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dated January 21, 1958: Non-alignment policy

Prime Minister Nehru, speaking at the 63rd plenary session of the Congress at Pragjyotishpur on January 19, declared in a firm tone that “India shall not budge an inch from her international policy of non-alignment and her internal policy of socialism” under any threat or pressure from any quarter in the world. Mr. Nehru said that certain commentators in the foreign press had written that the Prime Minister of India was in a dilemma whether to stick to India’s policy of non-alignment and do without foreign aid or leave the policy and accept this aid. The Prime Minister said the world must know how the Congress had moulded this policy over the course of years. “In the Congress there are people who hold different opinions but the basic opinion remains the same even though some people might lean this side or that in certain matters. We may have weaknesses but we never did anything out of fear or because of a threat.” The session ended with a message from Mr. Nehru to the delegates to go back from Gauhati with confidence that India would get over her difficulties. Mr. Nehru said in Assam the Himalayas met the Brahmaputra; both represented symbols of India’s strength and solidarity. The Congress President Mr. Dhebar, in his closing remarks, asked the Congress workers to take the call for increasing food production to villages and help farmers in achieving this. He said the main question was the implementation of election promises and the resolutions which were approved aimed at that.

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