Peacemakers: India and the Quest for One World (Session 4)

The World Citizen Book Club concluded its four-part series on Peacemakers: India and the Quest for One World with this final session featuring author Manu Bhagavan for discussion and Q&A. This series, held on the second Saturday of each month from September through December, explored one of the most important untold stories of 20th century international history.

About the Book

Set against the backdrop of World War II, Indian independence and decolonization, and the Cold War, this first-of-its-kind international history — based on seven years of research in twenty archives on three continents — tells the story of India’s quest to build consensus around the framework of human rights, bridge the divisions between East and West, and create “one world” free of empire, poverty, exploitation, and war. Jawaharlal Nehru’s radical vision of bridging ideological differences was carried forward by his sister, Madame Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, who led the fight in and through the United Nations. The aim was to lay the foundation for global governance that would check uncontrolled state power, address the question of minorities and migrant peoples, and put an end to endemic poverty — carrying Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy onto the global stage.

About the Author

Manu Bhagavan is Professor of History, Human Rights, and Public Policy at Hunter College and the Graduate Center-The City University of New York, and Senior Fellow at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies. He is author or editor of seven books, including The Peacemakers (HarperCollins India, 2012; Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and India and the Cold War (Penguin India and UNC Press, 2019). His biography of Madame Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was published by Penguin/Viking India. He received the 2023 Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarship from Hunter College and a 2006 fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies. He has also served as a judge for the PEN Literary Awards in the category of biography.

Discussion Highlights

This concluding session brought the series full circle, examining the lasting implications of India’s quest for “one world” and reflecting on the relevance of Nehru’s and Pandit’s vision to contemporary global governance challenges. Participants discussed how the historical framework of the book illuminates current debates about UN reform, multilateralism, and the role of emerging powers in shaping international institutions.