What would be the new Congress Government’s initiatives on India-Pakistan relations? Would it even consider following the peace initiatives taken by the Vajpayee-led NDA government or pursue the strategies of Congress governments of the past?  Which is the road it would probably take? Which would be the road it ought to take?    

The present image of the Congress was constructed during Indira Gandhi’s time. Hence, to study the peace initiatives of past Congress governments it would be apt to begin with Indira Gandhi’s approach followed by that of Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao.

Indira Gandhi’s approach towards foreign policy was very practical. US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, on the eve of his arrival in arrival in India, remarked with grudging admiration that Indira Gandhi was a “cold-blooded practitioner of realpolitikâ€Â