Asian Relations Conference
[1] 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.
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.
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.
[5] 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.
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.
[31][33] Eventually, Chiang Kai-shek sent a message to 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.
[38] Outside of the dispute with China, the Tibetans were not high-profile participants of the conference, partly due to their isolation from international politics.
[43] Chinese delegate Wen Yuan-ning, who headed the discussions, called for equality of "persons of foreign origin who have settled in a country.
[2][45] Other notable Chinese delegates included their leader Zheng Yanfen, Han Lih-wu, Yi Yun Chen and Tan Yun-Shan.
[47] The delegations reported that two squads of messengers were killed while smuggling credentials from Ho Chi Minh’s headquarters in Bangkok, and arrived late at the conference.
Nehru, in his opening speech, noted that Gandhi was "engrossed in the service of the common man in India, and even this Conference could not drag him away from it."
[52] He addressed the communal riots in his closing speech, calling them "a shameful thing and it is an exhibition which I would like you not to carry to your respective countries but bury here.
"[53] During discussion for "National Movements for Freedom", India faced some criticism regarding the presence of Indian troops in the British colonial subjugation of Burma, Ceylon, Malaya and Indonesia.
[31][47] In the opening speech, Nehru stated that "it is fitting that India should play her part in this new phase of Asian Development... She is the natural centre and focal point of the many forces at work in Asia.
Nehru remarked that “we have tried to avoid, for obvious reasons, raising and discussing controversial issues at this Conference... but some reference was made...
[45] Soviet republics participating in the conference included Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan,[59][60] who sent separate delegates.
Kazakhstan promoted her democratic and agricultural reforms, and together with Uzbekistan reported their achievements in education after it was made free and compulsory.
[25] US observers commented that "upon request they gladly told of the achievements of their respective governments but their complacency precluded any admission of even the existence of such problems as were plaguing other countries of Asia" and, according to diplomat G. H. Jansen, "in consequence, the report is full of flattering references to the Soviet republics.
"[62] The delegation from Afghanistan was led by Dr. Abdul Majid Khan, President of the Kabul University, who headed one session of the Round Table for "Cultural Problems".
[30] Prime Minister of Indonesia Sutan Sjahrir missed the opening session as he was signing an agreement with the Dutch,[65] but was later brought in an Indian plane chartered for him by Nehru’s government that allowed him to arrive in time for the closing ceremony.
[2] The delegation, missing a flight in Shanghai, arrived on the last day,[22] and was led by Dr. Lark Geoon Paik of the Chosun Christian University.
"[54] The Malayan Union delegation was led by Dr. Burhanuddin al-Helmy and included John Thivy, Abdullah CD, E. E. C. Thuraisingham, P. P. Narayanan, S. A. Ganapathy and Philip Hoalim, who headed the Round Table for "National Movements for Freedom".
Its leader, Major-General Bijaya Shumshere Jung Bahadur Rana, headed the discussions for "Agricultural Reconstruction and Industrial Development".
[51] The 2-member Siamese delegation was led by Phraya Anuman Rajadhon, who headed one session of Round Table for "Cultural Problems", along with Sukich Nimmanheminda.
The United States sent observers from the Institute of Pacific Relations, which included Virginia Thompson, Richard Adloff and Phillips Talbot.
But, except for cultural topics, they regularly tell us they have already solved all problems that are facing the rest of us and conversation stops there.”[2] The Asian Relations Organization (ARO) was established as a result of the conference.
[69] At the closing session, Nehru announced that "an academic institute should be set up in the capital of each Asian country with a view to studying the history and culture of Asia," though this plan never came into being.
Nehru, attempting to keep the conference non-political, dismissed the idea of a proposed Asian Regional Organisation and military cooperation between the Philippines and Australia.
