of the Cuban revolution in 1959; his support for the Algerian freedom
movement, the Congolese and Angolan people; his liberation of Goa. For
the duration of the China conflict, the CPI agreed to curb trade unions’
activities to ensure productivity for a war. ‘The working people of this
country realise the gravity of the situation. The working people on their
side will never repudiate their responsibilities.’^23
The CPI now attacked Nehru’s opponents and defended his policies
far more strongly than Nehru could afford to do: ‘under cover of a call to
patriotic resistance’ some people now wanted ‘to lead India into the
Western imperialist military alliances’; the Chinese attack had ‘given a
hearing to those who formerly had no hearing at all in this country’.^24
They attacked suggestions that a change of leadership was required,
stressed the need for unity behind a ‘national leader’, and successfully
placed the Swatantra Party and Jan Sangh on the defensive, forcing them
to deny that they had made such suggestions. Communists ridiculed the
Congress for saying they were behind Nehru when there were many in
the Congress against his foreign policy, against non-alignment, against
planning and against the goal of socialism. The CPI declared that despite
differences with Nehru on domestic policy, they had no differences with
him on foreign policy. This was for Nehru a welcome respite from the
relentless attacks he had suffered in Parliament over the previous weeks
and months.
On October 29, the US ambassador, John Kenneth Galbraith, offered
India US military aid; a few weeks before, Nehru had rejected an offer, but
now he accepted – military supplies were landing in India five days later
from West Germany. From the Chinese point of view, it became more
important therefore not to let the conflict drag on. By November 20, no
organised Indian military force was left in NEFA. There was now nothing
between the Chinese forces and the plains. Panic set in in Delhi; orders
were sent out to arrest pro-Chinese members of the Communist Party of
India, but this order was muddled and many centrist or pro-Moscow CPI
members were arrested; they had to be let out one by one to avoid drawing
attention to the error. That night, Nehru panicked and – this from the
father of non-alignment – requested US military intervention: unknown
to others, he asked for American-manned bomber and fighter squadrons
to go into action against the Chinese.^25
And then, just before midnight on November 20, the Chinese
announced a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew from NEFA. Clearly this248 HIGH NEHRUVIANISM AND ITS DECLINE, c. 1955–63