Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru (Volume 37)

It is an important collection of speeches and correspondence for understanding the evolution of Indian democracy, the coverage of the second general election, the foregrounding of governance issues at the Centre and the States, and the articulation of India’s foreign policy. Three themes are salient in the coverage of the elections; one, the scale and depth of campaigning, and the wide variety of issues raised, national and international, before the electorate; second, Nehru’s unswerving commitment to democratic structures and parliamentary processes; lastly, his vision of a united India that he had so creatively expounded long years ago in 1945… In Jammu and Kashmir, for the first time, elections were held under the new State Constitution in March 1957. This volume offers vital information on the emerging democratic process in the Valley… History, according to Nehru, had selected India as one of democracy’s chief testing grounds, and he found tangible expression of the democratic spirit at work in the Community Development Programme… This volume, like the previous one, furnishes rich information on foreign affairs. He was guided, as always, by the principle of enlightened self-interest… At the same time, his responses to worldwide events were influenced by his upbringing and training and the influence of socialist and Marxian ideas. He fervently believed in decolonization, non-alignment, peace and nuclear disarmament, and India’s prominent place in the emerging world order… On Kashmir, he reiterated India’s stand during his discussions with Gunnar Jarring, the UN Security Council representative. ..