ABSTRACT
The forces of the Cold War had an impact on South Asia only in sporadic and fitful fashion. In the early 1950s, Cold War considerations led the United States to support both India and Pakistan, albeit in different ways. After the second Indo-Pakistan war in 1965, the United States disengaged itself from South Asia. The Soviets made only marginal inroads in the region for two important reasons: they were willing to support India on the Kashmir issue and they were ready to assist India’s efforts toward planned industrialization. India comprises a huge area of South Asia, and her status quo interests in the region is a force for stability in a major political theater of the world. US-Indian relations have entered an era with unprecedented potentiality for unprecedented partnership. The most sensitive emerging problem in Indo-American relations is likely to relate to India’s potential to produce nuclear weapons.
