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From Chanakya to Modi: Evolution of India's Foreign Policy
Foreign policy of India is as deeply informed by its civilizational heritage as it is by modern ideas about national interest. The two concepts that come and go most frequently in Indian engagement with the world - from Chanakya in the third century bce to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017 - are autonomy and independence in decision making. Aparna Pande's From Chanakya to Modi explores the deeper civilizational roots of Indian foreign policy in a manner reminiscent of Walter Russel Mead's seminal Special Providence (2001). It identifies the neural roots of India's engagement with the world outside.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 10, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 25, 2018
From Chanakya To Modi
The Evolution of India's Foreign Policy.
Aparna Pandey.
Foreign Policy, Administration.
@harpercollinsin
Rating : 4/5
From Chanakya To Modi is crisp, less than 200 page account & one of the most acclaimed foreign policy pieces to he released in the recent past.
This book, as obvious as the name suggests takes a chronological view of foreign policy from Chanakya (aka Machiavelli of India) i.e third century BCE to the current policy actions of PM Narendra Modi along with a view from various prisms of the dynamic changes that occured throughout history.
The author has briefly discussed the root of India's strategy towards the world from ancient times through two consecutive imperialist regimes & their imprints on the strategic culture of Independent India.
Often, democratic regimes are driven by father-figure leaders who directly as individuals shape the strategic policies of the nation. Ms Pandey has lucidly walked us through the influences of numerous PMs that often kept foreign policy & decision-making to themselves with minimal role to the MEA from Pandi Nehru, Indira Doctrine, Rajiv Gandhi, the Gujral Doctrine to Vajpayeeji and now Modi has nicely captured this centralised trait in India & discusses it's ramifications on national policies.
There is also an important chapter on the Institutions that are responsible for foreign affairs & their evolution with diminishing importance.
Ms Pandey also sheds light upon the self-acclaimed Indian exceptionalism as a nation, which is true as India has always stood out in it's approach from heralding the wave of Independence struggles in the 50s and 60s and the Non-Alignment movement alongwith other international stances.
The author is very objective, balanced & to the point in her analysis with neither critical nor laudatory of all the policies and strategies
The book could have helped a lot if Ms Pandey had shed more specific light on prime issues that challenge India.
Ms Pandey ends on a mixed note stating that India's history is an asset as well a burden and needs to find new ways out of the existing hubris.
The Evolution of India's Foreign Policy.
Aparna Pandey.
Foreign Policy, Administration.
@harpercollinsin
Rating : 4/5
From Chanakya To Modi is crisp, less than 200 page account & one of the most acclaimed foreign policy pieces to he released in the recent past.
This book, as obvious as the name suggests takes a chronological view of foreign policy from Chanakya (aka Machiavelli of India) i.e third century BCE to the current policy actions of PM Narendra Modi along with a view from various prisms of the dynamic changes that occured throughout history.
The author has briefly discussed the root of India's strategy towards the world from ancient times through two consecutive imperialist regimes & their imprints on the strategic culture of Independent India.
Often, democratic regimes are driven by father-figure leaders who directly as individuals shape the strategic policies of the nation. Ms Pandey has lucidly walked us through the influences of numerous PMs that often kept foreign policy & decision-making to themselves with minimal role to the MEA from Pandi Nehru, Indira Doctrine, Rajiv Gandhi, the Gujral Doctrine to Vajpayeeji and now Modi has nicely captured this centralised trait in India & discusses it's ramifications on national policies.
There is also an important chapter on the Institutions that are responsible for foreign affairs & their evolution with diminishing importance.
Ms Pandey also sheds light upon the self-acclaimed Indian exceptionalism as a nation, which is true as India has always stood out in it's approach from heralding the wave of Independence struggles in the 50s and 60s and the Non-Alignment movement alongwith other international stances.
The author is very objective, balanced & to the point in her analysis with neither critical nor laudatory of all the policies and strategies
The book could have helped a lot if Ms Pandey had shed more specific light on prime issues that challenge India.
Ms Pandey ends on a mixed note stating that India's history is an asset as well a burden and needs to find new ways out of the existing hubris.
September 18, 2018
2 things to take away from this book are -
1. India's Exceptionalism; a special and unique position of India throughout the history. India, thus, at some point of time, was a centre of globe and will be in future.
