The legislature and foreign policy

Considering that Parliament was conceived of as the pivot of our political edifice, the publication of Indian Parliament Shaping Foreign Policy, which examines the role of Parliament in foreign policymaking, is useful and well-timed.

- RUP NARAYAN DAS

It comes at a time when opposition parties have demanded a discussion of foreign policy issues on the floor of Parliament, especially the impact of Donald Trump's tariffs on April 2 and discussions on passing of the Immigration and Foreigners Bill of March 2025. Earlier the government had stonewalled demands for a discussion on India-China border issues. Written by a senior journalist, the book also merits attention given the growing perception that the role of Parliament, including those of the Parliamentary Committees, is receding.

There have been studies in the past that examine the role of Parliament in making foreign policy. Among them is the edited volume Foreign Policy and Legislatures, published in 1988, by the late Professor M.L. Sondhi—who had resigned from the Indian Foreign Service, taught at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and was also a Member of Parliament. The second one is Parliament and India's China Policy written by Nancy Jetly of Jawaharlal Nehru University, which was published in 1973.

Mr. Prasad's book sifts through the Parliamentary debates on three major foreign policy issues in independent India and similar debates in the Constituent Assembly and the Provisional Parliament. The major foreign policy debates examined in the book cover India's Peacekeeping Forces deployed to Sri Lanka, the World Trade Organization, and nuclear energy, including the stormy Indo-US Nuclear Deal or 123 Agreement.