Though it passed unnoticed in India, a very interesting book was published recently. This book should be read by all those interested in the strategic relations between India and China.

Spy on the Roof of the World (Penguin) is the true story of Sidney Wignall, a British mountaineer who, in 1955, went on a perilous expedition inside Tibet with the full knowledge and complicity of Indian Military Intelligence to check on the progress of the strategic road between Tibet and Xinjiang (Sinkiang).

Wignall gives us a lively account of how the Indian army, including then army chief, General K S Thimayya, already knew in 1955 that the Chinese were building a road across Indian territory. MI asked Wignall to get proof of the project. It was the only way to convince Jawaharlal Nehru how misconceived his Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai policy was. Thimayya had been very suspicious of the Chinese who had declared they wanted to defend 'their western borders.'

One of the most distressing parts of this story is that when Wignall offered his manuscript to Indian publishers he was politely told they could not publish 'this stuff' in India. He had no other choice but to first publish the book in the UK.

I do not know if Jaswant Singh, the minister of external affairs who is on a five-day visit to China, has read Wignall's book, but one can hope that his advisors are aware of the details of the occupation of this part of Indian territory.

rest of the article is at http://www.indiaabroad.com/news/2002/mar/30claude.htm

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