The book India-USA Diplomatic Relations, 1940-2002 is a very important and a well-researched book exploring the USA policy toward India since 1940s when India was seriously involved in gaining independence from the British rule. The Cold War between the Soviet Union and the USA after the end of the Second World War and the Indian Independence in 1947 opened a new chapter in the USA-India relations as the USA was seeking military alliances with the Asian countries to stop the expansion of Communism in that part of the world. India’s non-alignment policy as expounded by Mr. Nehru did not sit well with the USA Congress. India’s request for two million tons of foodgrains from the USA in 1950 to help support India’s ration system met with a stiff debate in the American Congress. Finally, better judgement prevailed and the USA Congress did grant the loan. This huge controversy is the subject matter of the first chapter. Next chapter goes into a detailed discussion of the Kashmir issue which further strained relations between the two countries as the USA supported the Pakistan demand for a plebiscite in Kashmir in the United Nations. Other world issues such as Vietnam, Bangladesh are discussed where the USA and India tended to disagree sharply. Soviet Union became a big ally of Indian the United Nations while USA supported Pakistan.
However, the September 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center by Al-Qaida terrorists has brought about a big change in the USA policy toward India’s challenging task of dealing with the terrorists in India’s Kashmir who, India alleges, are being trained in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The book also goes into the military common endeavours between the two countries since September 2001. |
