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Synopsis In this brilliant, insightful book, J.N. Dixit chronicles the role of those who have played an important role in fashioning and implementing India's Foreign Policy since and before independence-right up to the 12 SAARC summit in Islamabad in January 2004. In doing so he fulfils a major gap in the study of Indian Foreign Policy, for he focuses not just on the Nehru-Gandhis but also on those who are less well-known, including diplomats and policy advisers. In the process Dixit gives us an understanding of the factors that shaped India's Foreign Policy at given points of time - the international situation, the domestic compulsions, and the happenings in India's neighbourhood. Most fascinatingly, however, he shows us how India's Foreign Policy was linked to the personalities and beliefs of the men and women who happened to be at the helm of affairs. Apart from the central role played by Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi, the book highlights the contributions of other Prime Ministers such as Narasimha Rao, I.K. Gujral, and Atal Behari Vajpayee. Also portrayed are ministers such as V.K. Krishna Menon, Sardar Swaran Singh, Y.B. Chavan, Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha. The role of behind-the-scenes operators like Girija Shankar Bajpai, Badruddin Tyabji, D.P. Dhar, P.N. Haksar and Brajesh Mishra is also recalled. A must-read for anyone who wants to make sense of India's role in international affairs.