Internationalism and Nationalism: Indian Protagonists and Their Political Agendas at the 15th World Vegetarian Congress in India (1957).

Analysing Indian protagonists' strategies at the 15th World Vegetarian Congress in India in 1957, this article argues that they brought together Hindu nationalism and internationalism. By constructing non-violence and vegetarianism as a national heritage, they characterised India as a moral superpower above the divisions of the Cold War and endowed it with a global civilising mission. On the other hand, they tried to win international support to influence the politics of the Indian government, opposing parts of the Five-Year Plans and Nehru's politics of secularism. Moreover, by insisting on India as a vegetarian country, they erased Islam from Indian history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]