FISH SMELL IN REFRIGERATOR https://blog.dnevnik.hr/fish-smell-in-refrigerator

The book under review, Makers of India's Foreign Policy, is written by a renowned Indian diplomat, the late Mr. J. N. Dixit. The author served as Foreign Secretary in the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, and was a member of the National Security Advisory Board. During his diplomatic career he was Ambassador to Bangladesh and Afghanistan; and High Commissioner to Pakistan and Sri Lanka. He authored nine books, including the international bestseller, India-Pakistan in War and Peace published in 2002.


Since Independence, various prime ministers, foreign ministers, policy advisers and foreign service officers have played an important role in formulating Indian foreign policy. Dixit observes that during his tenure as foreign secretary, 1991-1994, he noted that a number of books, monographs and articles have been written about the evolution and implementation of Indian foreign policy. However, in his view, they have focused only on a few political personalities. Dixit's rationale for writing this book is to deal with this shortcoming in the study and analyses of Indian foreign policy. In this connection the author has also analysed the influence of international/regional political, socio-economic and cultural developments on the thought process of various personalities.


The book is divided into fifteen chapters, focusing on the role of various individuals, belonging to different circles of Indian society during the pre-independence and post-independence periods, in formulating reactions towards foreign countries and societies. Prominent personalities discussed in the study include Dadabhai Naoroji, Dvijendranath and Davendranath Tagore, Sir Syed Ahmed, Maulana Altaf Husain Hali, Mahatama Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, V. K. Krishna Menon, Sardar Swaran Singh, Y. B. Chavan, D. P. Dhar, G. Parthasarathi, P. N. Haskar, Morarji Desai, Rajiv Gandhi, I. K. Gujral, Narasimha Rao, Atal Behari Vajpayee, K. P. S. Menon, M. K. Rasgotra, Brajesh Mishra, Jaswant Singh, and Yashwant Sinha.


Referring to the pre-independence period, Dixit has discussed two broad phases - pre-1857 period, and post-1857 period (after the first Indian war of independence). As assessed by Dixit, during the pre-1857 period there was "a feeling of inferiority and inadequacy" and it was felt that "India should imitate and absorb Western mores, its social and cultural values, and its educational and intellectual systems."(p. 22) According to Dixit, prominent individuals supporting this view were Dadabhai Naoroji, Dvijendranath and Davendranath Tagore, R. C. Dutt, Michael M. Dutt, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, Gopal K. Gokhale and Sir Syed Ahmed. Dixit observes that during the second phase, post-1857 period, there was a realisation for the need to assert the "relevance and importance of India's ancient culture and civilisation, of Indian value systems" and that "there was no need to imitate the West (or India's rulers) blindly." (p.22) Prominent personalities who held this view were Swami Vivekananda, Swami Shradhanand, Maharishi Dayanand, Maulana Altaf Husain Hali, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Badruddin Tyabji.


While discussing the perceptions of Mahatma Gandhi, Dixit points out that Gandhi's stay in South Africa from 1896-97 to 1914 and his struggle for the Indian community there, had a strong impact on his political ideology. Upon his return to India in 1914, he played an important role in the Indian national freedom movement and also transformed the Indian National Congress into a revolutionary movement. Dixit's assessment that Gandhi's stress on "tolerance, on mutual accommodation, on the commitment to peace, on avoiding the use of coercive force to settle disputes and on the commitment to freedom of colonial people"(p.40) has provided a moral base to India's foreign policy contradicts what India had actually practised. India's military annexation of the Princely States of Junagadh and Hyderabad, Sikkim, Goa and India's hegemonic policy towards Bhutan and Nepal are some examples.


According to Dixit's assessment, Jawaharlal Nehru, known as the architect of Indian foreign policy, believed that "India's geographical size, its demographic and natural resources and its geostrategic location underlined its importance in Asia and the world." (p.83) Dixit says Nehru believed that stability of neighbouring states was imperative for the security, national consolidation and economic development of India. Dixit points out that Nehru was basically against partition. However, in his assessment, once partition took place Nehru "acknowledged the separate status of Pakistan."(p.92) Dixit's assessment once again contradicts reality as Nehru accepted partition as a temporary measure. In his message on June 3, 1947, Nehru said, "It may be that in this way we shall reach that united India sooner than otherwise."(

Caption: The Consortium for Ocean Leadership Public Policy Forum 2010, U.S. Capital, Washington, DC.
Photo Credit: Will Ramos / Ocean Leadership

On March 10th, Ocean Leadership held its annual Public Policy Forum in the U.S. Capitol Building to discuss the most relevant ocean policy issues. With over 250 RSVPs (the largest number for this event), the room was filled for the entire day-long program and evening reception. The agenda included addresses by three senators: Senator Begich (D-Alaska), Senator Boxer (D-California), and Senator Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island). Tom Karl, Director of NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, gave a lunch briefing regarding NOAA’s proposed climate service and Shere Abbott, Associate Director at Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), concluded the Forum by discussing OSTP’s role in developing a national ocean policy. Between these speeches, three panels discussed sea-level rise, the Arctic system, and marine spatial planning. Each panel included experts from the federal agencies, congressional committees, and the academic research community. A summary report of the day’s discussions will be released in the near future.

<< Arhiva >>