An Interview with Indira Gandhi

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"I do not like carving the world into segments; we are one world

Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi arrives in Washington this week for her first official visit in nearly eleven years. Her mission is to narrow India's differences with the U.S. on a number of issues. Among them: Washington's vocal opposition to the Soviet presence in Afghanistan, the sale of 40 American F-16 fighter planes to Pakistan and the controversial U.S. naval base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The Prime Minister's son, Rajiv, her heir apparent, will accompany her on the trip. On the eve of her departure, Gandhi discussed foreign and domestic problems in an exclusive interview with TIME'S New Delhi bureau chief Marcia Gauger. Excerpts:

On relations with the U.S. We think we should be friends and want to do everything we can for friendship. Of course, we cannot jettison our basic policies. They are not thought up, they are thought out—considered. The tendency in the U.S. is to assume that a person is either 100% with you or not with you. This is not realistic. You can be with a person on some issues and not on others. My goal is to try to show the reality of India, that it is a country with enormous problems but trying to solve them, that it is a country committed to democracy, to peace in the world and to nonalignment. It is equally important to get to know President Reagan better, to understand U.S. policies and to create greater comprehension of our policies. I have met the President only for a very brief moment, but I found him a very open person and very easy to talk to.

On relations with the Soviet Union. I do not think there has been any cooling of relations. Our policy has always been based on certain principles and what we consider our national interest. So it cannot swing from side to side. We believe that we should have friendship with all countries and that friendship with one country or group of countries should not come in the way of friendship with all the others. On the subject of Afghanistan, we have made our stand very clear. We are opposed to a foreign presence, whether in the shape of troops or any other type of interference, anywhere. Everybody rushed in at once to condemn the Soviet Union. We said we disapproved, but we did not join in the condemnation because we felt that it would not improve the situation. We have said from the beginning that there has to be a political solution in Afghanistan, a negotiated settlement.