India's Foreign Policy

The Special Lecture delivered by Mr,Sundeep Kumar. S,Scholar,University of Madras and Think tank of External Affairs Ministry of india on India,s Foriegn policy.Independence & Partition (1947-54) The pre-independence era saw India’s foreign policy under the control of the British Raj. India had played an important role in the two world wars by providing necessary resources and its army to fight the colonial power’s war. With the end of the Second World War in 1945 and the subsequent independence of India in August 1947 from the British Raj, India had to deal with the outside world by itself and have its own foreign policy. Several factors influenced the formation of India’s post-independence foreign policy. The post-war global political events and India’s own political climate would go on to shape its external relations. Panchsheel and Non-Aligned Movement (1954-1991) Nehru also firmly believed that India must develop and maintain a close friendship with its neighbours, especially with China as both countries have a long history of civilization and culture. This led to the signing of the Panchsheel Treaty between India and China in 1954 between Nehru and the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. The Pancsheel is the five principles with which the two nations would conduct relations between them. This included respecting each other’s territory and sovereignty; non-aggression; non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and cooperation; and peaceful co-existence. Fall of the Soviet Union and Economic Liberalisation (1991-present) the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 coincided with the threat of India becoming bankrupt. The economic compulsion forced India to move away from its largely socialistic economy to a mixed economy. India hence had to open its doors to Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and it was the beginning of improving relations with the U.S.A. This economic reform known as the Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation (LPG) was another important event which shaped the foreign policy. In present days, India faces a new set of challenges and its foreign policy is shaped, without changing its core principles, to cope up with the ever-changing nature of geopolitics. China has become one of the world powers which have a bearing in South Asia and our neighbours’ policy. With a growing economy, India has also become a regional power and hence it needs to be more responsible than ever before. These changes require India to frame its foreign policy to protect its interests and improve ties with its neighbours. Other factors that have contributed in building India’s relations with the outside world over the years include its civilian and defence Nuclear capability and its increasing presence in key international institutions such as the BRICS, G20, SCO, MTCR, etc.. Having steadily grown in stature, several global powers have voiced their opinion for the inclusion of India as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. To summarise the essence of India’s foreign policy, it is worthy to mention that it holds a rare distinction of probably the only nation to have friendly ties with Israel, Iran, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.