India’s External Relations

Lecture by: Ayush Raj [Alumnus JNU, Jamia]

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Topics to be covered

▪ International context
▪ The Policy of non-alignment
- Nehru’s role
- Distance from two camps
▪ Afro-Asian unity
▪ Peace and conflict with China
▪ Wars and Peace with Pakistan
▪ India’s nuclear policy
▪ Shifting alliances in world politics
 Introduction

• Post-independence, India faced global challenges, including post-war

reconstruction and the emergence of new nations.

• British legacy, Partition, and poverty added complexity to India's foreign policy
landscape.

• India aimed for sovereignty and security through peaceful foreign policy aligned
with Directive Principles of State Policy.

• Developing nations often aligned with powerful countries due to resource

limitations.

• India navigated the early Cold War, maintaining peace and aligning with the Non-
Aligned Movement.

• Early Indian foreign policy was influenced by the US-Soviet Cold War division.
 The Policy of Non-Alignment

▪ Indian national movement was part of global anti-colonial struggle.

▪ Contacts with leaders of other colonies existed pre-independence.

▪ Creation of the Indian National Army by Netaji during WWII highlighted global
connections.

▪ Post-independence foreign policy shaped by domestic ideals and global factors.

▪ Independence coincided with the Cold War, influencing global politics.

▪ India had to navigate its interests amid Cold War dynamics, UN formation,
nuclear weapons, emergence of Communist China, and decolonization.
 Nehru’s Role

▪ Nehru, as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, shaped India's foreign policy (1946-64).

Objectives:

• Preserve sovereignty
• Protect territorial integrity
• Promote economic development

▪ Non-alignment was the key strategy chosen by Nehru to achieve these objectives.

▪ Some parties (Jan Sangh, Swatantra Party) and leaders (Ambedkar) advocated a more
pro-US stance, emphasising democracy.
Distance From Two Camps

▪ Independent India followed a non-aligned foreign policy during the Cold

War, avoiding alignment with the US or USSR.

▪ India condemned the Suez Canal invasion by Britain but did not criticize
the USSR's invasion of Hungary in 1956.

▪ India maintained an independent stance on global issues, receiving aid

from both blocs.

▪ Indo-US relations were strained due to India's non-alignment and closer

ties with the Soviet Union.

▪ India's focus on import substitution limited economic engagement with

the outside world.
 Afro-Asian Unity

▪ India, under Nehru's leadership, promoted Asian unity and convened the
Asian Relations Conference in March 1947.

▪ India supported Indonesia's freedom struggle and actively opposed

colonialism and apartheid in South Africa.

▪ The Bandung Conference in 1955, where Nehru played a key role,

marked a high point in India's engagement with newly independent Asian
and African nations.

▪ Nehru was a co-founder of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM),

established after the Bandung Conference, with its first summit held in
Belgrade in 1961.
 Peace and Conflict With China

History of China
People’s Republic of
Japanese empire China estd. under
Qing Dynasty invaded during WWII Mao Zedong
1644-1911 1937-45 1949

1912 1946
Republic of China Civil war started
estd. after Xinhai
revolution

▪ India initially had a friendly relationship with China, being one

of the first to recognize the communist government in 1949.

▪ Nehru supported China's international standing, despite

concerns from some colleagues like Vallabhbhai Patel.
 Tibet
▪ 1950 – China took control of Tibet

▪ India tried to persuade China to recognize Tibet’s claim for independence.

▪ But, signed Panchsheel agreement in 1954, and conceded the claim of China.

▪ Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty

▪ Mutual non-aggression
Panchsheel ▪ Mutual non-interference
▪ Equality and co-operation for mutual benefit
▪ Peaceful co-existence

Signed between Indian

PM Nehru and Chinese
Premier Zhou Enlai on
29th Apr. 1954
 Tibet

▪ China started suppressing Tibetan culture, religion, language, ethnicity, etc.

