Foreign Policy of India, like that of any other country is an extension of its domestic policy. It has its roots in domestic perception and reflects the dominant domestic concerns. Indian Foreign Policy is a challenging development rooted in our tradition, history and ideology. Indian National Congress evolved it from 1920s focussing it on matters of world peace, anti-colonialism and anti-racialism. Speaking at Colombia University in 1949, Nehru elaborated on the goals of Indian Foreign Policy. He said "India is a very old country with a great past. But it is a new country also with new urges and desires inevitably she had to consider her foreign policy in terms of enlightened self-interest, but, at the same time, she brought to it a touch of her idealism. Thus she had tried to combine idealism with national interest." It was an extension of his enunciation of foreign policy, broad cast to the nation in 1920 that "India seeks to combine idealism with national interest in her future foreign policy". The basic concept was non-alignment which is a refusal to make any commitment, political or military, in advance to any nation or bloc. The framers of our foreign policy provided this new concept with tangible ideological, political and practical content. In Nehru’s view foreign policy ought to achieve peace and secure emancipation of the oppressed nations. He thought this would lead to elimination of race discrimination and lead to world peace. He emphasised that peace was the goal of India’s Foreign Policy. So, it is necessary for the present and the coming generations to know the Krishna Menon’s Foreign Policy in the right perspective. This book is a must for all including policy-makers and scholars.
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