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Warfare quintessentially comprises Firepower and Manoeuvre. Terrain and the nuclear overhang restrict manoeuvre in our theatre of operations.The constituents of Firepower are platforms with ammunition, which can deliver from five dimensions; Land, Air, Surface of the sea, below the surface of the sea and possibly in times to come Outer Space. These are Small Arms, Guns, Mortars, Rockets of Artillery, Tanks, Aircrafts, Missiles, Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs), Armed Helicopters, Submarines and in future possibly stations in Outer Space. The ammunition which is the payload is the most important element of Firepower. Combination of platforms with ammunition results in devastating Firepower which paves the way for victory. The constituents enable us in a full spectrum conflict to undertake net centric operations. The conflicts visualised could be Land operations in a Counter Insurgency situation against non state actors, Air Land operations in a counter insurgency operation or a conventional conflict, Air operations for Counter Air, Air Defence, Sea operations for sea control or denial, Sea Land operations to undertake Amphibious operations, Air Sea operations between two opposing naval task forces and possibly by 2030 operations involving Outer Space. In these conflicts victory would be attained by ensuring Asymmetries of Firepower.

Life in India has changed beyond recognition in the last seventy years, and I am making an effort at preserving the memory of a lost past for my grandchildren and their yet to come progeny, to relive some of the jungle stories and memories. JUNGLE SALT "You can take a man out of the Jungle, but if he is born to it - you cannot take the Jungle out of a man". AnonJungle Odyssey is a soldier's 'Shikar' biography. Glimpses of experiences with his father the 'Deva-Pitta' of these stories perhaps are the defining events that qualify him as a "Jungle Salt". Soldiering closely enabled him to retain his lifelong interest in Wildlife - the fauna - flora of our vast subcontinental size country.It has been a fulsome life that exposed him to the Jungle lore and the beauty of its jungle and wildlife.

A potential competition exists between India and China, and there is also no doubt that China started the war. Highlighting the mistakes made by India rather than empirically analysing the available data can be regarded as the primary causes for the confusion that exists today. Though complete details and evidence of the developments are available and documented, few of us have attempted to draw up a pragmatic and realist analysis. The consequences of that war have yet to die down entirely and are frequently raked up with issues on recent developments which are not widely dissimilar to those of 1962. China is a complex country. To understand this rapidly progressing nation is even more difficult. There are many perceptions on this country and many of them are formed on account of some international events and China's growing assertiveness. It may be far-fetched to expect for a paradigm change in stance and motive which could give China an uncertain negotiating position. This edited volume provides the reader an excellent blend of the historical run-up to the aberration, the military developments and consequences. It is also provides useful material to understand the geographical boundary issues between India and China and developing Chinese strategies both on the political and military front.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of nine weapons and explosive remnants of war, their uses in armed conflict and their deadly impact on the environment. Besides three weapons of mass destruction (Biological, Chemical and Nuclear), it also covers controversial weapons like Depleted Uranium, White Phosphorus, Cluster Munitions, and Anti-personnel Landmines, their military applications, and the health and environmental hazard posed by them. The book offers an impartial analysis of legal regimes, and their efficacy in minimising the damage these weapons wreak on humans and the environment. It then examines the principles and rules of international humanitarian law, which could be used by the international community to ban these weapons. The book concludes by making a few recommendations addressed to international organisations, the States and military commanders with a view to reducing the damage caused by these weapons to the earth's pristine environment.

The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is of immense strategic significance on the global maritime map - not just on account of its centrality to the current trade and energy flows, but also because of the extreme disparities and inherent volatility of the region. The region faces an array of security challenges, both traditional and non-traditional. These include security of SLOCs, the problem of piracy, the possibility of renewed terrorism at and from the sea and the pervasive smuggling of people, narcotics and arms. The narrative of regional maritime security is also characterized by oscillating economic growth, growing military presence and a rapidly deteriorating ecological balance in the Indian Ocean. A stand-out feature of the IOR is the lack of correspondence between nations on issues concerning 'security'. While using the high seas for trade, transportation of energy, major powers have tended to neglect the impact of the economic activities on the sea itself. In contrast, smaller regional countries and island states with developing economies have, at best, been able to use only those resources of the sea which are vital to their survival. As the challenges rise, the need to factor in and secure effective management of the Indian Ocean has turned into a compelling imperative. While governments and authorities grapple with complex issues trying to forge a coherent maritime policy, there is a growing recognition that unless solutions are found quickly, lives, livelihoods, and in some cases the very future of local populations could be at risk. This book contains a comprehensive overview of perspectives of some of the stakeholders in the Indian Ocean Region. It seeks to identify the key maritime security issues and explores the potential contribution of the stakeholders in meeting these challenges.

