How K.M. Panikkar became India’s first ambassador to China

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The choice of K.M. Panikkar as India’s ambassador to China in 1947 has in retrospect been the cause of both controversy and debate. But it was a decision based on many factors. The first was trust and long-standing friendship. Nehru had known Panikkar since his days in Amritsar and at the Hindustan Times in the 1920s. He had never lost track of Panikkar’s career, following his arguments for federalism and for getting the princes on board with the Indian Union. The Indian prime minister had also read Panikkar’s works on foreign policy and history, especially during the war years, with...