2. Civilizational inheritance; India being very old witness to the history of civilization.
Discussion around both of these dimensions when India is aiming for the niche in global social, economic, and political landscape is astonishing as well as fascinating. Date of publication is also very recent.
1. India's Exceptionalism; a special and unique position of India throughout the history. India, thus, at some point of time, was a centre of globe and will be in future.
2. Civilizational inheritance; India being very old witness to the history of civilization.
Discussion around both of these dimensions when India is aiming for the niche in global social, economic, and political landscape is astonishing as well as fascinating. Date of publication is also very recent.
November 5, 2018
The book provides a well-rounded thematic account of schools of thought in India's approach to its foreign affairs. Aparna Pande did a fantastic job of elucidating India's foreign policy choices both from a strategic planning (Both Individual and Institutional) and execution (Bureaucracy) point of views. It's a well-written and an easy read, focussed mainly on underlying and broad principles guiding the actions of the country in its external engagements with the world. Two ideas appear to provide the core of continuity that runs through these decades and personalities — first, a self perception of Indian exceptionalism that is rooted in the civilizational pride of our country; second, an eagerness to cultivate simultaneous relationships with competing powers of the world without compromising on strategic autonomy.
May 30, 2018
Insightful
Good narrative and insight into how indian foreign policy has held its continuity and change since independence until today without losing out on its basics aims
Good narrative and insight into how indian foreign policy has held its continuity and change since independence until today without losing out on its basics aims
November 2, 2018
Interesante punto de vista a la política exterior de India, dando cuenta de sus posibilidades y limitaciones para convertirse en un actor importante en el sistema internacional.
November 24, 2020
This book is an effort to examine how India’s world view has evolved over the years and what institutions, ideas and attitudes have shaped it.
May 20, 2022
This book is perhaps the briefest and simplest analysis of India's Foreign Policy that I have read so far. Notwithstanding the title, however, much of the book discusses neither Chanakya nor Modi, but, curiously enough, Jawaharlal Nehru. And naturally so. Nehru and his ideas continue to cast a shadow on the formulation of India's foreign policy -- Non-Alignment being an important part of India's foreign policy even today, as demonstrated in the Russo-Ukraine Conflict.
Interestingly, the book divides Indian foreign policy into four trends: Messianic Idealism (the idea that India is somehow a moral guide to the rest of the world), realism (pursuance of economic and military interests), isolationism (pursuance of isolationist policies in some respect), and imperial influence (the impact of the British colonial rule that continues to influence India's policymaking).
There are some important, stark, and clearly visible features of India's foreign policy. First among them is the desire for autonomy in decisionmaking, and according to the author, it results from India's experience of being ruled by a foreign power for two centuries. India, therefore, emphasizes on sovereignty and autonomy in every decision it takes and every policy it makes. Moreover, India's policies carry a strong moral overtone, which can be traced back to its philosophical history (full of moralist religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism), and also the influence of Mahatma Gandhi, a great moralist himself (influenced, obviously, by the three moralist religions mentioned above). Finally, India puts great emphasis on South Asia and treats it as its own backyard where no other power is welcome.
Therefore, there are five defining elements of India's foreign policy:
1. Territorial Integrity (as repeatedly mentioned in the tweets and statements of India's foreign minister, Dr S Jaishankar, including in a tweet posted on the date of this review);
2. Economic autarky (a tendency to seek economic autonomy and self-sufficiency, visible from campaigns like 'Make in India' and recent 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat');
3. Anticolonialism (a defining element in Nehru's times);
4. Aversion to Military Alliance (therefore, NAM);
5. A South Asia free from foreign influence.
The author also briefly studies the changes in India's foreign policies and outlook towards other countries under the watch of various prime ministers of India, mainly Nehru, India Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, PV Narsimharao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and more recently Narendra Modi.
All in all, as the backcover of the book so appropriately says, the book is "an essential addition to every thinking person's library."
Interestingly, the book divides Indian foreign policy into four trends: Messianic Idealism (the idea that India is somehow a moral guide to the rest of the world), realism (pursuance of economic and military interests), isolationism (pursuance of isolationist policies in some respect), and imperial influence (the impact of the British colonial rule that continues to influence India's policymaking).
