Makers of India’s Foreign Policy: Raja Ram Mohun Roy to Yashwant Sinha

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In this brilliant, insightful book, J.N. Dixit chronicles the role of those who have played an important role in fashioning and implementing India’s Foreign Policy since and before independence-right up to the 12 SAARC summit in Islamabad in January 2004. In doing so he fulfils a major gap in the study of Indian Foreign Policy, for he focuses not just on the Nehru-Gandhis but also on those who are less well-known, including diplomats and policy advisers. In the process Dixit gives us an understanding of the factors that shaped India’s Foreign Policy at given points of time – the international situation, the domestic compulsions, and the happenings in India’s neighbourhood. Most fascinatingly, however, he shows us how India’s Foreign Policy was linked to the personalities and beliefs of the men and women who happened to be at the helm of affairs. Apart from the central role played by Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi, the book highlights the contributions of other Prime Ministers such as Narasimha Rao, I.K. Gujral, and Atal Behari Vajpayee. Also portrayed are ministers such as V.K. Krishna Menon, Sardar Swaran Singh, Y.B. Chavan, Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha. The role of behind-the-scenes operators like Girija Shankar Bajpai, Badruddin Tyabji, D.P. Dhar, P.N. Haksar and Brajesh Mishra is also recalled. A must-read for anyone who wants to make sense of India’s role in international affairs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR J.N. Dixit

J.N. Dixit, former Foreign Secretary of India, is one of the most distinguished members of the Indian Foreign Service. Born in 1936 and educated at Delhi, he joined the diplomatic service in 1958. He served in different capacities at home and in Indian embassies in different countries for 36 years before retiring as Foreign Secretary of India in 1994. Dixit is somewhat unique amongst his colleagues as, after retirement, he emerged as one of the most thoughtful and analytical political columnists in India, writing in major leading Indian and foreign newspapers. He authored six books in six years after his retirement in 1994, dealing with his assignments in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka where he served as Ambassador. This is his 7th book which is a collection of the more important articles on foreign affairs and international relations, in addition to commentaries and essays on contemporary developments, the world over, over the last 5/6 years. This volume forms relevant reference material for scholars and academics in general and for those, interested in Indian foreign policy, in particular.