surinder wrote:J,
Thanks.
> But friendly is not the same thing as allied,
> and allies are what you want most in life
> and death struggle.
I think the word you want is a "client" state, not an ally. Allies can have independent mind, but clients states have no choice, and can can be both bribed & arm twisted. I think this distinction is important, not mere semantics.
> Nehru's tendency to go neutral during a war, as seen in WWII
Wasn't Nehru a commmited anti-Nazi? he was fully in support for the war. In fact, he made a visit to the front lines & reported/wrote that he was so enthused with the goal of fighting for the Allies that he himself felt like taking a gun and jumping into the trenches (not that he was physically fit for this kind of effort).
But I think the operative word is that he showed tendencies for independent thought, even if that thought led him to be an admirer of Western values, especially English values. But what was wanted was not an independent thinker who would support you, but a client.
Surinder,
An ally is someone you fight shoulder to shoulder with. A friend is someone who wishes you well, but doesn't want to get involved.
In WW II the Soviet Union, De Gaulle's Free French, and Chiang Kai Shek's Chinese were not clients. They had their own agendas, and pursued them, causing real friction.
But regardless, it was an alliance because all parties were committed to fighting the same enemy.
Yes Nehru was anti-Nazi, like many on the left. However, the INC as a whole chose to resign from government in 1939, and to launch the Quit India movement in 1942 when the threat from the Japanese was at its peak.
Both before and after WWII Nehru made it clear that he did *not* consider the Soviet Union to be a threat. After the war he indicated that he considered the United States to be the greater threat to world peace. Clearly, Nehru had no interest in participating in a Cold War or Hot War against the USSR (and originally the PRC too) -even independently, and on his own terms.
The British on the whole certainly appreciated Nehru, and wanted to see him succeed. The need for Allies in the Cold War, and to stand with them if it turned hot was a separate problem.