The Survey of India maps inherited from the British show much of this area as 'undefined'. It was only in 1954 that new Indian maps asserted the country's cartographic claim, but, as Saran argues, 'this may not have been a wise decision because it deprived the Indian side of flexibility in negotiating a compromise with the Chinese.'
Second, quoting Nehru, Saran says in 1957, Zhou En Lai, then the Chinese prime minister, 'made it clear that he accepted the McMahon Line, chiefly because of his desire to settle outstanding matters with a friendly country'.
