Forged in Crisis

Rudra Chaudhuri

HarperCollins India

368 pages, RS 699

Chaudhuri’s book examines a series of crises that led to far-reaching changes in India’s approach to the United States, and defined the contours of what is arguably the most important bilateral relationship between the United States and the “Global South.” Chaudhuri provides a fresh interpretation of advances in India’s foreign affairs under the stewardship of prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and, finally, Manmohan Singh. The book reveals the complex and distinctive manner in which India has sought to simultaneously pursue ideals and material interests, while challenging the shakier and largely untested reading of “non-alignment” present in many works on Indian foreign policy and international relations.