The present volume comes out of a conference held by the IFPS in collaboration with CPWAS at Calcutta University in March 2012. The volume comprises of eight essays highlighting on various approaches to the question of instability in India's western neighbourhood, and what it could mean for India. The issues covered include the domestic dynamics of Pakistan, Afghanistan, the extent to which these have a bearing on the foreign policy of the Government of India, and the economic and social cost extracted by the aura of instability that has come to characterise the neighbourhood.

Social Inclusion of Ethnic Communities in Contemporary Nepal focuses on the dynamics of ethnic identities and movement in South Asian states in a comparative framework. As we witness a series of explosive ethnic revivals across the globe, this study investigates the issues around ethnicity that have come to occupy centre stage in Nepal's contemporary political and development discourse. Nepal is at the crossroads of state building. The Constituent Assembly is now looking into the modalities of establishing a multi-cultural, multi-social, multi-linguistic, multi-religious and multi-ethnic federal state. In the aftermath of the April 2006 Jana Andolan II and the commitment of the ruling political alliance to restructuring Nepal along federal republican lines, the assessment of Nepal's ethnic question from multiple perspectives - political, sociological, economic and spatial - has acquired a new urgency. Ethnic identity is only one part of the problem of ethnicity in Nepal. Federalism therefore has to be conceived of as an exercise in addressing the multiplicity of issues that form the agenda of Nepal's development, so that a politically, socially and economically integrated, dynamic and progressive Nepal emerges from the shadows of the past. This work includes an intensive analysis of facts, figures and particulars collected from available records and surveys. One of the aims of the study is to assess the defining ethnic identity among the Limbus, centred on a case in an urban area in the Kathmandu Valley. This work is mainly based on qualitative data but quantitative data has also been used to measure various aspects of the community, like the level of educational, economy etc. This volume will be an invaluable guide for the scholars of federalism in Nepal while also educating the lay reader in general.

The Indian Air Force which was initially created as an independent military force proved to be an independent and versatile component of India's military power in 1971 War. This book provides insightful essays and material to critically review and revalidate some of the continuing concepts and approaches to the planning and execution of military operations. This edited version delves into the national interest protection and legitimate compulsions for India to go into war. The compilation also lays out the canvass for a comparison study with the one in 1965. The analyses on military strategy of Pakistan and avenues of shortcoming in joint planning bring out important lessons in force employment. The aggressive dimensions of offensive actions by all the three Services have been well documented. The 1971 War proved the heroism, steadfastness and courage of junior leadership that, incidentally, has also been the hallmark during Kargil in 1999. Despite frequent criticisms on jointness, instances of combined resoluteness and mutual trust during 1971 War contributed immensely to the victory. Valuable lessons can be inferred from instances where objectivity in political decisions brought about judicious outcomes through demonstrable use of military power. The book also provides a few analytical horizons on the background framework of Simla Agreement and certain events in the past that could have developed a different template for history. Air power may be difficult to understand but an evaluation of the purpose, cost and expected gains as evident from various instances of history including 1971 War would bring an end to many irreconcilable and inchoate debates. This book makes for a compelling read for those in quest of understanding the competence of air power and its dominant influences to shape victory.

This book is primarily an effort to study the phenomenon called insurgency that has been posing a huge challenge to the internal security of the country. Though a wealth of literature on the subject already exists, a need was felt to analyse the multiple facets of insurgency as no country barring India has witnessed this endemic for a prolonged period. The subject is so vast and dynamic that no strait-jacketed solution can be prescribed to curb this menace overnight. However, an attempt has been made to analyse this phenomenon and prescribe remedial antidotes. The author has attempted to capture the origin of insurgency which dates back to a late 18th century, and study various causes and numerous factors that fuel it. In addition, he has also attempted to study the doctrines and strategies, with special emphasis on both Islamic insurgency and other forms of uprisings in the country that continue to pose challenges to the Indian security environment. Owing allegiance to his uniform, the author has also attempted to bring out the role of air power in counter- insurgency operations. The penultimate chapter deals with shaping a viable counter-insurgency strategy and spells out the essential parameters, principles and pitfalls of such a strategy. The chapter also dwells on the political aim and the importance of a socio-economic turnabout to scale down insurgency. The use of calibrated force rather than brutal armed suppressive methods is advocated. Will insurgencies ever end? This lingering question is discussed in the final chapter and certain essential strategies, both military and non-military, are spelt out which would provide occasions and opportunities to forge a lasting solution to insurgency in India.

