THE STRATEGIC BLUNDERS THAT SHAPED INDIA'S DESTINY

Was India's future compromised by decisions taken in the euphoria of independence? How different would our geopolitical landscape look today had our first Prime Minister applied strategic foresight over ideological romanticism? What price has India paid for missed opportunities at the hands of one man — Jawaharlal Nehru?

- BY P. MOHAN CHANDRAN

The freedom struggle produced several titanic leaders, but post-1947 governance demanded not just visionaries, but hard-nosed strategists. Unfortunately, Nehru's tenure, despite his global charm and domestic popularity, was marred by a string of strategic blunders whose aftershocks still shape India's foreign and security policy.

Surrendering India's Seat at the UN Security Council

In the early 1950s, the United States and its allies, alarmed by the Chinese Civil War and communist expansion, proposed India as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. This offer, backed by U.S. State Department cables (as referenced in the book Choices by Shivshankar Menon, former National Security Advisor), was made both before and after the People's Republic of China took control of mainland China in 1949.

In a letter dated August 2, 1955, Nehru dismissed the proposal, stating, "We cannot do anything which would not be agreeable to the People's Republic of China."

Instead of embracing a seat that would have enhanced India's global stature, Nehru deferred in favor of Beijing — a move that allowed China to eventually claim the seat and systematically oppose India's interests for decades to come, including blocking India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group and shielding Pakistan-based terrorists from UN sanctions.

Rejecting the Accession of Balochistan