KV Prasad’s Indian Parliament: Shaping Foreign Policy is well-researched and rigorously referenced. The book has benefitted greatly from the author’s journalistic career, during which he covered both Houses of Parliament for 30 years. His use of parliamentary debates, official statements, archival records and committee reports lends this book a depth that sheds excellent light on the role that the Parliament plays in shaping India’s foreign policy. The book effectively dismantles the popular notion that foreign policy is only an executive undertaking. Through historical analysis, it clarifies the role that Parliament has played in guiding Indian foreign policy while undergoing its own transition from a Constituent Assembly (1946) to Provisional Parliament (1950), and finally to a regular Parliament (1952).
While the author claims that his book is not intended as ‘an academic exercise’ (p. viii), the first two chapters provide a crash course on the foundational years of Indian foreign policy and Parliament. Historical references to the approach that the country’s leadership took in the early years of Independence contextualize India’s foreign policy stance in its current context. India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s principle regarding foreign policy, that ‘whatever we may lay down, the art of conducting the foreign affairs of a country lies in finding out what is most advantageous to the country’ (p. 1), is more relevant than ever.
The strength of the book is in its three well-structured case studies that reiterate the interface between foreign policy and Parliament. Although Prasad has not clearly stated why he chose these three examples, he mentions that he wanted to ‘examine three specific issues on which Indian Parliament devoted considerable time and energy, each separated by nearly a decade and left an imprint on policy making’ (p. viii). He further adds that these cases were ‘extremely contentious, which sharply divided the political formations on either side of the aisle in Parliament and whose impact lingers on’ (p. viii).
The case studies sketch out how Parliamentary Debates have influenced foreign policy decision-making, from shaping India’s stance on Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict (1980s) to resisting unequal trade rules under the WTO (1990s), or fiercely debating the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement (2005-2008) during the UPA era. They also demonstrate that despite its delays and disruptions, Parliament ultimately supports foreign policy through transparency and inclusive debate. The WTO and nuclear deal examples are especially useful to understand the evolution of India’s trade and nuclear strategies.
The first case study presents an overview of Parliamentary Debates on the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka to show ‘how foreign policy was crafted in a federal structure’ (p. 52). Debates in Parliament over the deployment compelled the Government to reconsider its course, creating a precedent for India’s regional strategy rooted in respect for sovereignty and mutual sensitivities. This particular study also tells us that when it comes to foreign policy towards geographic neighbours, the respective border states in India become majority stakeholders. Prasad writes, ‘Back home, sentiments in Tamil Nadu were growing in favour of the Tamils suffering in Jaffna and New Delhi decided to air-drop supplies to the civilian population’ (p. 52). This understanding establishes that foreign policy cannot disengage from domestic challenges and priorities, whether it is West Bengal’s in the case of Bangladesh, or Jammu and Kashmir’s in the case of Pakistan. Since then, ‘one can argue that the IPKF experience led to an unwritten “No Go” Policy in this regard’ (p. 67).
Prasad highlights that this incident prompted India to assert its position globally. As an illustration, he cites a former diplomat, who reportedly characterized this change in India’s posture as a ‘streak of independent decision making asserting itself on several occasions…when we refused to join the coalition against Iraq in 2003, our policy which [also] forbids “boots-on-the-ground” in Afghanistan’ (p. 67).
Parliamentary Debates reflecting on the second case study, which is India’s assessment of joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO), were intense and meticulous, and they broadened the Parliament’s role in trade negotiations. Through these debates, foreign policymakers and parliamentarians found themselves at loggerheads to find a solution to advancing trade ties and economic diplomacy while safeguarding the country’s sovereignty. Prasad writes that ‘The prognosis was that the surrender of the Parliament’s sovereignty; taking over of the Indian economy by rich economies, directly or through surrogates; immense impact on agriculture, which would be affected the most; and punitive measures like cross-retaliation would enslave the country’ (p. 85), and ‘despite strident criticism from major political parties’ (pp. 101-102) the government, ‘without appearing to confront the opposition head-on’ (p. 101), proceeded to join the WTO, a decision that enabled it to reap benefits later. Unfortunately, the current environment of reciprocal and penalty tariffs casts a shadow over the WTO’s contemporary relevance. Learning from its experiences, India has since tried to strike a balance between its national priorities and foreign policy, as seen most recently in the tariff tug-of-war with the US and its continued purchase of oil from Russia.
