India in the Debates of French Parliament 1945-1988

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Not much is known about France in India. The reasons are many – geographical distance, historical background of the British having zealously guarded India as their domain and pre-occupation of France with European and African affairs. Coupled with these is the practical difficulty of non-availability of any detailed material in English on France. Since most of the documentation on France is in the French language, it is extremely difficult for anyone not fully conversant with this language to be able to consult the primary sources of information. The present effort is to compile important parliamentary references to India in both houses of the French Parliament. Extracts if these references in the form of reports by Parliamentary delegations after their visits to India, parliamentary debates, replies to parliamentary questions and other miscellaneous references have been put together after translating them into English. This study has been divided into five chapters. In chapter I the formal structure of the French Parliament has been explained giving details of the constitutional provisions. The interesting relationship between the President of the Republic and the Parliament has also been touched. Thereafter in Chapter II the French perception of India has been discussed highlighting the main areas of French interest in India and the possible reasons behind such an interest. After these two chapters on the background chapter III presents extracts of some important parliamentary debates on India in the French Parliament. Chapter IV is devoted to Parliamentary questions. After giving a brief background of parliamentary questions as a tool of eliciting information etc. some important questions and their replies have been presented. The master list of questions posed and other miscellaneous references made to India in the Senate and the National Assembly has been given in Chapter V. A short conclusion has been given at the end followed by a select bibliography.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR K J S Chatrath

Dr. K.J.S. Chatrath holds a Doctorate from the university of Paris for his thesis on Indo-French Diplomatic Relations: 1947-1988. he has visited France a few times at the invitation of the Maison des Sciences de l "Homme, Paris and supported by its Indian counterpart", he Indian Council of Social science research, N. Delhi. He retired from the Indian Administrative service in 2003. During his service career he held diverse positions including that of the Secretary of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, as the Secretary of the N.C.E.R.T., New Delhi, in the Doordarshan Directorate in N. Delhi and as the Chief Editor of the Orissa Gazetteers. He has also worked as a Consultant with th3 U.N.D.P. His earlier books are "The Foreign Policy of France", "The Wetlands of India [Ed.]", "Managing Better With Checklists", "Vers la Muniere: A Study of the French School democracy" [ed.] published by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, "A Glance at France", "France 'A Brief Bibliography" references to France in the English language Indian newspapers: 1947-2002". Another book "The Joy of Mental Health" edited by him which incorporates various writings of the internationally acclaimed Indian psychiatrist dr. N.N. Wig, is in press. Dr. Chatrath stays in Panchkula and is presently working on his next book "Inscriptions on French Graves in India".