There are some important, stark, and clearly visible features of India's foreign policy. First among them is the desire for autonomy in decisionmaking, and according to the author, it results from India's experience of being ruled by a foreign power for two centuries. India, therefore, emphasizes on sovereignty and autonomy in every decision it takes and every policy it makes. Moreover, India's policies carry a strong moral overtone, which can be traced back to its philosophical history (full of moralist religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism), and also the influence of Mahatma Gandhi, a great moralist himself (influenced, obviously, by the three moralist religions mentioned above). Finally, India puts great emphasis on South Asia and treats it as its own backyard where no other power is welcome.
Therefore, there are five defining elements of India's foreign policy:
1. Territorial Integrity (as repeatedly mentioned in the tweets and statements of India's foreign minister, Dr S Jaishankar, including in a tweet posted on the date of this review);
2. Economic autarky (a tendency to seek economic autonomy and self-sufficiency, visible from campaigns like 'Make in India' and recent 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat');
3. Anticolonialism (a defining element in Nehru's times);
4. Aversion to Military Alliance (therefore, NAM);
5. A South Asia free from foreign influence.
The author also briefly studies the changes in India's foreign policies and outlook towards other countries under the watch of various prime ministers of India, mainly Nehru, India Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, PV Narsimharao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and more recently Narendra Modi.
All in all, as the backcover of the book so appropriately says, the book is "an essential addition to every thinking person's library."
January 6, 2021
Book - From Chanakya To Modi : The evolution of India's foreign policy
By - Aparna Pande
Published by - HarperCollinsIN
It traces India’s foreign policy from the ancient period -age of Mauryans till the contemporary India with NDA government in power. Although a major focus is given on post-Independence India. The age of Nehru and ‘Nehruvianism’, how he shaped India’s foreign policy in the nascent years after independence. It gives a deep insight about India’s Ministry of External Affairs, its working and principles. India was a key player in global politics in the 50s, being a founding partner of the NAM, supporting neo-colonialism, signing Panchsheel agreement of peaceful existence with neighbours such as China. The challenges and problems faced by the MEA and way forward is emphasized. Using crisp data and good flow is what makes the foreign policy of India for the past 70 years getting compiled in less than 200 pages ! However it does not literally takes into account India’s foreign policy from the ancient period, it skips the medieval period, it jumps to the independence-era after giving a brief on Chanakya’s view on politics and diplomacy coded in his book - Arthasastra - treatise of politics and economics.The book follows a flow syncing with the timeline taking us through different Prime Ministers of India and their vision for India’s foreign policy. Various doctrines such as Indira doctrine, Rajiv doctrine, Gujral doctrine are explained. India kept aside its Non-alignment policy and pacifist model became close to USSR and went nuclear in the 60s, though India always promoted peace and bilateral dialogues with its neighbours. However few points mentioned in the earlier chapters keeps recurring in the next chapters as well. The writer has maintained parity without any verbose flowery description of the foreign policy/ministers. A must read for UPSC aspirants, aspiring diplomats to understand India’s foreign policy over the years since Independence.
Rating - 4.5
#bookrerviewbygetthefactshistory
IG- @getthefactshistory
--
Ankush Rai
By - Aparna Pande
Published by - HarperCollinsIN
It traces India’s foreign policy from the ancient period -age of Mauryans till the contemporary India with NDA government in power. Although a major focus is given on post-Independence India. The age of Nehru and ‘Nehruvianism’, how he shaped India’s foreign policy in the nascent years after independence. It gives a deep insight about India’s Ministry of External Affairs, its working and principles. India was a key player in global politics in the 50s, being a founding partner of the NAM, supporting neo-colonialism, signing Panchsheel agreement of peaceful existence with neighbours such as China. The challenges and problems faced by the MEA and way forward is emphasized. Using crisp data and good flow is what makes the foreign policy of India for the past 70 years getting compiled in less than 200 pages ! However it does not literally takes into account India’s foreign policy from the ancient period, it skips the medieval period, it jumps to the independence-era after giving a brief on Chanakya’s view on politics and diplomacy coded in his book - Arthasastra - treatise of politics and economics.The book follows a flow syncing with the timeline taking us through different Prime Ministers of India and their vision for India’s foreign policy. Various doctrines such as Indira doctrine, Rajiv doctrine, Gujral doctrine are explained. India kept aside its Non-alignment policy and pacifist model became close to USSR and went nuclear in the 60s, though India always promoted peace and bilateral dialogues with its neighbours. However few points mentioned in the earlier chapters keeps recurring in the next chapters as well. The writer has maintained parity without any verbose flowery description of the foreign policy/ministers. A must read for UPSC aspirants, aspiring diplomats to understand India’s foreign policy over the years since Independence.
