As leaders from about 50 countries arrive with their caravans in Tehran, for what now seems to be settling into a triennial ritual, a question that has intrigued everyone for the past 2 decades is - what does NAM mean in a post-cold war context? Moreover, somewhat, if not equally, intriguing a question that historians have struggled to find answers to is the origins of the term itself. Claims about who ‘invented’ the term and where it was first uttered have never had a settled answer.