Just think: the last combat aircraft designed by the 74-year old HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) with its expansive infrastructure was in the 1950s - and it was an excellent aircraft. Thirty years later an ad-hoc, interim institution called ADA (Aeronautics Development Agency) was set to design the LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) under the DRDO management. Thirty years later the aircraft has yet to enter service although the Indian Air Force has ordered 40 aircraft knowing they do not meet the qualitative requirements set in the early 1980s, leave alone the 21st century! Even the primary trainer for rookie pilots has just begun to be imported. Obviously something is wrong for a long time; and obviously it is a systemic problem. This volume sets out to historically examine and present a balanced understatement of the facts. Some of the leading experts in the profession of aerospace identify the problems. The reader is left to form his judgment and what appears an obvious solution. The Air Force is the most concerned stakeholder in the quality and quantity of military aircraft; but it seems to have been left on the sidelines in the process of to be criticised as being against indigenisation. We recognise that India is way behind the developed countries --- and China now, in design and development of military aviation. We don't have to go far to find the way ahead. Ninety-five percent of the Indian Navy's warships and submarines are designed and manufactured in the country (though many systems inside, like its missiles, may be acquired from the best in the world). The reason is starkly so simple that South Block itself does not notice it! Naval Head Quarters contain within its organisation under the leadership and the Chief of Naval Staff, the Directorate of Naval Design as well as the Controller of Warship Production besides the other supporting organisations like WESEE etc. Hence when the indigenous INS Delhi sailed out in the 1990s, the international community began to look at Indian Navy with new respect. Why can't similar system be established for the Army and the Air Force? Read the volume to ask your questions and mull over possible solutions.

The Asia Annual 2011 focuses on the various aspects of democracy in the Asian context. The chapters in this volume reflect diverse perceptions, adopting an interdisciplinary approach, which enhance the discussions and reveal a plethora of opinions and outlooks. The collection of essays has been arranged primarily in terms of 'regions' (in the geopolitical sense). The volume brings together contributions from leading experts and 'area specialists' who offer special insights and critiques on crucial issues and questions related to the central theme of democracy in their respective 'regions/areas' of specialisation. The intention is to submit an inclusive volume concerning the idea of democracy in Asia. It strives to offer an exhaustive analysis that could prove to be valuable for those who are absorbed in Asian studies. The essays contend with wide-ranging debates on varied aspects related to the processes of democracy and democratisation from the Asian geopolitical space and contemplate on problems arising from the pressures associated with movements for democracy. The authors in their accounts also raise crucial questions regarding the viability as well as the consequences of external efforts at stimulating democracy and the setting up of imported models of democracy. The inherent emphasis is on both the intrinsic distinctiveness of the regions as well as the considerable commonalities, which inspire comparative analyses in general and in the context of democracy/democratisation in particular.

For the world, the disintegration of the Soviet Union means the end of the Cold War rivalries between two rival power-blocs, led by the US and the Soviet Union. For Russia, it means, the loss of its earlier superpower status and the beginning of the process of adjusting itself with a new world order. But, most important, Russia became one of the fourteen member-states of the organization, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a new entity that was born in place of the USSR. The post-Cold War era signifies, for Russia, a journey to adjust itself to new realities- a new international strategic scenario, the rise of new powers, and its own diminished strength. At the same time, the journey marks Russia's search for a new status in the international order of powers. To attain that goal, Russia felt it absolutely necessary to stay relevant in its immediate neighbourhood and the focus of attention became the Central Asian region, with which Russia shared a common history for nearly two hundred years and still now, they are interdependent and interlinked by their common security concerns in various ways. This book attempts to study the development of Russia's relations with the newly independent, sovereign states of Central Asia in the post-Soviet, post-Cold War context. It argues that unlike during the Tsarist past, in the post-Soviet era, Russia tries to engage the Central Asian Republics in multifarious ways and the development of three such bondings between Russia and these Republics in the spheres of security, energy and migration is analyzed in this study. This book also focuses on the post-Cold war context, as a number of global and regional powers are involved in the Central Asian region as the region is rich in energy resources and can act as a viable trade and transport corridor between Asia and Europe. So, Russia now does not enjoy the advantage of being the only power as the countries of the region have the option of choosing partners, according to their own choices and necessities. This changed context of competition adds a significant dimension to the development of Russia's engagements with these states.

