani’s entry to the service.
Although Mani Shankar Aiyar denied that he collected any money for the Chinese on any occasion, he never sued Bhagat or the publication for defamation.
These excerpts from Bhagat’s book have once again resurfaced and gone viral. It is noteworthy that during Mani Shankar Aiyar’s tenure as Petroleum Minister, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray used this narrative to mock Aiyar following a spat over Aiyar’s critical remarks about Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Aiyar had ordered the removal of a poem by Savarkar from the Cellular Jail in the Andamans, where Savarkar had been imprisoned for 11 years. Shiv Sena has drawn extensively from Bhagat’s book, which highlights Aiyar’s days in the 1960s as a secretary member of the Cambridge unit of the Communist party.
(With Inputs From IE)
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