Chapter 20 India Revisited

Before dawn on April 2, a huge passenger plane with the slogan "Long Live India-China Friendship" hanging on the wall was steadily heading towards Delhi. I suppressed my excitement and counted the swaying spring stars in the blue sky outside the plane window. Suddenly, rows of neat lights on the horizon swirled into our eyes, "Delhi is in sight!" We couldn't help cheering up. The plane slanted its wings and lowered slowly, finally "down to earth", then slowly turned a few big turns and stopped.The plane door opened, and many people came up. The first one was our old friend Mr. Sendral, who was wearing a white scarf and smiling... We crowded to the stairs, looked down at the lights, and faced two big banners "Asian countries" Long live the Conference" and "Welcome Messengers of Unity and Peace" are coming towards us.Under the slogan, there are countless familiar faces cheering and waving to us. As soon as we walked up the ladder, we were surrounded by many arms of "the more people move forward". The stacked garlands, under the twinkling of the photographic spotlight, is a warm and noisy interrogation...  

On the eve of the opening of the Asian National Conference, we made the best use of the time, visited many old and new friends, and accepted the visits of many friends.During the fourteen months, I feel that not only the young people appear taller and more mature, but also the old people are more energetic and optimistic.There was an air of warmth and solidarity in our conversation. "Panchixila" has become a substitute for greetings, greetings, and blessings.Yes, the Hindi word for the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence - "Panchsila", includes everything!When we met each other, we clapped our hands together and said "Panchsila" with a smile. We had expressed all the aspirations of the more than 900 million people of China and India, and the entire aspirations of the 1.4 billion people in Asia.

The meeting of Asian countries opened on the evening of April 6th.The lawn of the Constitution Club was filled with guests in dense layers. When the Chinese delegation entered the venue, flowers rained down and cheers thundered, "Long live the friendship between India and China", "The people of India and China are brothers" The slogan, among the welcome crowd, undulated like a raging wave.Amid the overwhelmed nodding and waving, we finally sat down and looked up. On the rostrum, in front of the beautiful and brilliant pattern that read "Long live the Asian Nations Conference" and painted a dove of peace, there were people in different colorful clothes. Heads of delegation in splendid oriental costumes.Mrs. Rahimiwala Nehru, the chairman, delivered an opening speech and introduced the heads of the 15 Asian delegations attending the meeting one by one. Every delegation was warmly applauded in the meeting, especially during the meeting. When Guo Moruo, the head of the Chinese delegation, came to the stage, there was a lot of joy!In Guo Moruo's speech, he just said: "On behalf of the 600 million people in China, I pay tribute to the people of India and Asia..." The following words were swallowed up by thunderous applause.How much the people of Asia love and respect the Chinese people!They know intimately that the 600 million peace-loving Chinese people are a powerful force defending peace in Asia and the world.

The meeting schedule is from April 7th. In the vast conference hall filled with golden colors, the seats of the representatives of various countries are arranged in alphabetical order, with the representatives of China sitting behind the representatives of Ceylon and before the representatives of Japan.Looking back, there are rows of hundreds of faces with different skin colors, all shining with enthusiastic and excited eyes.The significance of the Asian National Conference is too great!This is the first time in history that the peace-loving Asian people with a long and beautiful culture have united to decide their own future.As Dr. India Singh, Secretary of the General Assembly, said in his political report: "Today, Asia, which has awakened, is once again filled with renewed vitality. We have decided that from now on, we will determine our own destiny, and we will not allow any People behind our backs decide our fate."

For many years, the labor-loving and peace-loving Asian people have suffered cruel exploitation and enslavement by the colonialists in their vast and fertile lands, living a life of extreme poverty and backwardness.In the minds of the 1.4 billion people, there are still painful memories: warships and merchant ships of the colonists came from overseas, and the invaders roared and leaped to the land of Asia like a group of hungry beasts. They used guns, knives and cannon fire to force the owners of the land to open roads for them, build houses, open oil mines, and plant rubber plantations. The Asian people shed blood and sweat on their docks to send away their treasures for the colonialists; Outside the wall of the park, which was developed and built by myself, with flowers like brocades and grass like rugs, people who peeped through the fence.

This inhuman and miserable life will eventually come to an end, and the Asian people have awakened and stood up.Now, some Asian countries have gained independence, and some are on the road to independence. This common experience and common destiny has made the 1.4 billion Asian people realize that only by uniting tightly can they effectively oppose Imperial colonialism, to defend the peace of Asia and the world. Mrs. Rahimiwala Nehru said, "We Asians need peace more than anyone else. Most of us are just beginning to rebuild our country... The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence point the way to maintain peace."

But the aggression bloc headed by US imperialism is not reconciled to retreat, nor is it reconciled to allow the Asian people to rebuild their homes. They have seized military bases all over the world, occupied our territory Taiwan, and manufactured atomic weapons of mass destruction , in an attempt to launch a new war of aggression. The representative of Syria said it well: "We want to remind everyone that a new imperialism has emerged around us. This so-called 'new' is only in terms of form... They know that the colonies are going to be free. Kicked out, but trying to sneak in through the back door. The new method they invented was all kinds of military alliances and treaties."

