India, June 19 -- The pain inflicted by the 21-month Emergency rule in India on its body politic and its people continues to hurt even after 50 years. The domestic dimensions of the Emergency have been discussed at length. A recent study by Srinath Raghavan ably explores its structural dimensions - of the gradual evolution of a powerful executive, creeping encroachments on freedoms and rights and authoritarian tendencies of governance - that have been building for long. However, Indira Gandhi's oft repeated allegations about the role of "foreign hand" (of the United States of America) in destabilising her government have often skipped rigorous scrutiny. Her political opponents, many media commentators, and even serious historians like Ram...