Dragon in the Air: Transformation of China's Aviation Industry and Air Force is a comprehensive and multidimensional study of the air force and the emerging aviation industry in PRC. The author has made a bold effort to trace the changing character of Chinese Air Force from the time of nationalists and perspicuously hunted down the history by dividing PLAAF into three distinct periods. The first stage from 1949-1979 has been characterized by the early blues of PLAAF under Mao's leadership. Deng then had an overbearing influence in the second stage from 1979-1993, also instrumental in initiating the process of transformation from an ancillary of PLA into an independent arm. The third stage was however the defining moment which witnessed the start of modernisation of PLAAF under the leadership of Jiang Zemin. The author has very lucidly tried to explain the strong link between modernisation of PLAAF and the emergence of China's aviation industry and therefore divided the book in two parts. While the first part of the book maintains focus on the air force and the process of modernisation; the second part dwells with the evolution of the aviation industry and the changes in the organisation structure. He has pointedly highlighted China's increasing defence spending and growing military capabilities resulting in China developing new aerial platforms, ballistic missiles and modern firepower. As a result China is enhancing strategic power projection by building capabilities to carry out air strikes, reconnaissance and early warning and air and missile defence to put together a potent military force by the middle of this century.

Most of the papers presented at the International Seminar on Post-Soviet States: Two Decades of Transition & Transformation, held at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Papers presented at an international conference on Issues and perspectives in the securitisation process: perceptions from India and Europe, held at Kolkata on 19th January 2012; articles focusing primarily on South Asia and Europe.

India embarked upon the liberalisation path in 1991 by dismantling the Licence, Quota, Permit Raj. A decade later, the defence sector allowed 100 percent private sector participation with 26 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The offset policy in 2005 and its subsequent refinements aimed at leveraging India's big ticket acquisitions to bring in substantial FDI, Joint Ventures (JVs) and outsourcing arrangements, thereby improving the self-reliance quotient. Despite such policy initiatives, India's military industry capability and self-reliance remain at a low ebb. There is considerable unease over the implementation of defence offsets, due to the meagre inflow of FDI into manufacturing and the R&D sector, lukewarm long-term investment interest of foreign arms majors in Indian industry and outsourcing arrangements predominantly for low end products, services and Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO) so far. To galvanise the process, the government needs to develop a comprehensive industrialisation strategy for the manufacturing sector and dovetail defence industry capability as part of this larger policy mosaic. Use of offsets can be a critical facilitator of this strategy. Of the four BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries that are expected to be global leaders in 2020, Brazil, China and Russia are seen to have taken significant strides in aerospace, shipbuilding, manufacturing, exports and R&D, with offsets playing a significant role. India is yet to realise its full potential in these areas. The offset policy can be a powerful instrument for such global leadership. FDI in defence should be increased to at least 50 percent as this is likely to bring in significant key manufacturing and design technology capability. Simultaneously, substantial R&D investment and joint technology projects will be needed to spur the export potential and the spin-off to the civil sector. Front end defence technology in electronics, avionics and metallurgy and propulsion has always been a precursor to overall growth in Science and Technology (S&T) and national capability build-up. This has to be supplemented by social sector investment, skill upgradation and training. A mix of direct and indirect offsets will bolster this process. A liberal offset policy, with strong government mentoring, has the heady potential to make India a global hub in defence technology and manufacturing, and more self-reliant in critical defence systems and platforms.

