`Nehru declined offer of permanent U.N. seat'

By Mahesh Vijapurkar

MUMBAI, JAN. 9 . Jawaharlal Nehru "declined a United States offer" to India to "take the permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council" around 1953 and suggested that it be given to China, according to the United Nations Under-Secretary General, Shashi Tharoor.

In his latest book, "Nehru — The Invention of India," Mr. Tharoor writes that Indian diplomats who have seen files swear that Nehru declined the offer about the same time as he turned down "with scorn" John Foster Dulles' support for an Indian Monroe Doctrine.

Nehru had suggested that the seat, till then held by Taiwan, be offered to Beijing instead. He wrote that "the seat was held with scant credibility by Taiwan."

Rafiq Zakaria, historian and scholar, and Murli Deora, MP, highlighted the disclosure at a function organised here to release the book. Manmohan Singh, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, handed over the first copy to the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Sushilkumar Shinde.

Later, talking of the book, brought out by Penguin Viking, Mr.Tharoor spoke of Nehru's legacy which included four elements — democratic institution building, socialism, a non-aligned foreign policy and secularism, and said the legacy was far too important not to be re-looked at from the point of view of the 21st century.

In Nehru's time, India had no foreign policy and it was correct to say "Nehru had a foreign policy."

Often, other politicians and the foreign office mandarins came to know about the policy when they heard Nehru speak on the issue, Mr. Tharoor said.

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