3
This article was downloaded by: [Eindhoven Technical University] On: 17 November 2014, At: 14:52 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Contemporary South Asia Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ccsa20 Vision and strategy in Indian politics: Jawaharlal Nehru's policy choices and the designing of political institutions Mohammed Badrul Alam a a Jamia Millia Islamia University, India Published online: 27 Nov 2013. To cite this article: Mohammed Badrul Alam (2013) Vision and strategy in Indian politics: Jawaharlal Nehru's policy choices and the designing of political institutions, Contemporary South Asia, 21:4, 477-478, DOI: 10.1080/09584935.2013.856597 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2013.856597 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms- and-conditions

Vision and strategy in Indian politics: Jawaharlal Nehru's policy choices and the designing of political institutions

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: Vision and strategy in Indian politics: Jawaharlal Nehru's policy choices and the designing of political institutions

This article was downloaded by: [Eindhoven Technical University]On: 17 November 2014, At: 14:52Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Contemporary South AsiaPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ccsa20

Vision and strategy in Indian politics:Jawaharlal Nehru's policy choices andthe designing of political institutionsMohammed Badrul Alama

a Jamia Millia Islamia University, IndiaPublished online: 27 Nov 2013.

To cite this article: Mohammed Badrul Alam (2013) Vision and strategy in Indian politics:Jawaharlal Nehru's policy choices and the designing of political institutions, Contemporary SouthAsia, 21:4, 477-478, DOI: 10.1080/09584935.2013.856597

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2013.856597

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arisingout of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: Vision and strategy in Indian politics: Jawaharlal Nehru's policy choices and the designing of political institutions

based solely on state social practices [and do not emphasize] the relevance of identity andculture and the processes involved in their social construction’ (p. 33).

At the empirical level, the author rightly observes the ineffectiveness of South AsianAssociation of Regional Cooperation because it leaves aside contentious issues in itscharter. He also explains the importance of a bottom-up security community, which hebelieves would strengthen a good relation among the countries in the region. He explainsthe rivalry of these countries by taking Kashmir and the nuclear rivalry as case studies.A unique sociocultural structure underpinning their rivalry is identified, which remainedunexplained in most prior studies on the region. For example, in Kashmir he argues thatthe salience of ‘Kashmiriyat’, the cultural identity of Kashmiri people, is not allowed tocome to the foreground by the elites of the two states. Hindu nationalist identity islinked to the overt nuclear posture adopted by the Indian state during BJP’s period inoffice beginning in 1998. In Chapter 7, a path-dependent model of a hypothetical securitycommunity is developed based upon educational norms, elite rhetoric, popular culture, andliterary classics. Since people of both India and Pakistan share many sociocultural norms, ifrealised, the author’s ‘hypothetical India–Pakistan security community’ could reduceenmity between these two nations, ensuring security and peace in the region.

The book presents a very balanced approach while constructing the narratives of iden-tity of both India and Pakistan despite the fact that the author is a native of Pakistan. Thisvolume greatly advances our understanding of South Asian politics and it will serve as animportant reference text for students of International Relations.

Bal Gopal ShresthaUniversity of Oxford, UK

[email protected]© 2013, Bal Gopal Shrestha

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2013.856596

Vision and strategy in Indian politics: Jawaharlal Nehru’s policy choices and thedesigning of political institutions, by Jivanta Schottli, Abingdon, Routledge, 2012,240 pp., ISBN 978-0-415-61522-8

In Vision and Strategy in Indian Politics Jivanta Schottli analyzes and explains thecontext, perspectives and constraints of the policy-making process during the Nehruvianera. The opening paragraphs of the book present a historiography of the literature onNehru. The ‘structured, focused and comparison’ approach of Alexander George andAndrew Bennett is used to identify four central variables that illuminate the process ofdecision-making and policy implementation. These variables are: (a) the structure ofopportunities at the time, identified in terms of the organizational set-up, the various con-tenders for power and the range of positions articulated on specific policy issues andinitiatives; (b) the vision which is applied in terms of the meaning and significance thatparticular issues have for the political actor both in terms of their intrinsic value, asends in themselves and as instruments for attaining something more tangible; (c) strategywhich is revealed in the timing of decision-making, the framing of policy debates and thejustifications made for promoting a particular policy; and (d) the policy outcome which iscompared across case studies such as the Planning Commission and the PanchasheelaAgreement.

Book reviews 477

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ein

dhov

en T

echn

ical

Uni

vers

ity]

at 1

4:52

17

Nov

embe

r 20

14

Page 3: Vision and strategy in Indian politics: Jawaharlal Nehru's policy choices and the designing of political institutions

Chapter 4 contextualizes Nehru, comparing him with three political stalwarts of histime, namely, Sardar Patel, Dr Rajendra Prasad and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.Although each of the three contributed immensely to the independence movement,Nehru, as Schottli argues, was especially careful to balance ideological and intellectual con-siderations. This was reflected in his economic policy, social reform, and foreign policy.At the 1951 All India Congress Committee session, Nehru successfully managed the ‘struc-ture of opportunities’ by neutralizing his political opponents both within and outside theCongress party, carefully balancing socialist and capitalist elements in his plans forIndia’s economic development. The author could also have considered the external environ-ment of the time, as the leaders of both the USA and the Soviet Union courted Nehru duringthe Cold War. This played to Nehru’s advantage, as he portrayed himself as a pragmaticliberal.

One of the important case studies in the book is focused on the Planning Commission.Nehru foresaw the onerous challenges, conceptualized the intrinsic problems andenvisioned possible solutions aimed at implementing policy to suit independent India.By combining value and instrumental rationality, the Planning Commission was aninstitution that could acknowledge all the important stakeholders from the political class,industry, the media, and civil society.

In the case study of the Panchasheela Agreement, the author shows how Nehru pre-sented a distinctive view of the world and carved a niche for himself and for India in thecommunity of nations. In spite of J.B. Kripalani’s denunciation of China’s action inTibet during the 15 May 1951 Lok Sabha debate, Nehru astutely used the structure ofopportunity, fielding Krishna Menon and K.N. Panikkar to blunt this opposition and tostrengthen his influence on the evolving foreign policy discourse.

Overall, Jivanta Schottli’s book is a welcome and valuable addition to the recent revi-sionist and post-revisionist assessments of the Nehruvian era. The book will be of abidinginterest to historians and political scientists, as well as foreign policy experts in general andSouth Asia area studies scholars in particular.

Mohammed Badrul AlamJamia Millia Islamia University, India

[email protected]© 2013, Mohammed Badrul Alam

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09584935.2013.856597

Pakistan: a new history, by Ian Talbot, London, Hurst, 2012, xv + 284 pp., ISBN 978-1-84904-203-1

Ian Talbot’s book Pakistan: A New History presents a concise yet comprehensiveaccount of the ‘major turning points and trends’ (ix) in the tumultuous history of Paki-stan spanning over six decades. The book is a ‘study in failure’ (x) of the Pakistani statein terms of democracy, social equality, political stability, and economic development. Inorder to highlight the causes of this failure, Talbot admirably charts the post-indepen-dence history of Pakistan along five different but interdependent trajectories: ‘historicalinheritances; the civil–military relationship; the external dimension; centre–provincerelations; and the role of Islam in Pakistan’s public life’ (7). Talbot’s judiciousbalance of historical detail and scholarly analysis provide a panoptic overview of

478 Book reviews

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Ein

dhov

en T

echn

ical

Uni

vers

ity]

at 1

4:52

17

Nov

embe

r 20

14