Scholars of international relations, political thought, and India's diplomatic history continue to debate the meaning and relevance of non-alignment in India's foreign policy today. The origins of these debates lie in Jawaharlal Nehru's articulation of non-alignment at the height of the Cold War, a concept both resolute and ambiguous.

In this talk, Dr. Swapna Kona Nayudu will draw on her acclaimed book, The Nehru Years: An International History of Indian Non-Alignment (Cambridge University Press UK, Juggernaut Books India), to explore how India's approach to international affairs and the United Nations now understood in summary as non-alignment. Based on meticulous archival research in multiple languages, her work uncovers India's diplomatic and peacekeeping contributions in pivotal global events such as the Korean War, the Suez Crisis, the Hungarian Revolution, and the Congo Crisis.

Tracing the evolution of non-alignment from Nehru's time to the present, Dr. Kona Nayudu will examine its contested meaning and its influence on India's position as the only non-aligned founding member of the UN.

In this episode of BIC Talks, Dr. Kona Nayudu will be in conversation with Jahnavi Phalkey. This is an excerpt from a conversation that took place in the BIC premises in Jul 2025.

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