t.com www.GOALias.blogspot.com www.GOALias.blogspot.com

www.GOALias.blogspot.comIndia’s external relations 67China, and the beginning of decolonisation. So India’s leadership hadto pursue its national interests within the prevailing internationalcontext.Nehru’s roleThe first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru played a crucial role insetting the national agenda. He was his own foreign minister. Thusboth as the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, he exercisedprofound influence in the formulation and implementation of India’sforeign policy from 1946 to 1964. The three major objectives ofNehru’s foreign policy were to preserve the hard-earned sovereignty,protect territorial integrity, and promote rapid economic development.Nehru wished to achieve these objectives through the strategy of nonalignment.There were of course parties and groups in the countrythat believed that India should be more friendly with the bloc ledby US because that bloc claimed to be pro-democracy. Among thosewho thought on these lines were leaders like Dr Ambedkar. Somepolitical parties, which were opposed to communism, also wantedIndia to follow a pro-US foreign policy. These included the BharatiyaJan Sangh and later the Swatantra Party. But Nehru possessedconsiderable leeway in formulating the foreign policy.Distance from two campsThe foreign policy of independent India vigorously pursued the dreamof a peaceful world by advocating the policy of non-alignment, byreducing the Cold War tensions and by contributing human resourcesto the UN peacekeeping operations. You might ask why India did notjoin either of the two camps during the Cold War era. India wantedto keep away from the military alliances led by US and Soviet Unionagainst each other. As you have read in the book on ContemporaryWorld Politics, during the Cold War, the US-led North AtlanticTreaty Organisation (NATO) and the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact cameinto existence. India advocated non-alignment as the ideal foreignpolicy approach. This was a difficult balancing act and sometimesthe balance did not appear perfect. In 1956 when Britain attackedEgypt over the Suez canal issue, India led the world protest againstthis neo-colonial invasion. But in the same year when the USSRinvaded Hungary, India did not join its public condemnation. Despitesuch situation, by and large India did take an independent stand onvarious international issues and could get aid and assistance frommembers of both the blocs.While India was trying to convince the other developing countriesabout the policy of non-alignment, Pakistan joined the US-led militaryalliances. The US was not happy about India’s independent initiativesand the policy of non-alignment. Therefore, there was a considerable“Our generalpolicy is to avoidentanglement in powerpolitics and not to joinany group of powers asagainst any other group.The two leading groupstoday are the Russianbloc and the Anglo-American bloc. We mustbe friendly to both andyet not join either. BothAmerica and Russiaare extraordinarilysuspicious of each otheras well as of othercountries. This makesour path difficultand we may well besuspected by each ofleaning towards theother. This cannot behelped.Jawaharlal NehruLetter to K .P. S.Menon, January1947.“