Reading List 1. Acheson, Dean. Present at the Creation - My Years in the State State Department. 2. Beaulac, Willard. 3. 4. Career Diplomat A Career in the Foreign Service of the United States. MacMillan, New York.: 1964. Blancke, W. Wendell - The Foreign Service of the United States. Bohlen, Charles E. Witness to History, W. W. Norton, New York.: 1973. Farewell to Foggy Bottom. McKay, 5. Briggs, Ellis O. New York.: 1964. 6. 7. 8. 9. Kennan, George E. American Diplomacy 1900 - 1950. Kennan, George E. Memoirs, 1925 - 1950. Little, Brown Murphy, Robert. Diplomat Among Warriors. Doubleday, Nicolson, Sir Harold. Diplomacy. Oxford University Press, SOUTH ASIA South Asia contains about 1.9 million square miles of land, and about 700 million people, almost one-fifth of the world's population. The culture of the area comprising India and Pakistan is one of the oldest in the world, dating back to 3000 B. C. The history of the area is one of absorption of peoples entering the subcontinent from the northwest. The inhabitants of South Asia have historically been inward rather than outward looking. The people have rarely been united, and then only for brief periods under a strong conqueror. There is wide variation in climate, language, religion, ethnic background, customs, social organization, and form of government. But for all of its diversity, the subcontinent of South Asia has certain characteristics which are generally common to the entire area. One striking common characteristic is change. All over South Asia far-reaching developments are taking place in the economic, political, and social fields. In the political sphere new forms of government are developing. Centuries-old social patterns and codes of human relationships are being broken down under the impact of modern education. Among the masses of the people there is a new awareness that poverty need not be their lot--that they need not accept social patterns and economic conditions which have long deprived them of a decent livelihood. Another common characteristic of the nations of South Asia is economic underdevelopment. Agriculture is generally carried on by primitive means and crop yields are low. Though industry is developing rapidly is some areas, it is still almost totally lacking in others. In every nation of the subcontinent the governments in power are striving to achieve the economic progress so desperately needed. While the problems to be overcome are enormous and while some of the development plans may at times falter, each day sees some change--the opening of a new factory, the completion of an irrigation project, the harnessing of a new source of power, the discovery of a new mineral deposit. The fact that the nations of South Asia have in the past several centuries experienced varying degrees of foreign domination or influence has had a profound effect in determining their present attitudes toward world affairs. A part of the European heritage is the generally suspicious attitude of many South Asians toward the west and its motives. To some South Asians, the imagined threat of domination by the west, whether through economic or other means, looms as large as the threat of Communist imperialism. In addition, there is a particular sensitivity to racial questions, since the experience of many South Asians was one of domination of white over colored peoples. This is one of the factors underlying the prevailing attitude of neutralism in this area. Following the Bangladesh affair, India clearly emerged as the dominant power of South Asia, a position enhanced by her demonstrated technical ability to manufacture nuclear explosives. As her influence on events in neighboring states increases, her relations with other nations grow in importance to the world as a whole. The following extracts from a U.S. Department of State publication outlines India's foreign relations and U. S. policy toward that country: "Foreign Relations "Since India achieved independence in 1947 it has played an important role in world affairs. It has been particularly active in the United Nations as a leader of the Afro-Asian group and has made important contributions to U. N. peacekeeping operations in Korea, the Gaza Strip, the Congo, and Cyprus. In addition, India is Chairman of the International Control Commissions established in Laos, Viet-Nam, and Cambodia under the 1954 and 1962 Geneva agreements. "Indian leadership in world affairs has derived not only from the country's size and population, but also from the prestige and influence India attained as a result of its unique and successful independence struggle. Mahatma Gandhi's leadership of the independence movement was maintained and broadened in some respects after Gandhi's death in 1948 by Jawaharlal Nehru. Mr. Nehru is best known as the architect of 'nonalignment,' a posture of world affairs that has been adopted by a large number of ex-colonial and Afro-Asian nations. However, since Mr. Nehru's death in 1964 and with the increasing involvement of Indian leaders with pressing internal economic and political problems, India has played a less prominent role in international affairs. In recent years this role has been focused more on Asian matters of immediate significance to India's political and economic interests. "In addition to belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations and its specialized agencies, India is a member of the Colombo Plan, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (LAEA). "Pakistan "India's relations with Pakistan have been troubled from the beginning by the centuries-old rivalries and disagreements between the Hindus and Moslems of the subcontinent, which led to the partition of British India in 1947. Until 1971 the most sensitive issue was the dispute over Kashmir, whose Hindu maharaja acceded to India despite the fact that a majority of his subjects were Moslem. India maintains that the accession and subsequent elections in Kashmir have led to its becoming an integral part of India. Pakistan asserts that the inhabitants of the area must be allowed the right of self-determination in accordance with an earlier Indian pledge and U.N. resolution. The dispute triggered open warfare between the two countries in 1947-48 and again in 1965. The 1965 struggle, unlike the earlier conflict, spread to other areas of India and Pakistan and involved the main forces of both countries. A U.N. sponsored cease-fire brought the fighting to a halt, and an agreement providing for a withdrawal of forces was worked out under Soviet auspices at Tashkent, U.S.S. R., in January 1966. "India-Pakistan relations reached another low following disturbances in East Pakistan in March 1971. As a result of this millions of Pakistani refugees flowed into India creating considerable tension between the two countries. "In line with its basic foreign policy objectives, India, after independence, sought to maintain relations with China by a policy of friendship with the Chinese regime. This policy ultimately failed and military conflict broke out between the two countries in the fall of 1962. After a month's fighting, in which the Chinese forces made deep penetrations into Indian territory, the Chinese proclaimed a cease-fire and generally withdrew to positions held prior to the attack. Since 1962 Sino-Indian relations have remained cool, and India has greatly strengthened its defenses against China. China continues to occupy a portion of Ladakh, in the north, which India claims. "Soviet Union "Over the years since Indian independence, India and the Soviet Union have built a relationship based on a general coincidence of views on many international political problems involving the developing countries, their mutual proximity to China, Soviet support for the Indian position on the Kashmir issue in the United Nations, and Soviet economic and military assistance. In August 1971 the two countries signed a 20-year Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation. "U.S. Policy India; "United States policy toward India has five main objectives: (1) to support a strong, independent, and democratic (2) to assist India to achieve a rate of economic growth. sufficient to insure a rising standard of living for the Indian masses and continuing political development under democratic institutions; (3) to cultivate mutual understanding and cooperation between the Governments and peoples of India and the United States; (4) to encourage a solution of the problems between India and Pakistan which threaten the peace, stability, and development of the region; and (5) to prevent South Asia from becoming a major focus of a great power conflict or from coming under the domination of any external power. |