Abstract
“India will be a different power and will continue to walk its own path in the world. That is the only responsible way for us.” (p.205)
Such is the confidence exuding from the narrative penned down by Shivshankar Menon in discussing some of the contemporary foreign policy “Choices” made by India, in his book, Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy. Intertwined with personal impressions sporadically, the book generally takes the reader through the making of these choices, the “reasons and considerations that weighed in the choices that were made in the government, on behalf of India”. The instances of these choices, are chosen because the author feels that, “India’s global role and posture are largely the result of these and similar choices; hence their lasting significance.”
The book provides, in an easy to read manner, an insider’s account of some five key contemporary foreign policy choices. This is by no means a comprehensive account of all the postCold War foreign policy choices of India but an examination of decisions that governed India’s relationship with China, United States, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and India’s nuclear posture. The narration brings forth strongly how governments operating in “uncertainty, risk and immediacy” make important choices.