♤ During the 1962 Sino-Indian war, the U.S. publicly supported India’s interpretation of its

border with China in the eastern Himalayas.

♤ However, despite its potential and occasional periods of Indo-U.S. cooperation, it was clear from early on that India would not serve as an active U.S. ally in the battle against global communism.

♤ For its part, India refused to join either the American or the Soviet side in the Cold War conflict and instead charted its own “non-aligned” course largely independent of either superpower.

♤ From the U.S. perspective, the main problem with Indian policy was that “non- alignment,” Which the US took for neutrality at a time when it was locked in a battle of ideas.