Q.
In these non-aligned conferences, did the delegates from other countries bring up Gandhiji's ideals and Nehru's "one world" view?
A.
Well, in some cases, yes. Particularly in the United Nations, I found special reference to them. There was a special committee on the South African issue and they wanted to make a special reference to Gandhiji's contribution to this particular matter. Some of the developing countries did make a reference to Gandhiji. But the non-aligned movement was a contribution by Nehru. And so Nehru's world view found its echo more in the nonaligned conferences.
Q.
Among world leaders who do you think has given thought to Gandhiji's humanism and world view in its application to international questions?
It would be very difficult to mention any particular name of any particular leader because several world leaders participated in these conferences and there were many who appreciated Gandhiji's and Nehru's contribution. I saw that some of the African leaders like Julius Nyerere and Zambia's Dr. Kaunda appreciatively mentioned Gandhiji and Nehru. Even in some of the Caribbean countries, in my private conversations with their important leaders, I found deep appreciation of Gandhiji's and Nehru's contribution to the development of a new world and in the emergence of newly-liberated sovereign nations.
Q.
In what are generally called Western democracies, did you find in their leadership people who had knowledge and also sympathy with and understanding of some of the principles of non-alignment?
A.
Well, in recent years, they have spoken rather approvingly of the non-aligned movement, but I do not think it was with a sense of political conviction. There was hardly any Western country represented in the non-aligned conferences. Though in their own way they spoke approvingly of the non-alignment movement and showed interest in what the non-aligned movement was doing. I saw some sort of an undercurrent of worry whether the nonaligned movement was being exploited by the socialist world, because the socialist countries were showing rather more positive interest in it. The solidarity of the non-aligned also provoked angry criticism about the so-called tyranny of the minority.