A History of India, Third Edition

THE REPUBLIC

Nehru was flabbergasted by the course of events and 1962, in stark
contrast with 1961, was the nadir of his political career. At Belgrade the year
before he had been the star at the conference of the non-aligned nations; as
their spokesman he had then visited Moscow to impress upon Khrushchev
the need for a cessation of Soviet nuclear tests. African nationalists who had
found Nehru too moderate at Belgrade were surprised by his decision to
liberate Goa from Portuguese rule in December 1961. Nehru had hesitated
for a long time before seeking a military solution to this problem. But the
Portuguese dictator, Salazar, was in no mood to negotiate a peaceful transfer
of power. The Africans felt that Nehru, instead of giving them a lead, was
waiting until the Portuguese empire in Africa crumbled and Goa would then
fall into his lap—and they said so in no uncertain terms. Talks with Kennedy
in America must have given Nehru the impression that this president would
not support his colonialist NATO ally when the chips were down. Nehru did
not mention a word about his plan to Kennedy, who was annoyed about this
after the event—although he did not, indeed, lift a finger to help the
Portuguese. Pakistan also kept out of it. And last but not least, the
Portuguese governor general of Goa only blasted some bridges; apart from
that, he did not attempt to put up a hopeless fight against the Indian army.
This was Nehru’s last success. The Chinese blow of 1962 struck him hard
and his health deteriorated rapidly. After his death in May 1964 his
successor, Lal Bahadur Shastri, who was completely inexperienced in the
conduct of foreign policy, was faced with a daunting task.

Pakistan’s Operation ‘Grand Slam’ and Soviet mediation

In 1960 the relations between India and Pakistan seemed to be perfect.
Ayub Khan, Pakistan’s military ruler, was at the height of his power and
did not need to point to India as the great threat in order to swing public
opinion in his favour. The Indus Water Treaty had finally been signed and
Nehru and Ayub met at Murree in a spirit of harmony. However, when
India failed to meet the Chinese challenge in 1962 and Nehru’s power
declined, Pakistan established friendly relations with China in 1963. The
ambitious young minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the main architect of
this new alliance. He also pursued a hard line as far as India was
concerned and when Nehru died, Ayub and Bhutto thought that the time
had come to settle old scores once and for all. Shastri seemed to be a weak
man and a little test war in the Rann of Kutch proved that he would walk
into any trap which Pakistan laid for him. The Rann is flooded by the sea
for several months of the year: Pakistan selected a time to settle a border
dispute there by military means and in such a way as to put the Indian
troops defending the area at a great disadvantage—they were literally at
sea. Shastri then agreed to mediation and the British prime minister Harold
Wilson was asked to act as the mediator.