The Foreign Policy of India, at least up to the end of the Cold War, has often been charged with an inward-looking South Asian orientation, a deadening preoccupation with the immediate neighbourhood, and a sort of tunnel vision. Such allegations have considerable substance when pertaining to the region of the Middle East, with the peoples of which Indian people have enjoyed a relationship that predates the present framework of nations-states literally by millennia. At a time when the Indian economy seems to be going through a stellar rise, it is useful for India to develop a policy of engagement with the Middle East. Unlike most other countries India actually has human ties with the region that very few other peoples have-ties that were forged by generations of people travelling between India and the Middle East, settling down in each other's lands before the borders became hard. Some observers have argued that the government of India needs develop a more dynamic policy towards the region because of the large number of Indians working in the petroleum economies-from the Gulf states right down to Libya. The present volume comes out of a conference organised by the Institute of Foreign Policy Studies in association with the Centre for Pakistan and West Asia Studies, Calcutta University in the month of February 2011, as the Arab Spring was beginning to stir the region. It also marked the completion of two decades of India's economic liberalisation as well as foreign policy reorientation. The volume primarily means to address (as did the conference) the terms of India's re-orientation of policy towards the region, as also the various dynamics that condition such engagement.

The book traces the genesis of Pakistan military's role in the governance of the country. With a focus on the military's political role, the book comprehensively explains the military's intrusion into politics and its implications. Governance in Pakistan is a complicated balancing act between the elected civilian leaders and the military chiefs. Primarily, it is a power-sharing arrangement in which the military has significant influence over security, defence, foreign policy and domestic issues. Delineating on how nuclear programme came under military control, the author states that the military can and will influence the nature and direction of political change even without directly assuming power. Since inception, Pakistan faced several challenges - internal security, law and order problems, financial and industrial constraints, and shortage of arms. The continued political uncertainties and domestic disturbances resulted in the expansion of functions performed by the military. The multi-dimensional role played by the military due to weak civilian institutions, factionalism and external challenges, accelerated its participation in the governance of the country. The early deaths of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan created a leadership vacuum. The successive prime ministers' inability in providing stable governments and continued political uncertainties provided opportunities to the military directly to assume power. The military under the leadership of Gen Ayub Khan assumed power in October 1958. The successive military regimes (Gen Zia and Gen Musharraf's regime) employed the same tools in removing the elected civilian leaders. Judiciary strengthened the hands of the military rulers by legitimising their coups through their verdicts, thus playing a crucial role in strengthening and sustaining the Generals. The book delves into the internal dynamics and external factors that increased the influence of the military in Pakistan's polity, economy and society.

In recent years, the descriptive term 'Indo-Pacific' has entered the geo-strategic lexicon as a substitute for the more established expression 'Asia-Pacific'. Defined as an integrated strategic system that best captures the shift in power and influence from the West to the East, the concept has dominated strategic debates and discussions, gaining rapidly in currency and acceptance. Popular though the term has become, its strategic context and underlying logic are still sharply contested. While proponents of the 'Indo-Pacific' advance compelling arguments in its favour, the debate over whether it is a valid construct, is not quite settled. Consequently, it is yet to gain full acceptance among regional analysts and policy makers who appear unsure about embracing the idea without any qualifying caveats. Even so, the Indo-Pacific has emerged as a significant strategic space and a theatre of great-power competition. From a maritime security perspective, its importance as a geo-economic hub is accentuated by the growing presence of non-traditional threats. Piracy, terrorism, gun running, illegal fishing, trafficking, global warming and natural disasters represent challenges to maritime security that are inherently transnational in nature - where dynamics in one part of the system influence events in another, necessitating coordinated security operations by maritime forces and strategic relationships between stakeholder states. Papers put together in this book seek to appraise the Indo-Pacific, by examining the concept holistically, deciphering the trends that impact maritime security in the region and identifying its emerging patterns. Apart from examining the inherent logic underpinning the concept, these provide perspectives on security in the Indo-Pacific region, evaluate the strategic implications of competition, conflict and instability in the region, and bring out the operational implications of using a frame of reference that combines two contiguous albeit disparate maritime theatres.

Lethal drones have been used in the last 12 years by the United States to strike targets and eliminate terrorists in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen and a few other countries. Details of how armed drones are being used, in or outside of declared wars, are closely guarded secrets by all three states known to use them. However, these drones have also been responsible for killing and injuring thousands of civilians, including women and children, besides destroying homes and property. The US and its allies have claimed that the drone strikes have been spectacularly successful-in terms of both finding and killing targeted enemies. Drones have been projected as a military necessity and their market is growing fast, especially for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The use of unmanned drones to target belligerents raises many complex issues. It is of crucial importance that traditional ethical rules and practices are applied; that rules of international law are observed even while engaging with terrorists. There are a few who justify the use of drones, but their argument is somewhat similar to the argument used for dropping atomic bombs over Japan in WWII. Lethal drones are a weapon of rich nations who have used them to attack poor, defenceless nations. This book discusses the ethical, legal and strategic issues relating to the use of drones in armed conflict.

