Aspects of Yugoslavian-Indian relations: Josip Broz Tito State visit to India in December 1954

This is a guest post by Anna Batzeli.

In this post, I will present two online resources for historical research: 1. the archival portal of Greek Newspapers archives “Efimeris”, developed by the National Library of Greece; and 2. the archival portal of “Vikelaia” library, which is located in Heracleum, Greece. These portals were used in my research on Josip Broz Tito’s visit to India in 1954. It is the first time that these portals have been used to trace Tito’s state visit to India and the beginning of Yugoslavian-Indian relations. The advantage of working with them is that they allow for a better understanding of the impact of these developments in Greece and the broader Balkan region. The potential of these portals to scholars is to capture a diversity of points of view to describe the impacts of Yugoslavian-Indian relations, and thus understand the global interconnectedness of events taking place in different regions.

This piece is accompanied with Keystone, Zuma, Bridgeman Images (Figures 1 & 2) and a link to an interesting video from Tito’s visit to India from Associated Press (AP) Archive. This video adds to the understanding of these developments and it offers an international perspective.    

Historical context: brief overview of the Yugoslavia-India relations 1947-1980 

Josip Broz Tito (1892-1980) was a prominent Yugoslav politician. In 1948, while serving as Prime Minister, Tito had a conflict with Stalin which led to the expulsion of Yugoslavia from the Eastern Bloc. Following the Tito-Stalin split, the Yugoslavian leader sought to establish diplomatic relations with new counterparts and gradually developed the concept of the Non-Aligned Movement, which was officially established in 1961. In these developments, India had acquired a key role with the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru being a pioneer of the Non-Aligned Movement. Tito’s visit to India brought much international attention due to the recent developments on the Eastern Bloc. Moreover, this event was the first official visit of a European leader to India, following the country’s independence in 1947, and was part of a series of state visits Tito paid to India and other countries in the period before the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement. These developments also impacted Greece, not only due to the country’s proximity to the Eastern Bloc and position in the international political arena, but also due to the country’s relations and collaboration with Yugoslavia in the framework of the 1953 Balkan Pact.

Tito’s first visit to India in 1954: material from the collections held at “efimeris” and “Vikelaia” portals

Tito visited New Delhi in December 1954, following an official invitation by the country’s leaders. He stayed in India for two weeks and inter alia he held meetings with the President Rajendra Prasad and the Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. On December 27, 1954, he delivered a speech in the Indian Parliament. The following excerpt from Tito’s speech is interesting as it highlights that these meetings were part of a series of high-level meetings the Yugoslav leader held during this period, which served as the leaven for the development of the Non-Aligned Movement: “[…] We consider that the setting up of blocs with military and ideological features is very dangerous for peace in the world […]. As against blocs and ideological division in the world, and if mankind is to be saved from the greatest catastrophe in history, we can see real possibilities in co-existence between nations and States with different systems. I am not thinking here of some sort of passive co-existence, but of an active co-operation and a peaceful understanding to settle various problems and eliminate all elements which might hamper comprehensive co-operation between small and large countries. […]”. Similar statements were made by Tito during his meetings with Indian officials. 

Tito’s aim to create a “third pole”, separate from Western and Eastern blocs, was also perceptible to foreign media, which analysed the impact of these developments on shaping international relations. Greece was one of the countries that followed these events closely. The  newspaper ‘Embros’, for example, included Tito’s visit to India in the list of the most significant world events of 1954 (see Figure 3). Several Greek newspapers published a series of reportages on Tito’s State visit to India,  translating reports, analyses and op-eds published by prominent foreign media, like the New York Times. Greek opposition newspapers even criticised Greek officials for not following Tito’s lead and for not striving to build relations with Southeast Asian countries. Few journalists pointed out that Tito’s state visit to India was of paramount importance to Greece, due to Greece-Yugoslavia collaboration in the framework of the Balkan Pact of 1953, and that Tito should brief his counterparts about his meetings with the Indian officials and inform them about what they discussed. 

It is quite apparent from the media coverage at the time that India had acquired a key role in the international scene in less than a decade after she obtained independent statehood. At the same time, the Greek media coverage sheds light on how Tito’s actions in India were perceived within the broader Balkan region.

Advantages and limitations of “efimeris” and “Vikelaia” portals

Both “efimeris” and “Vikelaia” portals have limitations. Firstly, they are only available in the Greek language, and most of the available items can only be downloaded in pdf format, limiting their accessibility and usability. Furthermore, the advanced search options on these portals are somewhat restricted. 

The “efimeris” portal, in particular, is not user friendly, and it currently does not allow searching for words or short phrases, only dates and pages. “Vikelaia”, on the other hand, is easier to use.  “Vikelaia” offers multiple advanced search options, allowing users to  select one or a combination of the following options to conduct their advanced search in the portal: i. keyword / short phrase, ii. newspaper name, iii. newspaper issue, iv. date of publication, v. temporal range and vi. number of pages. However, there are limitations to  the advanced search options on “Vikelaia”. For example, while single word and short phrase search is possible, the search outcomes include entire newspaper issues containing the specified word/short phrase and not the respective articles:

Additionally, the “Vikelaia” search engine might overlook results that are relevant to the search topic, if multiple search options are applied, leading to potential gaps in the search outcomes:  

There is room for improvement in both portals. Enhancements to the layout and search engines, along with the addition of supplementary filter search options, could elevate the user experience. Furthermore, incorporating short descriptions of the available periodicals would contribute to a more informed and efficient research process. Such improvements would undoubtedly enhance the overall utility of these portals.

Despite these limitations, both portals remain an important source for historians and researchers, as they provide free access to over 131 Greek newspapers (seven via the “efimeris” and 126 via “Vikelaia”). These newspapers cover a wide period, from 1883 to 1988, and enable historians and researchers to conduct their search remotely, allowing them to save time and money, compared to field visits to archival institutions. Moreover, the collections held in these portals can be of great use for researchers and historians working on case studies related to the modern history of Greece and beyond, as the newspapers provide access to diverse perspectives, insights and opinions on regional and global events, encouraging thus the development of comparative analyses. 

Figure 1: Dec. 12, 1954 – Marshal Tito on his State visit to India watches mounted display in New Delhi. Photo credit: Photo © Keystone / Zuma / Bridgeman Images.

Figure 2: Dec. 12, 1954 – Marshal Tito on his State Visit to India: Attends Banquet at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Photo credit: Photo © Keystone / Zuma / Bridgeman Images.

Figure 3: Press cutting: Greek Newspaper “Embros (Ahead)”, 8 January 1955 (“efimeris” portal), which includes Tito’s visit to India in the list of the most significant world events of 1954.

See also: AP Archive: Tito Visits India: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MweJksqhCF0

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Anna Batzeli is working as a postdoctoral researcher on different case-studies in the Balkan region and in Greece and as senior bid manager/proposal writer for EU funding. Find out more here; you can follow her on LinkedIn or X. For the Digital Orientalist, she has previously published about Archives Portal Europe