Half a century after his death, VK Krishna Menon still refuses to fade into history. To some, he was abrasive and intolerant of dissent. To others, he was the uncompromising conscience of India’s foreign policy. Love him or loathe him, one truth stands tall: Menon gave India a voice of defiance at a time when most newly independent nations struggled to be heard.

In London, he built networks among intellectuals and policymakers, persuading even sceptical Britons to rethink empire. In New York, at the United Nations, he delivered thunderous speeches that rattled Washington and unnerved London. At home, he drafted the original Preamble of the Constitution and served as Defence Minister, shaping India’s destiny in moments of triumph and tragedy.

Today, as the world slips back into the logic

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