Come February 4 and I feel nostalgic remembering the day I had seen the then paramount leader of China, Deng Xiaoping, from so close. It was in 1978, and I was studying at the local Bhaktapur Campus (College). Rumors of his coming to Bhaktapur Durbar Square (on the second day of his sojourn in Nepal) went around like a wildfire and it was me who, at that time, had persuaded almost all of my class-mates to bunk the class. Just a matter of minutes, the euphoria shot up and almost all of the city’s schools and colleges, and even many government offices in the locality, came to a virtual standstill. Right during my early school days, I had read biographies of Mao Zedong and Zhou En-lai, and the ‘hangover’ of a popular book titled ‘In the Long March with Chairman Mao’ (in Hindi) was such it had made me passionate to have a glimpse of charismatic Chinese leaders for myself. In ‘China Pictorial’, the colorful English/Hindi tabloid which comes all the way from Beijing, I—more often than not—had seen pictures of Chinese leaders either shaking hands with their foreign guests or happily conversing with peasants with stalks of paddy in their hands, but I had seen none of them in person. So, how could I have afforded to miss such a rare ‘opportunity’!
Security was not that tight then, so I could see him merely from a few feet distance. In an utter excitement, I still remember shouting at him, ‘Welcome Leader Deng to Bhaktapur!’ With a captivating smile on the face, he simply passed by, constantly raising his right hand in reciprocity to the euphoric applause that he was receiving from the people gathered at the historic square. The man was short in height, rather too short par my anticipation. But now, 44 years on, when I recount the political, diplomatic and the strategic spectrum of those days as well as the series of epoch-making accomplishments that the People’s Republic did achieve thereafter, I feel that the short man that I had seen then was tall enough to dwarf many of his tall contemporaries all around the world.
If you measure him by the State hierarchy and protocol, Deng Xiaoping was only a deputy prime minister (of China), but wherever he went, he was given the reception and respect par that given to visiting heads of the State and government. That was the case here, too. There was Kirti Nidhi Bista, the Nepalese Prime Minister, who hosted him in full zeal and fervor. Moreover, King Birendra and Queen Aishworya, who were in the far-west Surkhet for their month-long regional tour, had returned to Kathmandu midway to greet their distinguished guest from across the Himalayas. Interestingly, just the day before, the visiting Yugoslav Vice-President was flown to Surkhet for an audience with the monarch.
Memory: Deng Xiaoping’s Nepal visit (February 1978)
An avid enthusiast in history and international relations, I retrospect today only to find how complex the regional and international scenario was in those days. Owing to his own personal weaknesses and shortcomings, Hua Guofeng, the chosen successor of Mao Zedong, was fast going down into oblivion, paving ways for the visionary Deng’s reinstatement in the CPC and the State as well as the application of his flagship agenda, ‘Socialism with Chinese characteristics’ on the Chinese soil. As the entire world later witnessed it with awe, his reinstatement as the Vice-Chairman of the CPC Central Committee, Vice-Chairman of the powerful Military Commission and the Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on July 22, 1977 was a huge turning point not only for China and the Chinese people, but also for the entire humankind. With him wielding the helm, China did not look back, and thanks to his vision and guts, the destiny of all human beings—irrespective of their colors, creed and the continents that they are living in—today is different.
If I’m not mistaken, Nepal was Deng’s second foreign destination, the first being Myanmar (then Burma), after his comeback in Beijing. Just a month back, Kathmandu had unrolled red carpet for the Indian PM Morarji Desai, who, right during his stay in Kathmandu, was categorical in saying ‘No’ to Nepal’s ‘Peace Zone’ proposal. The seven-point proposal, floated by King Birendra three years earlier during his coronation, by then had received well-deserved acclamation from several countries all around the world, but the Indian establishment, with biased briefings and backing by the bureaucracy and intelligence, was there to thwart it to the hilt. With an outright rebuff, both covert and overt, they simply intended to give the impression to the world around that no matter how many countries are there supporting it, it is they whose version and ‘verdict’ counted the most! Against this very backdrop, Deng’s short but significant trip was construed as a “counter-balancing move” against India’s high-handed attitude and behavior. But the Chinese paramount leader had something different in his mind. A mature statesman, he, while ensuring stability in China and prosperity for the Chinese people, had to bring about a measurable thaw in relations with their former foes—the USA and India. So, when a proposal on making a bilateral mechanism for harnessing Nepal’s huge potential in hydro-power was put forth, he simply smiled and shrugged off. Rather, he candidly told the media people, “China is eager to develop friendly relations with India.” The message was clear. First, he wished to downplay the notion that his ‘high profile’ visit was clearly a counter-balance (against India). Secondly, using the Kathmandu platform, he was delivering a message to the entire world about the importance that China intends to give to relations with a regional power like India and an international power like the USA. And that really worked! Thanks to Deng’s prudence and the Chinese government’s quick action, some 11 months later, on January 1, 1979, a ‘Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations’ was issued simultaneously in Beijing and Washington DC, which formally paved ways for full diplomatic relations between the two former foes. Two months later, on March 1, embassies in both the ‘big’ capitals came into full operation.
In the meantime, a thaw was also seen in China’s relations with India. Consequently, the then Indian Foreign Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee set foot in Beijing in February 1979, thereby making him the first high-ranking official to visit China after they fought a bloody war in October 1962. But while he was still in Beijing, a full-fledged war broke out between China and Vietnam. Vajpayee rushed back home, and it took nearly 10 years for Rajiv Gandhi, the Indian Prime Minister, to shake hands with Deng in the Great Hall of the People. The minutes-long handshake between the two leaders had made a hot headline all around the world at that time. If I’m not mistaken, the message left behind in Kathmandu by Deng in February 1978 did not go futile.
Years ago, I somewhere had read that the last wish of the charismatic Chinese Premier Zhou En-lai was to fly over the Himalayas and shake hands with the Nepalese leaders. Zhou had visited Nepal twice, the last being in 1960 when the Sino-Indian rift was at its highest peak. Though he could not expedite his last wish, Deng, as mature and seasoned as Zhou himself, emerged and fulfilled the ‘Chinese dream’ 18 years later. In many aspects, the 1978 visit was indeed a landmark. It not only cemented the age-old relations between the two governments and the peoples (of Nepal and China), but also brought the two Asian giants together. In the long run, the visit added one more brick on the path to mutual trust and understanding among States and societies throughout the world.
Much water has flowed down both the Bagmati and Yangtze rivers since then. In Nepal, the whole political system has changed, but much to our chagrin, the leaders that are supposed to spearhead the nation to a brighter future have failed to catch up with the fast changing time and live up to their expectations. Contrary to the state of affairs here, China is not what she used to be 44 years ago. Making an unprecedented quantum jump, China is now a brilliant power house which, through its Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI), aspires to bring the world community further together. Perhaps she is the only country in human history where merely a single generation could bring about such a huge change. When the second generation took the cue, China could make herself so strong that she now can influence not only States and societies, but also the time and destiny of the entire humankind. Obviously inspired by the huge achievements made by the prudent leadership and hard-working people in China, I—together with my old and new friends—now do wait for another Deng, this time not from across the Himalayas but right from within Nepal.
cas.bhaktapur@gmail.com, heritage.movies.nepal@gmail.com
