Book Reviews : Studies in Indian Foreign Policy. Edited by K. P. MISRA. (Delhi: Vikas Publi cations, 1969. Pp. 346. Rs. 34.)

Published date01 December 1970
AuthorJoel Larus
Date01 December 1970
DOI10.1177/106591297002300426
Subject MatterArticles
890
Studies
in
Indian
Foreign
Policy.
Edited
by
K.
P.
MISRA.
(Delhi:
Vikas
Publi-
cations,
1969.
Pp.
346.
Rs.
34.)
Since
the
end
of
World
War
II
few
countries
have
experienced
a
more
strik-
ing
shift
in
foreign
policy,
along
with
revisions
in
the
dominant
ideas
and
attitudes
about
international
politics
generally,
than
has
India.
For
approximately
a
decade
after
independence,
new
Delhi’s
lofty,
almost
romantic
pronouncements
on
innum-
erable
problems
of
war
and
peace
(read:
Nehru’s
views
and
values
concerning
global
diplomacy
and
India’s
role
as
leader
of
the
newly
independent
states)
helped
influence
policy
debates
in
the
leading
capitals
of
the
world,
Washington
and
Moscow
included.
However,
soon
after
the
five
principles
of
panch
sheel
or
peaceful
coexistence
were
announced,
there
were
indications
of
the
coming
crisis.
China’s
border
activities
in
the
Himalayas
advertised
Peking’s
unfriendliness
and
its
unwillingness
to
go
along
with
India’s
goal
of
an
Asia
free
from
Western-type
balance
of
power
politics,
arms
races,
and
periodic
armed
conflicts
Once
Chinese
troops
intruded
into
territory
claimed
by
India,
or,
alternatively,
vigorously
asserted
the
right
to
annex
other
areas
thought
by
New
Delhi
to
be
terra
irredenta,
the
ideological
superstructure
of
Nehru’s
foreign
policy
began
to
crumble
and
the
inadequacy
of
India’s
political-military
strategy
became
all
too
apparent.
Within
months
any
number
of
heretofore
unquestioned
assumptions
concerning
the
way
to
organize
a
society
of
peaceful
sovereign
states
had
to
be
re-examined,
an
assign-
ment
exceedingly
difficult
for
some
highly
placed
Indians.
Some
ideas
which
ear-
lier
had
been
regarded
as
India’s
unique
contribution
to
postwar
politics
were
laid
aside.
New
Delhi
began
to
look
for
new
answers
to
its
security
problems.
As
is
generally
realized,
India
today
is
concentrating
on
the
several threats
presented
by
its
immediate
neighbors,
having
quietly
discarded
its
earlier
aspirations
to
be
the
Champion
of
the
Third
World.
Seen
in
perspective,
therefore,
Indian
foreign
policy
since
1947
can
be
divided
into
two
distinct
periods,
namely
before
and
after
China’s
overt
hostility
vis-h-vis
New
Delhi.
Each
era
has
its
own
aims,
assumptions,
and
goals.
Together
they
comprise
the
record
of
India’s
attempts
to
influence
world
politics
and
protect
its
vital
national
interests.
It
is
a
fascinating
story.
Professor
K.
P.
Misra
of
the
Indian
School
of
International
Studies,
New
Delhi,
has
edited
a
first-rate
compendium
of
essays
which
deal
with
these
two
periods.
His
book
is
a
welcome
addition
to
the
literature
of
Asian
politics
because
the
articles
include
some
of
the
most
instructive
commentaries
about
Indian
for-
eign
policy
written
since
independence
and
also
because
they
have
been
organized
with
imagination.
Each
of
the
leading
themes
of
the
Nehru
and
post-Nehru
gov-
ernments
is
presented
in
some
depth,
such
as
non-alignment,
neutralism,
anti-
imperialism,
and
non-violence.
The
arrangement
of
the
material
gives
the
reader
a
good
understanding
of
the
pressures
which
built
up
in
New
Delhi
after
the
initial
Chinese
attack,
and
how
public
officials
and
key
opinion-makers
struggled
to
meet
the
internal
and
external
pressures
which
resulted.
Another
feature
of
the
book
that
is
commendable
is
the
nice
blend
of
material
from
Indian
and
non-Indian
sources.
Interspersed
among
the
twelve
essays
of
Indian
origin
are
an
equal
num-
ber
of
British,
American,
Canadian,
and
Soviet
origin.

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