Guo Moruo, the head of the Chinese delegation, said: "...the Chinese people will never give in to the threat of war from American militants. We want to liberate Taiwan for the sake of the safety of the motherland, and also for the peace of Asia and the world .” Jiichiro Matsumoto, head of the Japanese delegation, said: "The Japanese people suffered firsthand from the actual disaster of the atomic bomb during the Second World War, and suffered greatly from the hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Island. ... We must prevent And smash military alliances formed solely for the benefit of Western countries. We must eliminate all foreign military bases in Asia, including the use of nuclear weapons."

There have been too many painful and impassioned statements by representatives of various countries against colonialism.Mrs. Rahimiwala Nehru's concluding sentence is: "All forms of colonialism - overt or covert - must go." The five-day meeting period has passed in a hurry.On the closing day, dozens of children from Delhi who came to present flowers to the presidium arrived at the venue from 7:30 am on the 10th and waited until 11:30 am.They sat neatly in the back seats, whispering and smiling without looking tired.These children also know that these peace fighters from various Asian countries are doing their best for everyone and their happy future. The longer the discussion, the stronger the foundation of unity and peace, and their happiness will also be strengthened. bigger.

The closing ceremony began at 11:30. In this tall hall, it was really "sitting without gaps"!The journalists' seats were even more packed with breath-holding and focused reporters, who were scrambling to spread the news that people in Asia and the world were eagerly waiting for.The peace fighters stepped onto the rostrum. Those wearing white hats and red clothes came to the stage one by one and read out the resolution proposed by the presidium. With constant applause, 16 resolutions on political, economic, social, scientific, cultural and other issues and appeals from religious circles were unanimously adopted.When the resolutions on granting the People's Republic of China legal status in the United Nations, Taiwan should be returned to China, and the U.S. military must withdraw from Taiwan were passed, the audience stood up and burst into applause.In the end, dozens of women and children from the city of Derry paid tribute to the Bureau by laying flowers.The children in Delhi, who had been waiting for a long time, were all smiles at this time, and under the push and embrace of their mothers and teachers, they carried flowers and clay toys and walked onto the stage in a single file.When they were lifted to the table and hugged by the bureau, the audience became a sea of ​​cheers!

The chairman announced the closing of the meeting, and all the staff applauded warmly again. After leaving their seats, the representatives congratulated and hugged each other one after another. Everyone was so happy that they shed tears.Many delegates who participated in other international conferences expressed joy and admiration that, like the Asian National Conference, in just five days, so many clear and forceful resolutions have been passed. The spiritual harmony and great achievements are unprecedented. unprecedented. After the conference ended, contacts between individuals and groups became more frequent.Those of us who have been to India simply sacrificed the opportunity to travel and visit.In hotels, at people's homes, at tea parties, receptions, in cars, at airports, in the early morning and at midnight, our old friends from India and other countries such as Japan and Ceylon... three or five people or even a dozen people get together happily, Talking about the past and the future, we all feel that the power of peace is expanding day by day, and the tide of peace is surging, spreading all over the world!We are optimistic and happy, but we also remind each other that warmongers are unwilling to fail. The more successful we are, the angrier and crazier they will be. We must redouble our vigilance and redouble our efforts. When it comes to social contact, there are always more than 77 times between the Chinese delegation and Indian and other delegations, as well as between the Indian people—not counting individual exchanges—the biggest scene is the Municipal Committee Square and two mass meetings held in front of Gandhi Square.The Chinese delegation received an extremely warm welcome when they entered the arena and took the stage.We hang overlapping garlands, receive thick holy water, and look at the enthusiastic faces around us. We realize the great power of China-India friendship and the growing power of peace. We were all entertained individually by the Indian arts, women, academia, science, etc., all delegates and by groups of Indian MPs.At these receptions, we met many people who have been to China, as well as people who will visit China, and our conversations were extremely cordial and warm.We all feel that the joint declaration of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence by the prime ministers of China and India has taken a big step forward in the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.At the same time, it also made us deeply understand what the representative of Jordan mentioned in his speech: "We believe that a strong and independent India and a fully developed and free China are the backbone of our freedom and security, and the backbone of all peace-loving people. The guarantee of the happiness of the people." The people of our two countries should always unite closely with the peace-loving people in Asia and the world, and contribute all our strength to the defense of peace! On the night of April 22, we took off under the stars again.Caressing the garlands on our necks and looking down at the waving crowd at the airport, we did not lose our souls, but our hearts were filled with joy.The friendship and unity among the people makes the world smaller and smaller. Our "goodbye" is easy. Let us work harder to defend peace. Farewell, beautiful India!Farewell, peaceful people of India! Long live China-India friendship! Long live "Panchi Sheila"!June 10, 1955.