Non-aligned against whom, asked Natwar

In the context of the nuclear deal, among those opposed to it, says Condoleezza Rice in her book, were “Indian bureaucrats and pundits” who valued their country’s “non-aligned status, a relic of the Cold War, when India had declared itself as belonging to neither the Soviet nor the American bloc”.

In the context of the nuclear deal, among those opposed to it, says Condoleezza Rice in her book, were “Indian bureaucrats and pundits” who valued their country’s “non-aligned status, a relic of the Cold War, when India had declared itself as belonging to neither the Soviet nor the American bloc”.

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The Indian foreign minister Natwar Singh reacted to them dismissively, she says in the book.

“When confronted with that argument, my Indian counterpart K Natwar Singh, said, ‘The Cold War is over. Exactly against whom are we non-aligned?” Good point, added Rice.

Rice doesn’t say if this account was narrated to her by Singh himself or someone else.