Economic Determinants of Indias Foreign Policy: The Nehru Years (194764)

Several books have been written on the foreign policy of India, particularly of the Nehru period. Some authors have also discussed in detail the determining factors and fundamental principles of this policy. However, few have emphasised predominance of the economic factor as a determinant, which plays the most important part in determining foreign policy not only of India but of other countries as well. The essence of this book is to stress the paramount importance of this factor which determined the material as well as the intellectual life of the country at that time and found expression in internal and the external policies of the country. While emphasising the significance of the economic factor, the importance of other factors has not been ignored. The author has chosen to limit himself to the Nehru period because it was then that our foreign policy was shaped, formulated and implemented. India, inspite of her other weaknesses, commanded respect and eminence in world affairs and was one of the prominent leaders of emerging Afro-Asian countries. The policy that Nehru propounded and enforced was followed by his immediate successors Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi. From 1991 onwards, the change in the economic fundamentals started taking shape, resulting in basic changes in the foreign policy also.