On October 21-22, 1947, when military led tribesmen entered Jammu & Kashmir, their final aim was to facilitate occupation and accession of the state by Pakistan. The swift Indian military response to this invasion ensured that while India retained a major part of the province, Pakistan could not achieve its goal. This war, from Pakistan's point of view, was marred by the failure of higher planning and leadership to gauge the advantage and the Indian reaction in Kashmir. During the subsequent period which saw its armed forces transform, Pakistan took the initiative in altering the power equations in the region and its moves culminated in the second India-Pakistan War of 1965. For Pakistan, the war ended with an unexpected outcome. There was bitterness and relief at the same time. The next six years saw a tremendous boost to the military capability of Pakistan to counter the continued expansion of India's armed forces but then the internal ethnic fault lines within Pakistan created fissures which resulted in yet another military confrontation with India in 1971. Twenty-nine years later, the neighbours clashed again in Kargil. This operation did not emerge in a strategic vacuum. Given the long history of Indo-Pakistan conflict over Kashmir, the Kargil conflict represented a continuation and a reaction by Pakistan to the Indian control of the Siachen Glacier in 1984. Kargil was thought to be an operation planned and executed by the Pakistan Army with political connivance, without planned combat air support. Pakistan may not have understood or applied the force potential of air power in past confrontations with India but that may change in a possible future conflict. The prominence in building the air force is indicative of the likely dominant role it would play in tomorrow's war. The Pakistan-China combine has been up against India since the early Sixties. This partnership has grown in all spheres, aimed towards a common foe: India. The added threat of the full PLA Air Force (PLAAF) machinery behind this force is overpowering. The current force deficit against China is one-third the combat squandrons when the western front against the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is equally balanced. The need is to augment the existing Indian Air Force (IAF) force levels to a 54-squandron air force to minimally balance the emerging PAF threat by 2020. This figure rises to 66 combat squandrons to balance an augmented PLAAF force from the remaining Military Region Air Forces (MRAFs). Capability flows from numbers and the need is to build adequate force levels to possess the capability and counter the adversaries in a two-front scenario for India. The IAF is in the process of expansion and building up qualitatively and quantitatively. History has caught us having to fight in the same process of expansion and consolidation in 1965, and hopefully, it will not again.

Product of a Post-doctoral research done at the University of Washington, (Seattle), USA, the present work is an attempt to conceptualise and analyse the postulates underlying India's Foreign Policy from its formative years in the early fifties to its maturation in the early eighties of the last century. It subjects the management of foreign relations by India to a full scale theoretical examination from the political economy angle-an exercise few scholars then or now have undertaken .Notions of security, national interest, diplomatic leverage, decision making process and so on have, in this work, been revisited in the decisive context of a domestic-external continuum in which forces of economic origin were seen as defining the rationale of a foreign policy that was supposed to take a developing nation to the fulfilment of its legitimate aspirations. At the same time, the innovations that were made with practically no earlier precedent to go by and the kind of institution building required for the purpose have been dealt with critically so as to bring out the interplay of domestic development aspirations and the art of ensuring policy independence by appropriate diplomacy. In the turbulent context of the Cold War the Indian experiment in the management of foreign relations and the positive gains it reaped in collectivising the principle of non-alignment did constitute a subject that demanded a non-conventional approach to get to the bottom of it. That is precisely what distinguishes the book by one of the most qualified experts in International Relations, enjoying intellectual acclaim both at home and abroad. The book starts with a theoretical discourse on the applicability or otherwise of the political economy approach as it stood at the time of writing. In subsequent chapters it examines a dependent economy's quest for an independent foreign policy, the central challenge before the external affairs ministry of the country. It needed, among other things handling of external aid, and foreign investment to recharge the developmental enterprises at home in a manner that would not interfere with the autonomy in judging and reacting to external events. Economic restructuring at home which brought a strong public sector as complementary to a fledgling private sector constituted an essential aspect. So also came up the new experiment of building a collective economic front with other developing nations. In its compact, yet well documented, analysis the book provides the most engaging scholarly presentation of the subject in all its relevant technicalities.