India's External Relations

(a) True.

Explanation- India’s nonalignment policy allowed it to remain neutral and not incline to any one of the superpowers. Thereby, India could remain unbiased and could ask for assistance from both US and USSR.

(b) False.

Explanation- India did not have strained relations with its neighbours ever since its inception. Yes, its relations with Pakistan were not harmonious since the beginning but India shared friendly relations with the rest of her neighbours. It was only a few years after independence that the otherwise friendly relationship of India with China was scarred by a conflict.

(c) true.

Explanation- after gaining independence, India remained nonaligned but Pakistan showed its inclination towards the US. Also, India had rather friendly relations with USSR. Therefore, both India and Pakistan had conflicting friendships which can be said to have had an effect on their relationship with each other.

(d) false.

Explanation- The treaty of Peace and Friendship was a treaty signed between India and USSR in 1971 with regard to mutual strategic cooperation. It was not a result of India's closeness with USSR.

a) The goal of India’s foreign policy in the period 1950-1964 – ii) Preservation of territorial integrity, sovereignty and economic development

Explanation- India was born in the background of the world war. After the world war, cold war ensued. The condition of the world was volatile. To preserve its independence and prevent itself from being recolonised, India had to choose a way of foreign policy where it could not only preserve its newly gained freedom but also sustain and strengthen it by strengthening the economy and claiming sovereignty. Therefore, India's foreign policy goal was the preservation of territorial integrity, sovereignty and economic development.

b) Panchsheel- iii) Five principles of peaceful coexistence

Explanation- Signed in 1954, Panchsheel was a treaty of noninterference in other’s internal affairs and respect for each other’s territorial unity, integrity and sovereignty. It was signed between China and India.

c) Bandung Conference- iv) Led to the establishment of NAM

Explanation- India as a country was against colonialism and made earnest efforts in decolonisation od Indonesia from Dutch. India was also against racial discrimination and condemned apartheid prevalent in South Africa. The Bandung conference, held in Bandung (Indonesia) highly improved relations between India and the newly independent nations of Asia and Africa. This conference lay the foundation stone of the nonaligned movement and established it.

d) Dalai Lama- i) Tibetan spiritual leader who crossed over to India

Explanation- In 1958, when there was an armed uprising in Tibet against China's occupation, the Chinese forces suppressed it. In the wake of the worsening situation, the Dalai Lama (the Tibetan spiritual leader) crossed over to Indian border and sought asylum which was granted.

Nehru was a profound statesman. According to him, foreign relations were the essence of independence. He believed that foreign policy of a country forms its basic character in the world. It is distinct for every nation.

• For Nehru, independence basically consisted of foreign relations. Without autonomy over foreign relations, a nation could not be called independent. For him the sovereignty of a nation was supreme. Therefore, he also signed the Panchsheel treaty or the Treaty of non- interference and cooperation with China.

• India was born in the backdrop of cold war. USSR and USA had emerged as the two superpowers of the world. Nations of the world had joined one of the blocs. Under such circumstances, in his foreign relations, Nehru took up the policy of Non-alignment. He declared that India would not be a part of any of the two blocs. Under the Non-aligned Movement, Nehru also urged the newly independent countries of Africa and south-east Asia to not be aligned to any of the superpowers and function as a completely sovereign body.

It is true that the conduct of foreign affairs is an outcome of a two-way interaction between domestic compulsions and prevailing international climate. It is both, the domestic and the international scenarios, that affect framing of the foreign policy.

In 1962, the Indo-China conflict ensued regarding a dispute over the boundary between the nations in the Aksai Chin region in Ladakh and the North-East Frontier Agency (present-day Arunachal Pradesh). Domestically, India was an infant nation and its sovereignty and territorial integrity had to be protected at all costs. Internationally, the world was in a zone of cold war and many nations allied with any one of the two superpowers. After the war, India had to approach USA and Britain for military assistance to recover. Image of India was damaged internationally and domestically as well. Nehru was criticised for the naive assessment of Chinese intentions and for the first time a No-Confidence Motion against his government was moved and debated in the parliament. Defence Minister V.K. Menon gave his resignation after the conflict ended. This conflict showed India the volatility of its Northeast region and made it conscious of its national integrity.

Aspects of India's Foreign policy to be retained-

• India’s image of a peaceful and non-violent country is definitely an attribute ought to be retained. India by nature is a country that believes in non-violence as means to achieve its ends. India’s support for Indonesia's independence and also in the independence of various other African countries shows its character of peace, non-violence and sovereignty.

• India’s initiative of non-alignment is also a feature to be retained. The non-aligned initiative showed India's respect for sovereignty and independence.

Aspects to be changed-

• The three wars that India fought blurred its image of being a peaceful nation. Also, its image of being non-violent played a very little role.

• The wars faded in India's image among the newly independent African and South Asian countries that were now dubious about India. Also, conflicts between countries affected the functioning of the organisations like SAARC.

(a) Nehru was a propagator of science and had faith in science and technology in the rapid development of modern India. He did not believe in the violent use of nuclear energy, rather he believed in the usage of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. India conducted its first nuclear test in May 1974. He requested the superpowers for comprehensive nuclear disarmament. Also, India refused to sign the Non-Proliferation treaty, being imposed upon the world by the five nuclear powers- US, UK, China, USSR and France as it considered it to be discriminatory. India was committed to the peaceful usage of nuclear technology.