Rating - 4.5
#bookrerviewbygetthefactshistory
IG- @getthefactshistory
--
Ankush Rai
January 11, 2021
This book is completely biased towards Congress party .
The book is totally written from their perspective. The author has contributed nearly 100 pages to Nehruvian period and the next few pages to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty .
I am not saying that you should write hundreds of pages about other prime ministers but dude atleast try to write something significant atleast about them. Completing their era in mere 4-6- pages seems like you are trying to neglect their work completely.
Talking about positives ,this book gives the essence of our foreign policy. From the year 1947 to 2021 we see the elements of Nehruvism era in our foreign policy .Maybe Modi is an exception.
For Britishers we were too important meaning they couldn't just exist without us.
Our policy is mostly about morality .The author has highlighted how we use the same word for yesterday and tomorrow in Hindi proving that we live in the past with no hopes of changing our future .
Non alignment for Pt Nehru was mere thought but was later converted into doctrine.
We are just in illusion that the world would recognize us without our efforts.
The book is totally written from their perspective. The author has contributed nearly 100 pages to Nehruvian period and the next few pages to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty .
I am not saying that you should write hundreds of pages about other prime ministers but dude atleast try to write something significant atleast about them. Completing their era in mere 4-6- pages seems like you are trying to neglect their work completely.
Talking about positives ,this book gives the essence of our foreign policy. From the year 1947 to 2021 we see the elements of Nehruvism era in our foreign policy .Maybe Modi is an exception.
For Britishers we were too important meaning they couldn't just exist without us.
Our policy is mostly about morality .The author has highlighted how we use the same word for yesterday and tomorrow in Hindi proving that we live in the past with no hopes of changing our future .
Non alignment for Pt Nehru was mere thought but was later converted into doctrine.
We are just in illusion that the world would recognize us without our efforts.
February 20, 2021
An overarching view of Indian foreign policy for the last 2300 years, mainly focusing on the time after the independence of the country, this book is a highly compressed and seminal account of the forces (ideas, individuals, interests and institutions) that shaped it.
As it is a very short account, aptly if I may say so, depth of certain events is of course lacking and some are outright missing.
I don't agree with the most of the selective ideas other reviewers intentionally chose to pick which reeks of their bias against some individuals or ideologies.
All in all, read this book if you are a foreign policy aficionado looking for a primer in the domain.
As it is a very short account, aptly if I may say so, depth of certain events is of course lacking and some are outright missing.
I don't agree with the most of the selective ideas other reviewers intentionally chose to pick which reeks of their bias against some individuals or ideologies.
All in all, read this book if you are a foreign policy aficionado looking for a primer in the domain.
September 23, 2020
Insightful & Helpful
Dr. Aparna Pande has undergone vigorous research and applied much thought to this book and given the reader a thorough backdrop of India’s Foreign Policy. Only one comment (if I may), it was a tad bit repetitive in places. But well done!
Dr. Aparna Pande has undergone vigorous research and applied much thought to this book and given the reader a thorough backdrop of India’s Foreign Policy. Only one comment (if I may), it was a tad bit repetitive in places. But well done!
January 1, 2022
Truly a masterpiece of writing on India's foreign policy. A very exact and balanced perspective. After reading it, I find myself a better informed person concerning India's foreign policy. Dr. Aparna Pande deserves an applause.
A must read book for all.
A must read book for all.
January 20, 2022
A book that takes you on a journey through the changes in India's Foreign Policy.
The author explains the reasoning behind the policies of India's Prime Ministers from Nehru to Modi
The author explains the reasoning behind the policies of India's Prime Ministers from Nehru to Modi
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews