Chapter 4

India’s External Relations

International Context
1. As a nation born in the backdrop of the world war, India decided to conduct
its foreign relations with an aim to respect the sovereignty of all other
nations and to achieve security through the maintenance of peace.
2. This aim finds an echo in the Directive Principles of State Policy.
3. The developing countries lack the required resources to effectively
advocate their concerns in the international system.
4. So they pursue more modest goals than the advanced states.
5. They focus more on peace and development in their own neighbourhood.
6. Moreover, their economic and security dependence on the more powerful
states occasionally influences their foreign policy.
7. In the period immediately after the Second World War, many developing
nations chose to support the foreign policy preferences of the powerful
countries who were giving them aid or credits.
8. This resulted in the division of countries of the world into two clear camps.
9. One was under the influence of the United States and its western allies and
the other was under the influence of the then Soviet Union.

The Policy of Non-Alignment

1. The Indian national movement was not an isolated process.
2. It was a part of the worldwide struggle against colonialism and imperialism.
3. It influenced the liberation movements of many Asian and African
countries.
4. Prior to India’s Independence, there were contacts between the nationalist
leaders of India and those of other colonies, united as they were in their
common struggle against colonialism and imperialism.
5. The creation of the Indian National Army (INA) by Netaji Subhash Chandra
Bose during the Second World War was the clearest manifestation of the
linkages established between India and overseas Indians during the
freedom struggle.
 6. The foreign policy of a nation reflects the interplay of domestic and external
factors.
7. Therefore, the noble ideals that inspired India’s struggle for freedom
influenced the making of its foreign policy.
8. But India’s attainment of independence coincided with the beginning of the
Cold War era.
9. This period was marked by the political, economic, and military
confrontation at the global level between the two blocs led by the
superpowers, the US and the USSR.
10. The same period also witnessed developments like the establishment of
the UN, the creation of nuclear weapons, the emergence of Communist
China, and the beginning of decolonisation.
11. So India’s leadership had to pursue its national interests within the
prevailing international context.

Nehru’s Role
1. The first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru played a crucial role in setting
the national agenda.
2. He was his own foreign minister.
3. Thus both as the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, he exercised
profound influence in the formulation and implementation of India’s foreign
policy from 1946 to 1964.
4. The three major objectives of Nehru’s foreign policy were to preserve the
hard-earned sovereignty, protect territorial integrity, and promote rapid
economic development.
5. Nehru wished to achieve these objectives through the strategy of
nonalignment.
6. There were, of course, parties and groups in the country that believed that
India should be more friendly with the bloc led by the US because that bloc
claimed to be pro-democracy.
7. Among those who thought on these lines were leaders like Dr Ambedkar.
8. Some political parties, which were opposed to communism, also wanted
India to follow a pro-US foreign policy.
9. These included the Bharatiya Jan Sangh and later the Swatantra Party.
 10. But Nehru possessed considerable leeway in formulating foreign policy.

Distance from two camps

1. The foreign policy of independent India vigorously pursued the dream of a
peaceful world by advocating the policy of non-alignment, by reducing Cold
War tensions and by contributing human resources to the UN
peacekeeping operations.
2. India wanted to keep away from the military alliances led by the US and
Soviet Union against each other.
3. During the Cold War, the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
and the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact came into existence.
4. India advocated non-alignment as the ideal foreign policy approach.
5. This was a difficult balancing act and sometimes the balance did not
appear perfect.
6. In 1956 when Britain attacked Egypt over the Suez Canal issue, India led
the world protest against this neo-colonial invasion.
7. But in the same year when the USSR invaded Hungary, India did not join its
public condemnation.
8. Despite such a situation, by and large India did take an independent stand
on various international issues and could get aid and assistance from
members of both the blocs.
9. While India was trying to convince the other developing countries about
the policy of non-alignment, Pakistan joined the US-led military alliances.
10. The US was not happy about India’s independent initiatives and the policy
of non-alignment.
11. Therefore, there was a considerable unease in Indo-US relations during the
1950s.
12. The US also resented India’s growing partnership with the Soviet Union.

Afro-Asian Unity
1. Yet, given its size, location and power potential, Nehru envisaged a major
role for India in world affairs and especially in Asian affairs.
 2. His era was marked by the establishment of contacts between India and
other newly independent states in Asia and Africa.
3. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Nehru had been an ardent advocate of
Asian unity.
4. Under his leadership, India convened the Asian Relations Conference in
March 1947, five months ahead of attaining its independence.
5. India made earnest efforts for the early realisation of freedom of Indonesia
from the Dutch colonial regime by convening an international conference in
1949 to support its freedom struggle.
6. India was a staunch supporter of the decolonisation process and firmly
opposed racism, especially apartheid in South Africa.
7. The Afro-Asian conference held in the Indonesian city of Bandung in 1955,
commonly known as the Bandung Conference, marked the zenith of India’s
engagement with the newly independent Asian and African nations.
8. The Bandung Conference later led to the establishment of the NAM.
9. The First Summit of the NAM was held in Belgrade in September 1961.
10. Nehru was a co-founder of the NAM.

Peace and Conflict with China

1. Unlike its relationship with Pakistan, free India began its relationship with
China on a very friendly note.
2. After the Chinese revolution in 1949, India was one of the first countries to
recognise the communist government.
3. Nehru felt strongly for this neighbour that was coming out of the shadow of
western domination and helped the new government in international fora.
4. Some of his colleagues, like Vallabhbhai Patel, were worried about a possible
Chinese aggression in future.
5. But Nehru thought it was ‘exceedingly unlikely’ that India would face an attack
from China.
6. For a very long time, the Chinese border was guarded by paramilitary forces,
not the army.
7. The joint enunciation of Panchsheel, the Five Principles of Peaceful
Coexistence, by the Indian Prime Minister Nehru and the Chinese Premier
 Zhou Enlai on 29 April 1954 was a step in the direction of stronger
relationship between the two countries.
8. Indian and Chinese leaders visited each other’s country and were greeted by
large and friendly crowds.

TIBET MOMENT
1. In 1958, there was an armed uprising in Tibet against China’s occupation.
2. This was suppressed by the Chinese forces.
3. Sensing that the situation had become worse, in 1959, the Dalai Lama
crossed over into the Indian border and sought asylum which was granted.
4. The Chinese government strongly protested against this.
5. Over the last half century, a large number of Tibetans have also sought
refuge in India and many other countries of the world.
6. In India, particularly in Delhi, there are large settlements of Tibetan
refugees.
7. Dharmashala in Himachal Pradesh is perhaps the largest refugee
settlement of Tibetans in India.
8. The Dalai Lama has also made Dharmashala his home in India.
9. In the 1950s and 1960s many political leaders and parties in India including
the Socialist Party and the Jan Sangh supported the cause of Tibet’s
independence.

The Chinese Invasion, 1962

1. Two developments strained this relationship.
2. China annexed Tibet in 1950 and thus removed a historical buffer between
the two countries.
3. Initially, the government of India did not oppose this openly.
4. But as more information came in about the suppression of Tibetan culture,
the Indian government grew uneasy.
5. The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, sought and obtained political
asylum in India in 1959.
 6. China alleged that the government of India was allowing anti-China
activities to take place from within India.
7. A little earlier, a boundary dispute had surfaced between India and China.
8. India claimed that the boundary was a matter settled in colonial time, but
China said that any colonial decision did not apply.
9. The main dispute was about the western and the eastern end of the long
border.
10. China claimed two areas within the Indian territory: Aksai-chin area in the
Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir and much of the state of Arunachal
Pradesh in what was then called NEFA (North Eastern Frontier Agency).
11. Between 1957 and 1959, the Chinese occupied the Aksai-chin area and
built a strategic road there.
12. Despite a very long correspondence and discussion among top leaders,
these differences could not be resolved.
13. Several small border skirmishes between the armies of the two countries
took place.
14. While the entire world’s attention was on the Cuban crisis involving the two
superpowers, China launched a swift and massive invasion in October
1962 on both the disputed regions.
15. The first attack lasted one week and Chinese forces captured some key
areas in Arunachal Pradesh.
16. The second wave of attack came next month.
17. While the Indian forces could block the Chinese advances on the western
front in Ladakh, in the east the Chinese managed to advance nearly to the
entry point of Assam plains.
18. Finally, China declared a unilateral ceasefire and its troops withdrew to
where they were before the invasion began.

let’s shit on nehru*

1. The China war dented India’s image at home and abroad.
2. India had to approach the Americans and the British for military assistance
to tide over the crisis.
3. The Soviet Union remained neutral during the conflict.
 4. It induced a sense of national humiliation and at the same time
strengthened a spirit of nationalism.
5. Some of the top army commanders either resigned or retired.
6. Nehru’s close associate and the then Defence Minister, V. Krishna Menon,
had to leave the cabinet.
7. Nehru’s own stature suffered as he was severely criticised for his naïve
assessment of the Chinese intentions and the lack of military
preparedness.
8. For the first time, a no-confidence motion against his government was
moved and debated in the Lok Sabha.
9. Soon thereafter, the Congress lost some key by-elections to Lok Sabha.
10. The political mood of the country had begun to change.

puliticul changes in the cuntry*

1. The Sino-Indian conflict affected the opposition as well.
2. This and the growing rift between China and the Soviet Union created
irreconcilable differences within the Communist Party of India (CPI).
3. The pro-USSR faction remained within the CPI and moved towards closer
ties with the Congress.
4. The other faction was for some time closer to China and was against any
ties with the Congress.
5. The party split in 1964 and the leaders of the latter faction formed the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M).
6. In the wake of the China war, many leaders of what became CPI (M) were
arrested for being pro-China.
7. The war with China alerted the Indian leadership to the volatile situation in
the Northeast region.
8. Apart from being isolated and extremely underdeveloped, this region also
presented India with the challenge of national integration and political
unity.
9. The process of its reorganisation began soon after the China war.
10. Nagaland was granted statehood; Manipur and Tripura, though Union
Territories, were given the right to elect their own legislative assemblies.
Wars and piss with Pakistan
1. In the case of Pakistan, the conflict started just after Partition over the
dispute on Kashmir.
2. A proxy war broke out between the Indian and Pakistani armies in Kashmir
during 1947 itself.
3. But this did not turn into a full war.
4. The issue was then referred to the UN.
5. Pakistan soon emerged as a critical factor in India’s relations with the US
and subsequently with China.
6. The Kashmir conflict did not prevent cooperation between the
governments of India and Pakistan.
7. Both the governments worked together to restore the women abducted
during Partition to their original families.
8. A long-term dispute about the sharing of river waters was resolved through
mediation by the World Bank.
9. The India-Pakistan Indus Waters Treaty was signed by Nehru and General
Ayub Khan in 1960.
10. Despite all ups and downs in the Indo-Pak relations, this treaty has worked
well.

1965 war*
1. A more serious armed conflict between the two countries began in 1965.
2. In April 1965 Pakistan launched armed attacks in the Rann of Kutch area of
Gujarat.
3. This was followed by a bigger offensive in Jammu and Kashmir in
August-September.
4. Pakistani rulers were hoping to get support from the local population there,
but it did not happen.
5. In order to ease the pressure on the Kashmir front, Shastri ordered Indian
troops to launch a counter-offensive on the Punjab border.
6. In a fierce battle, the Indian army reached close to Lahore. The hostilities
came to an end with the UN intervention.
 7. Later, Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistan’s General
Ayub Khan signed the Tashkent Agreement, brokered by the Soviet Union,
in January 1966.
8. Though India could inflict considerable military loss on Pakistan, the 1965
war added to India’s already difficult economic situation.

Bangladesh war, 1971

1. Beginning in 1970, Pakistan faced its biggest internal crisis.
2. The country’s first general election produced a split verdict – Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto’s party emerged a winner in West Pakistan, while the Awami League
led by Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman swept through East Pakistan.
3. The Bengali population of East Pakistan had voted to protest against years
of being treated as second class citizens by the rulers based in West
Pakistan.
4. The Pakistani rulers were not willing to accept the democratic verdict.
5. Nor were they ready to accept the Awami League’s demand for a
federation.
6. Instead, in early 1971, the Pakistani army arrested Sheikh Mujib and
unleashed a reign of terror on the people of East Pakistan.
7. In response to this, the people started a struggle to liberate ‘Bangladesh’
from Pakistan.
8. Throughout 1971, India had to bear the burden of about 80 lakh refugees
who fled East Pakistan and took shelter in the neighbouring areas in India.
9. India extended moral and material support to the freedom struggle in
Bangladesh.
10. Pakistan accused India of a conspiracy to break it up.

