Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

DELLANDING OFFICE OF y State By Dept. DE B NLT, Date E.O. Guidelines, March 9-9-85 6, 1982 12065, Sec. 3-402 THE SECRETARY OF STATE WASHINGTON April 29, 1952 SECRET SECURITY INFORMATION- SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS INDIA Ambassador Bowles had several lengthy talks with Madame Pandit prior to her departure on Saturday for Peking on a "cultural mis - sion" to China. Bowles says that before her departure Madame Pandit had become more reconciled to her mission than she had been at first when she had complained to him that her brother, Prime Minister Nehru, had forced her into the role as chief of mission and that her position would be impos - sible: if she gave a bad report of China she would be accused of creating bitter relations with a neighboring country and if she said anything pleasant about China her American friends would describe her as a fellow traveller. She said that the schedule she had received from the Chinese was very full and offered no free choice or any time for discussions with Chinese officials, but that she would refuse to be tied down and intended to stay in Peking a good part of the time and insist on an opportunity for full discussions with Mao Tse-tung, Chou En-lai and others of her own choosing. She said she had asked Nehru to write a letter with a definite request to Mao Tse-tung - to give her time for the discussions she wanted. Madame Pandit said that half her delegation had worked in Washington, knew the US and was friendly to it (with one possible exception), and the delegation could be counted on to try to modify China's pre sent bitterness toward the US and urge the Chinese a to steer /course that was independent of the USSR. She said she was not particularly optimistic about what she could accomplish in this respect but she would use her knowledge of Russia to point out to Mao and Chou the folly of acting as a Soviet stooge. Madame Pandit also revealed that she had agreed to write a book for Prentiss Hall on her visit to China and was interested in getting in serialized in the newspapers. Bowles pointed out that her original concern about the dilemma she would have to face on returning from China seemed valid and this might affect her book. She replied that she would talk with Bowles in absolute frankness upon her return and seek his advice as to what to do. Mme. Pandit said that Nehru had emphasized to her his conviction that he did not know what path Communist China would follow, and at the moment he was quite discouraged, but China alone could force a modification of Soviet policy and for this reason China was the only nation in the world SECRET SECURITY INE ORMA TTON