The Indian Libertarian

Summary

The 15 January 1962 issue (Vol. IX, No. 20) of The Indian Libertarian — the Bombay fortnightly now edited by D. M. Kulkarni and flying the masthead slogan ‘We Stand for Free Economy and Limited Government’ — is dominated by India’s December 1961 military annexation of Goa. The editorial, ‘The Future of the U.N.O.’, reflects on the United Nations after a year of crises (the Congo, the death of Secretary-General Hammarskjold, the Soviet Troika plan) and notes the Afro-Asian bloc’s pressure for liberation of colonial enclaves such as Goa. The two signed articles take up Goa directly: M. A. Venkata Rao’s ‘Foreign Policy After Goa’ weighs what the use of force against the Portuguese enclave means for India’s non-alignment and its standing abroad, while M. N. Tholal’s ‘The Goa Imbroglio’ examines the contradictions of Nehru’s account of the action and its place in the wider Cold War debate over colonialism and non-violence. Regular departments — an Economic Supplement, Delhi Letter, Book Review, Gleanings from the Press, and News & Views — complete the issue.

Essays

Foreign Policy After Goa

By MA Venkata Rao

Venkata Rao examines the consequences for Indian foreign policy of the military absorption of Goa. While not disputing that India had a case against Portuguese colonial rule, he probes the tension between India’s professed creed of non-violence and non-alignment and its resort to force, and weighs how the action affects India’s moral standing and its relations with the Western powers and the Afro-Asian world.

• Treats the Goa annexation as a test of India’s non-violence and non-alignment.
• Weighs the diplomatic cost of using force against a colonial enclave.
• Considers reactions of the Western and Afro-Asian blocs.

The Goa Imbroglio

By M. N. Tholal

Tholal scrutinises the ‘imbroglio’ surrounding Goa, taking apart the Prime Minister’s account of the action. He highlights the inconsistencies between India’s stated principles and its conduct, situating the episode in the larger argument over colonialism, the United Nations, and the credibility of India’s non-violent posture.

• Critically dissects Nehru’s justification of the Goa action.
• Points up the gap between Indian principle and practice.
• Frames Goa within the wider colonialism and UN debate.

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