The Asian Relations Conference was an international conference that took place in New Delhi from 23 March to 2 April 1947. Organized by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), the conference was hosted by Jawaharlal Nehru, then the Vice-President of the interim Viceroy's Executive Council, and presided over by Sarojini Naidu. Its goal was to promote cultural, intellectual and social exchange between Asian countries.
Envisioned as apolitical, the conference included almost all Asian countries, as well as several independence movements. These included nations and communities that were on opposing sides, which inevitably raised political questions. Although the conference achieved an immediate sense of solidarity among Asian nations and saw the establishment of the Asian Relations Organisation, suspicions of an Indian or Chinese hegemony held by the minor nations did not allow the organisation to be effective, nor the second Asian Relations Conference held in 1950 to be as successful as the first.
Background
Origins
It is not known who first conceived the idea of the Asian conference. Though Nehru stated, in the opening speech of the conference, that "the idea of such a conference arose simultaneously in many minds and many countries of Asia", some observers at the conference attributed it to Nehru. As early as December 1945, Jawaharlal Nehru stated in an interview that an Asian conference could further promote cooperation between Asian countries. Reporter Phillips Talbot stated that the conference was conceived by Nehru in 1946 as a response to the impact of the Second World War on Asia. In March of that year, Nehru had a meeting with Aung San during his South East Asia tour. It was reported that the topic of an Asian conference was discussed. In August, he credited the 1927 League against Imperialism, which he attended, as his inspiration for an Asian conference. Another possible engineer of the conference was B. Shiva Rao, who was involved in the Indian Institute of International Affairs (IIIA) and the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), and who attended Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR) and United Nations conferences. In September 1945, he proposed the idea of an Asian conference, parallel to that of the United Nations', to the ICWA and Nehru.
The decision to organise the conference was formalized on 21 May 1946 by the Executive Committee of the ICWA, The ICWA claimed to be "an unofficial and non-political body" which would "not express an opinion on any aspect of Indian or international affairs", though Nehru had stated that the conference "might develop a solidarity and strength which could lead to a real inter-Asian policy." The ICWA was a private organisation, freeing the conference from the influence of the Viceroy's Executive Council, though Nehru had sought backing from the government, only to be turned down by Minister of Finance Liaquat Ali Khan who saw the conference as a chance for Nehru to amass personal glory. The cultural aspect of the conference was emphasized to avoid disapproval from the West. The format was modelled after the 1945 IPR Conference at Hot Springs, Virginia, which was attended by the ICWA. In a speech on 22 August 1946, Nehru stated in a speech that the conference "will help to promote good relations with neighbouring countries. It will help to pool ideas and experience with a view to raising living standards. It will strengthen cultural, social and economic ties among the peoples of Asia." The conference was envisioned by Nehru to be non-political, though this would prove difficult as the conference needed to balance the positions of various conflicting nations.
Active preparations began on 31 August 1946, when the Organising Committee was established. Nehru was made President of the Committee, which included Sarojini Naidu, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Abul Kalam Azad, Asaf Ali, Baldev Singh, Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, G. D. Birla, Hannah Sen, Hansa Jivraj Mehta, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Bidhan Chandra Roy, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Zakir Husain and Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi. Nehru joined the Interim Government of India in September, and it was thought inappropriate for him to be the President of the committee. Sarojini Naidu was elected the President in Nehru's place. Funding was largely acquired through public subscription, along with donations from businesses such as the Birlas and the Tata Group. Several princely states ruler, including that of Baroda, Patiala and Jaipur, were personally persuaded by Naidu to provide cars, drivers, fuel and lodgings for delegates in their Delhi houses.
The conference raised concerns from the West of a possible Asian bloc, and Nehru had to affirm that the conference would not "be opposed in any way to America or the Soviet Union or any other power or group of powers."
The topics of discussions were originally to be settled by the various Asian countries, but owing to time constraints 8 topics, to be discussed in "Round Tables", were eventually selected by the ICWA:
- National Movements for Freedom
- Racial Problems
- Inter-Asian Migration
- Transition from Colonial to National Economy
- Agricultural Reconstruction and Industrial Development
- Labour Problems and Social Services
- Cultural Problems
- Status of Women and Women's Movement
"Defence and Security questions" was originally the first topic, but it was replaced by "National Movements for Freedom" to avoid controversial political issues at the conference.
Delegates invited
All Asian countries were invited, along with Egypt who was thought to be closely aligned to the Middle East, and observers from the West. Nehru had also requested delegations to include "at least one woman [sic] delegate from your country who will be able to assist the Conference by presenting the women's point of view on the various matters before the conference and, in particular, in the discussing of the status of women and women's movements in Asia which is one of the main topics suggested for the agenda." In total, delegates from 28 countries and 8 institutions attended the conference.
Japan was invited but did not attend, as foreign travel was prohibited by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP). Nehru stated that he would not give representation of the Japanese to General Douglas MacArthur or the SCAP over the Japanese people themselves. For the attendees, while most delegates did not oppose the attendance of Japan as the conference was of a non-political nature, a delegate from the Philippines objected to Japan's inclusion due to Japanese war crimes in the Philippines.
