By Sumit Ganguly
The term “strategic autonomy” has acquired almost talismanic status in recent discussions of India’s foreign and security policy. In the wake of the recently concluded third U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue a number if commentators, especially from India, hailed the country’s ability to preserve its “strategic autonomy.” Even some U.S. academics have claimed in the recent past that this preoccupation with “strategic autonomy” has been a constant in India’s foreign and security policies.
Despite these confident pronouncements, a more careful look at the country’s policies since independence suggests otherwise. In the wake of the disastrous Sino-Indian border war of 1962, India sought military assistance from the United States (PDF). Soon thereafter, following the first Chinese nuclear test of 1964, India actually reportedly sought a nuclear guarantee from the United States. However, since its leadership was unwilling to abandon its commitment to nonalignment, no such guarantee proved to be forthcoming.
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