Nehru’s Concept of Indian Defence

No aspect of Jawaharlal Nehru’s policies and leadership came under as severe an attack as those on defence. Unfortunately till this day no scholastic appraisal of the policy he pursued in regard to national security is available and it is a great pity that the Government has not encouraged such a study. We have had a host of publications by foreigners, retired Indian Army officers, retired civil servants, journalists, academicians and politicians which are generally critical of Jawaharlal Nehru’s defence policy. The bias in these works is all too obvious. Shri B.N. Mullik’s book, China’s Betrayal, 1 for various reasons has not evoked appropriate amount of credibility. One of the tragic ironies of the situation is that those who have to take an initiative in this regard may not have the time to reflect on the necessary perspective in which to view Nehru’s defence policies or realisation about their contemporary relevance to decide in favour of initiating such studies. Consequently inertia wins out and Nehru may remain ununderstood for some more time.