The Asian Relations Conference was an international conference that took place in New Delhi from 23 March to 2 April, 1947. Organized by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), the Conference was hosted by Jawaharlal Nehru, then the Vice-President of the interim Viceroy's Executive Council, and presided by Sarojini Naidu. Its goal was to promote cultural, intellectual and social exchange between Asian countries.
Envisioned to be non-political, the Conference included almost all Asian countries, as well as several independence movements. These included nations and communities that were on opposing sides, which inevitably raised political questions. Though the conference achieved an immediate sense of solidarity among Asian nations and saw the establishment of the Asian Relations Organisation, suspicions of an Indian or Chinese hegemony held by the minor nations did not allow the organisation to be effective, nor the second Asian Relations Conference held in 1950 to be as successful as the first.
Conception and organisation
It is not known who first conceived the idea of the Asian conference. Though Nehru stated, in the opening speech of the conference, that "the idea of such a conference arose simultaneously in many minds and many countries of Asia", some observers at the conference attributed the conference to Nehru. As early as December 1945, Jawaharlal Nehru stated in an interview that an Asian conference could further promote cooperation between Asian countries. Reporter Phillips Talbot stated that the conference was conceived by Nehru in 1946 as a response to the impact of the Second World War on Asia. In March of that year, Nehru had a meeting with Aung San during his South East Asia tour. It was reported that the topic of an Asian Conference was discussed. In August, he credited the 1927 League against Imperialism, which he attended, as his inspiration for an Asian conference. Another possible engineer of the conference was B. Shiva Rao, who was involved in the Indian Institute of International Affairs (IIIA) and the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), and who attended Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR) and United Nations conferences. In September 1945, he proposed the idea of an Asian conference, parallel to that of the United Nation's, to the ICWA and Nehru.
The decision to organise the conference was formalized on 21 May, 1946 by the Executive Committee of the ICWA, The ICWA claimed to be "an unofficial and non-political body" which would "not express an opinion on any aspect of Indian or international affairs", though Nehru had stated that the conference "might develop a solidarity and strength which could lead to a real inter-Asian policy." The ICWA was a private organisation, freeing the conference from the influence of the Viceroy's Executive Council, though Nehru had sought backing from the government, only to be turned down by Minister of Finance Liaquat Ali Khan who saw the conference as a chance for Nehru to amass personal glory. The cultural aspect of the conference was emphasized to avoid disapproval from the West. The format was modelled after the 1945 IPR Conference at Hot Springs, Virginia, which was attended by the ICWA. In a speech on 22 August, 1946, Nehru stated in a speech that the conference "will help to promote good relations with neighbouring countries. It will help to pool ideas and experience with a view to raising living standards. It will strengthen cultural, social and economic ties among the peoples of Asia." The conference was envisioned by Nehru to be non-political, though this would prove difficult as the conference must balance the positions of various conflicting nations.
Active preparations began on 31 August, 1946, when the Organising Committee was established. Nehru was made President of the Committee, which included Sarojini Naidu, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Abul Kalam Azad, Asaf Ali, Baldev Singh, Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, G. D. Birla, Hannah Sen, Hansa Jivraj Mehta, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Bidhan Chandra Roy, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Zakir Husain and Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi. Nehru joined the Interim Government of India in September, and it was thought inappropriate for him to be the President of the committee. Sarojini Naidu was elected the President in Nehru's place. Funding was largely acquired through public subscription, along with donation from businesses such as the Birlas and the Tata Group. Several princely states ruler, including that of Baroda, Patiala and Jaipur, were personally persuaded by Naidu to provide cars, drivers, fuel and lodgings for delegates in their Delhi houses.