Shyam Saran's 'How India Sees the World' identifies two 'missed moments'

When history failed to turn

In school we’re taught about the turning points of history but there are occasions when, because of human antipathy, intransigence or folly, history fails to turn and an opportunity to resolve a problem is lost. These are stories that rarely get told. However, Shyam Saran’s new book, How India Sees the World, identifies two such missed moments.

The first is to do with Siachen and Sir Creek in 2006. Saran was foreign secretary at the time. He had worked out with his Pakistani counterpart, Riaz Mohammed Khan, a Siachen deal similar to the 1992 understanding, which did not fructify. This time,