The All-India Muslim League, which viewed itself as the sole representation of Muslims in India, declined the invitation to the conference. The ICWA was seen as closely aligned with the Indian National Congress and as a Brahmin-dominated institution. In a statement, the League denounced the conference as "a thinly disguised attempt on the part of the Hindu Congress to boost itself politically as the prospective leader of the Asiatic peoples" and the "sole cultural representative of this vast sub-continent." The organisers, meanwhile, argued that "political problems, particularly of a controversial character or relating to the internal affairs of any participating countries are deliberately excluded from the agenda of the Conference." Syria, Lebanon and Yemen did not participate in the conference due to this boycott.
Six Kenyan leaders, upon hearing news of a conference of colonised nations, wrote to Nehru asking for African representation in the conference. Nehru denied on the basis that it was an Asian conference, but invited Kenyan observers. Nehru also offered scholarships to Africans studying in India. In a private letter to Shafa'at Ahmad Khan, former Indian High Commissioner to South Africa, Nehru wrote that "this will indicate to Africa and to the world how much interested we are in the advance and progress of backward peoples."
Conference
The conference was held between 23 March and 2 April 1947, lasting for 10 days. The President of the Organizing Committee of the Conference was Sarojini Naidu. Its opening and closing session were held publicly under a large pandal in Purana Qila.
The opening session featured speeches by Naidu and Nehru. In his speech, Nehru reiterated that the conference "shall not discuss the internal politics of any country because that is rather beyond the scope of our present meeting", and that his intentions for the conference was that "some permanent Asian Institute for the study of common problems and to bring about closer relations will emerge" and "also perhaps a School of Asian Studies."
The official language of the conference was English, though Russian, French, Arabic, Persian, and Chinese interpreters were available. Some delegates, such as Tibet, brought their own interpreters. In one session, the idea of a new auxiliary language for Asia was discussed. Indian linguist Baburam Saxena denounced English and suggested Hindu, while the Soviet republics suggested Russian. There were some support for the use of Esperanto. Alfred Bonne, professor of psychology and member of the Jewish delegation, proposed a new language based on Esperanto. Ultimately, English prevailed as the international Asian language when the Georgian delegation, who did not speak English, agreed to its use.
China and Tibet
Tibet received an invitation through Hugh Edward Richardson, the Representative of British India in Lhasa, who advised the Tibetans that it would be a good opportunity to assert Tibet's de facto independence. The team of delegates, geshes, interpreters and servants was led by Teiji Tsewang Rigzing Sampho and Khenchung Lobsang Wangyal of the Tibetan Foreign Office. The delegation brought along with them documents relating to the Indo-Tibetan borders, including the original copy of the Simla Convention, in hope of reclaiming the disputed North-East Frontier Tracts.
While the Republic of China enjoyed cordial relations with India, China viewed Tibet as their sovereign territory and protested Nehru's invitation to Tibet. Dai Jitao, who was supposed to lead the delegation, declined to attend due to the Tibetan issue. K. P. S. Menon, India's Agent-General in China, had to convince China that the conference was a cultural organization where no political conclusions could be drawn. He also agreed to call Tibetan delegates "representatives" instead. In a letter to Menon, Nehru wrote that he was "unable to understand Chinese attitude to Asian Conference when Conference Organisers have fully explained the position which is in no way injurious to Chinese interests. Non-official cultural conference cannot be expected to consider political niceties."
The Tibetan delegation heard about the Chinese opposition for the first time when they arrived at Calcutta. They sent their servants ahead to Delhi, to see if their invitation and accommodations were cancelled. The Indian Government assured that they were still invited. It was reported the journey from Lhasa to New Delhi took 21 days. Upon their arrival, they were urged by Nehru to keep the conference non-political and not to raise their border issue. The Tibetan delegates agreed not to be the first to raise the border issue, but would "not remain a silent spectator if the Chinese did."
During the conference, Chinese observer George Yeh protested to Nehru that the map on the stage showed Tibet as independent of China, and that the Chinese delegation would withdraw unless the map was corrected. According to one account, Yeh, a calligrapher and painter, was eventually allowed by Nehru to paint Tibet the same colour as China. Later, the Chinese Ambassador in India attempted to bribe the Tibetan delegations, asking them not to pursue the Tibetan border dispute in exchange of a sum of money, supposedly for expenses related to the conference, though this was refused by the Tibetans. Eventually, Chiang Kai-shek sent a message to the Chinese Embassy in Delhi, saying that he absolutely wanted the Tibetans to accept the money, which was once again refused by Teiji Sampho in a personal telegram. The conference also saw the first appearance of the flag of Tibet at an international gathering, but also was the last international event Tibet participated in, before their annexation by the People's Republic of China in 1950.
Outside of the dispute with China, the Tibetans were not high-profile participants of the conference, partly due to their isolation from international politics. Their main interest was religion, and they bought a message from the Dalai Lama.