India and the socialist world

This study provides an Objective assessment of India's foreign policy, of which her relations with the socialist world is a vital component. It traces, in a historical perspective, the basis of this policy which was laid during the national movement itself by Gandhiji and Jawaharlal Nehru and seeks to show how after India became independent in 1947, the friendly ties between India and the socialist world have been growing apace. It analyses the close relationship between an independent foreign policy and the internal policy of building an irtdependent and self- reliant economy and brings out India's contradictions with imperialism in general and American imperialism in particular. These contradictions have been sharpening over the years and in the process of
countering and resisting. the imperialist pressures and intrigues, India has been able to consolidate and strengthen her own
independence and sovereignt'y.
The author also discusses how India's economic relations with the socialist world have enabled her to modernise her economy and how they have gone a long way in making India economically independent. And in view of the changes which have taken place in the socio- economic fabric of the country, India has emerged as a great power in Asia and-is on the threshold of becoming a major power in the world.
The main conclusion arrived at by the author is that the friendly ties between he biggest non-aligned country and the socialist world leading to the convergence of their stand on the crucial questions facing mankind today, the chief among them being the danger of a nuclear war, have become a stabilising factor in the present-day explosive world situation.
Containing much useful information . and insight and written in a direct, readable style, the book will come in handy to students of international affairs and Indian politics, and to administrators and diplomats.