President Nasser of Egypt and President Tito
     Nehru saw the non-aligned philosophy as a force for peace and an
opportunity to inject the pacifist ideals of Mahatma Gandhi in situations of
conflict. But to the United States and some of its allies, India appeared to be
favoring Moscow over Washington.
                    THE HIMALAYAN BLUNDER
  However, Nehru’s biggest foreign policy crisis, rather blunder, arose not
  in his dealings with the West, but with India’s giant northeastern neighbor,
  China. For years, both countries had wrangled over two border areas—one
  in the Aksai Chin plateau where Kashmir meets China, and the other in an
  equally remote, mountainous area northeast of India. Even as diplomats
  behind the scenes tried to settle the dispute, the Indian government’s
  official slogan to describe Sino-Indian ties was “Hindi-Chini bhai-bhai”
  (Indians and Chinese are brothers). The mask of rhetoric was ripped off in
  1962, when border dispute flared into a full-scale war. Wave upon wave of
  Chinese troops crossed over the northeast frontier, overwhelming Indian
  troops.
  China soon withdrew its troops, having accomplished its objectives. India
  was humiliated, and its military was shaken to the core. Valuable
  resources had been diverted to boost the war effort, and that—coupled
  with two years of poor harvests— weakened the economy and jeopardised
  the third five-year plan. The alarming increase in population further
  aggravated the crisis, swiftly negating much of the economic gains that
  had been achieved until then.
      Jawaharlal Nehru never recovered from what became known as “the
  Himalayan blunder.” He died in May of 1964. His legacy remains a matter
  of debate to this very day. His innumerable admirers point to his noble
  ideas and his undoubted love for India. His detractors instead highlight the
  dismal results of many of his economic policies–the consequences of
  which haunted India for long after wards.
     Then there was the question of aid. India received food shipments from
the United States, help it through periods of drought and famine.