us and china retarded moment*

1. Support for Pakistan came from the US and China.
2. The US-China rapprochement that began in the late 1960s resulted in a
realignment of forces in Asia.
3. Henry Kissinger, the adviser to the US President Richard Nixon, made a
secret visit to China via Pakistan in July 1971.
 4. In order to counter the US-Pakistan-China axis, India signed a 20-year
Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the Soviet Union in August 1971.
5. This treaty assured India of Soviet support if the country faced any attack.
6. After months of diplomatic tension and military build-up, a full-scale war
between India and Pakistan broke out in December 1971.
7. Pakistani aircrafts attacked Punjab and Rajasthan, while the army moved
on the Jammu and Kashmir front. India retaliated with an attack involving
the air force, navy and the army on both the Western and the Eastern front.
8. Welcomed and supported by the local population, the Indian army made
rapid progress in East Pakistan.
9. Within ten days the Indian army had surrounded Dhaka from three sides
and the Pakistani army of about 90,000 had to surrender.
10. With Bangladesh as a free country, India declared a unilateral ceasefire.

after victory*
1. Later, the signing of the Shimla Agreement between Indira Gandhi and
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on 3 July 1972 formalised the return of peace.
2. A decisive victory in the war led to national jubilation.
3. Most people in India saw this as a moment of glory and a clear sign of
India’s growing military prowess.
4. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister at this time.
5. She had already won the Lok Sabha elections in 1971.
6. Her personal popularity soared further after the 1971 war.
7. After the war, assembly elections in most States took place, bringing large
majorities for the Congress party in many states.
8. India, with its limited resources, had initiated development planning.
9. However, conflicts with neighbours derailed the five-year plans.
10. The scarce resources were diverted to the defence sector especially after
1962, as India had to embark on a military modernisation drive.
11. The Department of Defence Production was established in November 1962
and the Department of Defence Supplies in November 1965.
12. The Third Plan (1961-66) was affected and it was followed by three Annual
Plans and the Fourth Plan could be initiated only in 1969.
 13. India’s defence expenditure increased enormously after the wars.

India’s Nuclear Policy

1. Another crucial development of this period was the first nuclear explosion
undertaken by India in May 1974.
2. Nehru had always put his faith in science and technology for rapidly
building a modern India.
3. A significant component of his industrialisation plans was the nuclear
programme initiated in the late 1940s under the guidance of Homi J.
Bhabha.
4. India wanted to generate atomic energy for peaceful purposes.
5. Nehru was against nuclear weapons.
6. So he pleaded with the superpowers for comprehensive nuclear
disarmament. However, the nuclear arsenal kept rising.
7. When Communist China conducted nuclear tests in October 1964, the five
nuclear weapon powers, the US, USSR, UK, France, and China (Taiwan
then represented China) – also the five Permanent Members of the UN
Security Council – tried to impose the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty
(NPT) of 1968 on the rest of the world.
8. India always considered the NPT as discriminatory and had refused to sign
it.
9. When India conducted its first nuclear test, it was termed as a peaceful
explosion.
10. India argued that it was committed to the policy of using nuclear power
only for peaceful purposes.
11. The period when the nuclear test was conducted was a difficult period in
domestic politics.
12. Following the Arab-Israeli War of 1973, the entire world was affected by the
Oil Shock due to the massive hike in the oil prices by the Arab nations.
13. It led to economic turmoil in India resulting in high inflation.
14. Although there are minor differences among political parties about how to
conduct external relations, Indian politics is generally marked by a broad
 agreement among the parties on national integration, protection of
international boundaries, and on questions of national interest.
15. Therefore, we find that in the course of the decade of 1962-1971, when
India faced three wars, or even later, when different parties came to power
from time to time, foreign policy has played only a limited role in party
politics.