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From Periphery to Priority

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date01 December 2009
DOI10.1177/002070200906400404
AuthorRyan Touhey
Date01 December 2009
Subject MatterCanada and Asia
Ryan Touhey
From periphery to
priority
Lessons of the Canada-India relationship 1976-2009
| International Journal | Autumn 2009 | 911 |
No bilateral relationship between Canada and an Asian country has been as
tumultuous as that of the Canada-India relationship. Sour memories of the
fundamental divergences over Cold War security issues and nuclear
nonproliferation that corroded ties between Ottawa and New Delhi have
lingered until recently. The legacy of those divergences profoundly affected
the depth of interaction between the two countries for the better part of three
decades. Bilateral relations had been in decline since the late 1950s due to
tension between Canadians and Indians serving on the Indochina
commissions. During that era, politicians and a generation of young
diplomats grumbled about what they interpreted as India’s hypocrisy in
pursuing a policy of “nonalignment” that appeared too heavily tilted toward
Moscow. Other officials observed that at the United Nations the Indians were
rarely easy to cooperate with on matters such as the law of the sea
negotiations. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s decision to follow through with
Ryan Touhey is an assistant professor of history at St. Jerome’s University in the University
of Waterloo. He wishes to thank Greg Donaghy, David Malone, David Meren, and Yuen Pau
Woo for their helpful comments on an earlier draft.

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