(b) Nehru was his own foreign minister. He served as both, the prime minister as well as the foreign minister. He played a crucial role in setting the national agenda. He exercised formulation and implementation of foreign policies from 1946 to 1964. His main three objectives were- sovereignty, territorial integrity and rapid economic development. He strongly believed in the policy of nonalignbment. However, there were obviously certain parties and groups in the country that thought otherwise and preferred aligning with one particular power bloc. There was one section that preferred the US because it was a democratic nation. Dr. Ambedkar believed the same. Other political parties that opposed communism also favored the US and wanted India to follow pro-US foreign policy. However, Nehru possessed considerable leeway in formulating his policies.

The three wars fought by India in a span of 10 years between 1962 and 1971 do not reflect the failure of India's foreign policy as none of them was initiated by India. India had always adhered to the basic tenet of its foreign policy i.e. peace and cooperation. The wars were a reason for the international situation.

• Conflicts with China-

Tibet was a historical buffer state between India and China. In 1950, when China annexed Tibet, there was a massive inflow of Tibetan refugees. When the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama came to India to seek refuge, India provided it. This wasn’t well received by China who accused India of breaking the treaty of Panchsheel. A conflict ensued.

Another conflict with China occurred when China laid claim upon the Aksai chin region and some region of Arunachal Pradesh.

• Wars and conflicts with Pakistan-

Conflict with Pakistan started just after independence in 1947 when Pakistan laid claim over the Jammu and Kashmir region. In 1965, a full-fledged war between the two countries broke out for the same reason. Pakistan attacked India to which India retaliated. In the war of 1971, Pakistan attacked India while India was addressing the Bangladeshi refugees that sought its shelter. India retaliated again.

Thus, all the three wars fought by India from 1962 to 1971 were a result of the international situation and not India's foreign policy.

India has always been a nation with a rich history and culture. India holds an important place in Asia and is the biggest democracy in the world. India was rich in both demographic and natural resources. It was a large territory and had all the capabilities of becoming a leading nation. This aspiration was also reflected in the Bangladesh War of 1971.

When there was a split verdict in Pakistan with Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto from West Pakistan and sheik Mujib ur Rahman winning the respective elections, Pakistan didn't support the win of Sheik Mujib and in an undemocratic move, it attacked East Pakistan. Reign of terror was unleashed. Hordes of refugees started inflowing to India and India had to extend help to the homeless and battle stricken refugees and had to provide them moral and material in their struggle for freedom. Pakistan accused India of conspiracy. While India was busy tackling refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan attacked India on the western borders. However, it could not catch the Indian army off guard. The Indian army, at its heels, gave an appropriate response, defeating the Pakistani army. The Pakistani army general surrendered in front of the Indian general and as many as 90,000 Pakistani soldiers were taken by India as prisoners of war. Bangladesh became a free nation.

Such exemplary courage and tactics of India were aspiring and showed the signs of a nation that wasn’t scared of any mishappenings occurring in its course. People saw this event as a moment of great glory and Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the then Indian prime minister, gained popular support.

Thus, it can be said that India’s foreign policy reflected her desire to be an important regional power in the region.

Foreign policy of a nation reflects the political leadership of the nation.

• During the prime ministership of Nehru, nonalignment was the major policy of foreign affairs that was religiously followed. But slowly and gradually India started gaining a soviet inclination. When the Janata party was elected in 1977, they decided to follow nonalignment properly and this shift towards the soviet was to be corrected.

• Later in time, during the 1990s, after India opened its economy to foreign trade, it bettered its relations with the US. Slowly it became tilted towards the US. Russia had stopped being a global power and had lost its supremacy.

• Gradually, as the economy of India expanded, the rulers realized that to have a healthy and fulfilling empire it was necessary to have a healthy economy. Reforms were introduced and the economy was revived. Today, international situation is more influenced by economic interests than military interests.

a) Nehru wanted to keep off military blocs so as to be unbiased and nonaligned. At the time of the birth of India, the world war was bipolar amidst the environment of cold war. USSR and USA were the two major power blocs that emerged. While USSR propagated communism, USA preached for capitalism. Both wanted to attract the majority of the nations towards their respective ideologies. Taking the side of one superpower would’ve caused damage to relations with the other superpower which would not have worked in favor of India. Moreover, for Nehru, independence meant complete sovereignty in taking the decisions regarding the nation’s economy, politics and society. Had India aligned to any of the superpowers, it would’ve had to follow their ideology (capitalism or communism) in the economic, political and social sphere which meant a loss of complete sovereignty. Nehru did not wish to compromise India’s hard-earned independence and put it at stake, therefore he wanted to keep off military blocs.

b) No, the Indo-Soviet Friendship Treaty did not violate the principles of nonalignment because this treaty was signed to diplomatically counter the US-Pakistan-China axis in the background of rising tension between India and Pakistan. It was not a military treaty, rather it was a diplomatic move.

c) In a situation of no military blocs also, NAM would have been relevant as besides not aligning to one of the power blocs, it also emphasizes upon the importance and need of disarmament, decolonization and terrorism.