India’s Foreign Policy

India’s Foreign Policy

But colonization in the 20th century changed the concept of sovereignty and integrity of the state. Colonial powers like Great Britain, Spain, France and Portugal established their supremacy in the continents of America, Africa and Asia. Great Britain ruled the Indian Subcontinent for around 200 years. However, the British Empire in India ended in 1947 when India was partitioned and two new countries, i.e. India and Pakistan, emerged as sovereign states. In the wake of World War II, international politics took a new turn and the world was divided into two blocs; one led by United States and the other by the Soviet Union – officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Each of them wanted to have supremacy in international politics and to control the world order militarily, economically and ideologically.
At that time, there were a large number of states in Asia, Africa and even in America that had got independence from colonial powers and that did not want to become part of any alliance again. India, the biggest country in South Asia, decided not to join any of the blocs. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, took the initiative to form a bloc of non-aligned countries, and with the active support of Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Ahmed Sukarno of Indonesia and Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, who later became the founding fathers of the movement and its emblematic leaders, encouraged the African and Asian nations to fight against the evils of colonialism and imperial domination.
Their efforts culminated in the form of Asia-Africa Conference, which was held in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955. It was the first major step towards establishing the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Six years after Bandung Conference, the NAM was founded on a wider geographical basis at the First Summit Conference of Belgrade, which was held from September 1 to 6, 1961. The Conference was attended by 25 countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Yemen, Myanmar, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Congo, Cuba, Cyprus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Lebanon, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yugoslavia.

Although Pakistan is also among the 120 members states of NAM, it actively participated in the world politics during the Cold War, be it the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan or the U-2 incident. Pakistan aligned with the US bloc and got a lot of benefits from the United States in the form of economic aid, ammunition, fighter jets and technology.
After the end of the Cold War in 1991, the United States solely dominated the world, both socio-economically and geo-politically, for around 30 years. But, now international politics is undergoing a sea change as a new cold war between China and United States is looming large on the horizon. China is emerging as a strong power on the basis of a vibrant and thriving economy, its military might and prowess in technology, not only in the region but on the world stage as well. Sensing a threat to its interests in this part of the world, the United States is engaged in a tussle with China in the Indo-Pacific region as both countries want to dominate navigation in hot waters.

To cap it all, India is sitting in the lap of the United States. The latter’s main focus is Indo-Pacific region as former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has called the 21st century as Indo-Pacific century for the United States. For this, they need allies in the region and India is the best option for US. So, India, which once was a champion of non-alignment, has now become a part of US-led bloc against China.

Nehru’s Panchshila
Territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference, peaceful co-existence & equality
Narendra Modi’s foreign policy as claimed by

BJP
The five pillars of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy are rooted in India’s national interest, civilisational philosophy, and the republican and democratic ethos of the 21st century. They are:
Sammaan: Respect for every nation’s sovereignty;
Samvaad: Greater engagement with all countries;
Suraksha: Security; India is a responsible power—neither aggression nor adventurism exists in its DNA;
Samriddhi: Shared prosperity;
Sanskriti and Sabhyata: The persuasive reach of cultural values anchored in a philosophy which believes that the world is a family.