Ambassador Nirupama Rao has had the kind of career that every Indian Foreign Service aspirant dreams of. In 2011, she retired as foreign secretary to the Government of India, the most senior position in the foreign service. She has served as spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, ambassador to Sri Lanka, ambassador to China, and ambassador to the United States of America. 

She is also the author of a new book, The Fractured Himalaya: India Tibet China, 1949-62. The book is a deep dive into one of the most consequential periods of India-China relations—a period whose repercussions are felt even today. 

Ambassador Rao joins Milan on the podcast this week to discuss Nehru’s long fascination with China, his inability to settle India’s border dispute with China, and his “flawed heroic” character. Plus, the two discuss the current state of border tensions and the deep roots of China’s infrastructure advantage in the Himalayas.

1. “Pallavi Raghavan on an Alternative History of India-Pakistan Relations,” Grand Tamasha, April 7, 2020.
2. “Modi's Farm Law Reversal, India-China, and Trade Policy,” Grand Tamasha, November 23, 2021.
3. “Kanti Bajpai on Why China and India Are Not Friends,” Grand Tamasha, July 6, 2021.
4. C. Raja Mohan, “Nirupama Rao’s latest book, The Fractured Himalaya, is a lucid account of Sino-Indian relations,” Indian Express, November 7, 2021.