‘Revisionism’ was the term coined by socialists in relation to the ideas of Democratic Socialists. It gained prominence during the late 19th century and has remained in the English vocabulary since without any apparent change in its meaning.
The writer, in his article, “Smart-balancing China” November 27), has begun by calling China an ‘inscrutable revisionist’ and rising superpower. He has then referred to Chinese ‘revisionist’ claims in the land and oceanic space and China’s ‘revisionist’ statements on Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. What he means by the term ‘revisionist’ in this context, he alone can explain. He has also referred to a ‘historical rivalry’ between India and China and its ‘brazen inroads’ into India’s ‘traditional sphere of influence’. One wonders whether such observations will be endorsed by any honest historian.
M.B. Nair,
Kannur, Kerala