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India, March 23 -- Nobody dares to question the viability of President Xi Jinping's dream of a 'Revitalised China' through the mammoth OBOR initiative. But all the ancient trade routes between India and Central Asia remain closed
China is pressing India to jump on board the mega One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. The Global Times recently complained: "New Delhi has yet to sign up for the OBOR, and has claimed that there is a sovereignty issue with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passing through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)."
The mouthpiece of Communist Party of China contemptuously added: "It should also be noted that New Delhi cannot prevent the growth of the OBOR's influence. If India wants to exclude itself from the OBOR at a time when the initiative is receiving widespread support from the global community, India will end up simply watching the rise of China's international reputation." Beijing forgets to mention that for centuries, trade was flourishing between India and Central Asia, though not through a far-away corridor, but via the Himalayan passes.
Historians rarely mention an event which had the most serious strategic consequences for India. It is the 1953 closure of the Indian consulate in Kashgar (Xinjiang), which for centuries was the main trade hub between the sub-continent and Central Asia. China's unilateral decision to close the consulate (and the trade) should have been seen as an ominous sign by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his colleagues. Unfortunately, it was not.
As in several other cases, the Indian Prime Minister tried to justify the Chinese diktats, without taking any retaliatory or compensatory measures or even protesting. India's interests were lost to the 'revolutionary changes' there.
In December 1953, Nehru declared in Parliament: "Some major changes have taken place there [Kashgar]....