PROGRAM

Join us at Roosevelt House as we welcome Manu Bhagavan, professor of history and human rights at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center, to discuss his new book, India and the Cold War. In it, Bhagavan inverts the way we see the Cold War by looking at the conflict from the perspective of the so-called developing world, rather than the superpowers. In particular, he considers it from the perspective of India during the birth and first decades of its life as a postcolonial nation. Contributors draw on a wide array of new material, from recently opened archival sources to literature and film, and meld approaches from diplomatic history to development studies to explain the decisions made by India’s policymakers at the time. That includes the important decision to avoid formal alliances while actively fostering dialogue and attempting to forge friendships. Together, the essays demonstrate how India became a powerful symbol of decolonization and an advocate of non-alignment, disarmament, and global governance. Bhagavan will be in conversation with Arun Venugopal, a WNYC reporter who focuses on issues of race and immigration.