New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) While former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru coined the famous slogan 'Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai', China considered him "discourteous" and India to be "bottomless pit" for foreign aid.

It also held the view that it was a "pity" that late prime minister Indira Gandhi "has also taken as her legacy the philosophy of her father embodied in the book Discovery of India," which China believes revealed his idea of a great Indian empire encompassing Malaysia, Ceylon among others.

The comments were made by former Chinese Prime Minister Chou En Lai to former American President Richard Nixon, who famously called Gandhi a "bitch" and a "witch" while his National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger called Indians "bastards".

The comments are now a part of the book 'Nixon, Indira and India: Politics and Beyond' written by a senior journalist Kalyani Shankar.