| Nehruvian
socialism has been in deep trouble for quarter of a century. By
1967, it was obvious, except to Marxists and fellow travellers, that
all that it had done was to have spawned a regime of corruption,
slowed down economic growth, degraded the country's public life and
generated enormous tension in society.
The pursuit of these two policies has
been a reflection of the partial nature of the Hindu recovery. A
more confident Hindu psyche would never have spurned the US offer of
cooperation [President Eisenhower's offer in 1954 of proportionate
military assistance, proportionate that is, to Indira's size,
importance and potentiality, in comparison to Pakistan, with which
the US had then concluded a mutual security pact and embraced the
illusion of friendship with China in the occupation of Tibet. China repaid
Nehru with (1) demands on Indian territory in disregard of the
internationally recognized watershed - the highest mountain range
principle; (2) friendship with Pakistan; and (3) an outright attack
on India in 1962] and allowed Pakistan to seek military parity with,
if not superiority over, this country. Similarly, such a psyche
would never have reconciled itself to an economic philosophy which
would stunt the growth of the agricultural as well as the business
community.
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