The third and final case study on the India-US Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement appears to have irked the entire Parliament. In addition to having a ringside view of Parliamentary Debates in India, Prasad’s perceptive insights were also undoubtedly shaped by his time as Fulbright Fellow at the United States Congress, which coincided with debates on the nuclear deal within India and the US. Through his findings, Prasad asserts that foreign policy milestones such as the nuclear deal in question do not necessarily mean parliamentary support. The opposition raised questions around national security and concerns about India moving away from nonalignment and its policy of strategic autonomy. In fact, through the process of negotiating the deal, the Government faced intense parliamentary pushback even from its own coalition partner, highlighting the challenges a coalition government can pose to executive decision-making. The case of the civil nuclear agreement also highlights the constructive role an opposition can play by exploring parliamentary discussion on the then Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill. Such engagement creates checks to ensure greater transparency, and balances through political debates. It is a noteworthy example of consensus-building through parliamentary engagement: the Government accommodated the Opposition’s concerns, which subsequently led to the opposition’s support for the overall agreement.
Prasad does not shy away from acknowledging the contributions of key personalities in Indian politics who have shaped the country’s foreign policy. He credits Jawaharlal Nehru for being ‘the architect of the country’s foreign policy, particularly in the context of its relationships with countries in the neighbourhood; countries in the expended arc and once part of the British India; and pan-Asia’ (p. 1). He also highlights the role that the then Leader of the Opposition, Arun Jaitley and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee played in parliamentary debates on the nuclear deal. The narrative of the book is made more engaging and relatable through its human stories of high policy deliberations. Prasad also briefly examines how India’s foreign policy has evolved under different political arrangements: strong single-party governments vs coalition administrations. Interestingly, he does not analyse parliamentary debates on foreign policy issues post-2014—the latest phase of a majoritarian government—even though he began working on the book in 2020. While he does not offer a reason for this exclusion, it does deprive the reader of a comparative analysis of decision-making in a coalition framework vs a majority government.
The book excels in tracing historical narratives through extensive parliamentary referencing, which could have been further exemplified through visual data. For instance, the debates on deploying IPFK troops to Sri Lanka could have been strengthened with supporting data on costs. Timelines representing the journey from negotiating to ultimately signing the WTO agreement could have been similarly useful. Maps, such as one depicting troop deployment zones and strategic areas such as Jaffna in Sri Lanka would have enhanced the book’s story-telling. The book is certainly worth the reader’s time, though one must note its rather unappealing cover, which features an image of the new Parliament. Unfortunately, many do judge a book by its cover, and this particular one feels disconnected from the historical period it so richly explores and does very little justice to its intellectual offerings.
That said, KV Prasad offers a detailed, almost microscopic view of how Parliament critiques, debates, and supports foreign policy decisions in India. Prasad identifies parliamentary deliberations as an essential element of foreign policy formulation. Indian Parliament: Shaping Foreign Policy is a reminder of the strong founding principles that have helped successive Indian governments create a place for India on the global stage.
Prerana Priyadarshi is Deputy Director, Projects, and Senior Researcher IReS, IPCS. She has been awarded a Comprehensive Security Cooperation Course Fellowship at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI-APCSS) in Hawaii. In her programmatic role, she manages the coordination and communication aspects of IPCS’s national and international multi-stakeholder projects. As a research scholar, her work focuses on economic policy and diplomacy, financial institutions in India, and illicit financial flows in South Asia.