Krishna Menon: Sombre Porcupine

Professor Sunil Khinani, from the King's India Institute in London, looks at the life of Krishna Menon, the abrasive Indian diplomat and statesman who invented the concept of non-alignment. He was one of the most reviled figures of the Cold War era. The Americans regarded Menon as a "mischief maker"; the British thought he was in bed with the Soviets while the Soviets thought he was a lackey of the British; and the Chinese resented his attempts to school them in international affairs. The diplomat, who was the voice of India's foreign policy for almost two decades, pursued an agenda which deeply unsettled the superpowers. But, says Professor Khilnani, "Menon's approach helped give India an influential voice at the global diplomatic table, dominated by the big four powers." Producer: Mark Savage Music: Talvin Singh

You can listen to Krishna Menon: Sombre Porcupine online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Krishna Menon: Sombre Porcupine is an episode from Incarnations: India in 50 Lives by BBC.

This episode is 14:18 long.

This episode was published on Mar 17, 2016.

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