▪ 1958- Revolt against China, but was suppressed

▪ 1959- Dalai Lama and Tibetans fled to India and took asylum

▪ China made Tibet a Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)

 The Chinese invasion-1962

Backdrops

▪ Annexation of Tibet in 1950

▪ Between 1957-59 → Occupied Aksai-chin area and built a strategic road
▪ Asylum to Dalai Lama
▪ Started claiming two areas → Aksai Chin in Ladakh and Areas of Arunachal Pradesh (NEFA)
 The Chinese Invasion-1962

The Attack
▪ On 20 Oct 1962 → Massive attack on India

▪ More than 2000 deaths

▪ China declared unilateral ceasefire in Nov, 1962 after USA threatened to intervene

▪ Also Colombo conference was convened by NAM for peace b/w India and China

Result
▪ Lost many key areas in Arunachal and Ladakh region

▪ New boundary LAC (Line of Actual Control)

Effects of defeat
▪ National humiliation
▪ India’s image dented
CPI
▪ Top military commanders resigned
▪ V K Menon (Defence min.) resigned [Pro-USSR]
▪ 1st No-confidence motion against Nehru govt CPI 1964
▪ Congress lost some by-elections CPI-M
▪ Split in CPI [Pro-China]
▪ Reorganisation of North-East
- Nagaland was granted statehood;
- Manipur and Tripura, though UTs, given the right to elect their own legislative assemblies.

After 1962

▪ 1976 - Again full diplomatic relations restored

▪ 1979 - Vajpayee (External Affairs minister) visited China
▪ 1988 - Rajiv Gandhi (PM) visited China
 Wars and Peace with Pakistan

1947-48
▪ Conflict over Kashmir post-Partition, leading to a proxy war in 1947.

▪ Despite the Kashmir dispute, cooperation occurred on issues like abducted

women and river water disputes, resolved through the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty
(brokered by World Bank)- Signed by Nehru and Ayub Khan
Indus Water Treaty
 Wars and Peace with Pakistan

1947-48
▪ Conflict over Kashmir post-Partition, leading to a proxy war in 1947.

▪ Despite the Kashmir dispute, cooperation occurred on issues like abducted

women and river water disputes, resolved through the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty
(brokered by World Bank)- Signed by Nehru and Ayub Khan
1965
▪ Pakistan attacking Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir. India responded, reaching
close to Lahore.

▪ UN intervention ended hostilities, and the Tashkent Agreement was signed in

1966, brokered by the Soviet Union.

▪ India inflicted military losses on Pakistan, but the 1965 war added to economic
challenges.
 Bangladesh War 1971

▪ In 1970, Pakistan faced a crisis with a split election result between Bhutto's party
in West Pakistan and Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman's Awami League in East Pakistan.

▪ East Pakistan sought autonomy due to mistreatment, leading to the Pakistani

army's crackdown and arrest of Sheikh Mujib in 1971.

▪ India supported the Bangladesh liberation struggle, hosting 80 lakh refugees.

The US and China supported Pakistan, leading to a realignment of forces in Asia.

▪ India signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the Soviet Union to counter
the US-Pakistan-China axis.

▪ A full-scale war broke out in December 1971. India made rapid progress in East
Pakistan, leading to the surrender of the Pakistani army.

▪ The Shimla Agreement formalized peace in July 1972, and the war's decisive
victory increased India's military reputation.
 Effects in India

▪ Indira Gandhi's popularity soared.

▪ Congress secured large majorities in post-war assembly elections.

▪ Conflicts with neighbours affected development planning, diverting

resources to defence after the 1962 and 1965 wars.

▪ The Third Plan (1961-66) was impacted, followed by Annual Plans, and
the Fourth Plan began in 1969.

▪ Defense expenditure increased significantly after the wars.

 Kargil Confontration

▪ Kargil conflict erupted in 1999 along the Line of Control.

▪ Forces claiming to be Mujahideens occupied Indian territory, leading to

Indian retaliation.

▪ By July 26, India regained control.

▪ Global attention due to both countries possessing nuclear capability.

▪ Controversy in Pakistan over the Prime Minister's alleged unawareness,

leading to a government takeover by the Pakistan Army, led by General
Pervez Musharraf.
Kargil Confontration
 India’s Nuclear Policy
▪ The nuclear program aimed at peaceful energy generation under Homi J. Bhabha's guidance.

▪ First nuclear test in Pokharan in May 1974 for peaceful purposes [Operation Smiling Buddha]

▪ China conducted nuclear tests in October 1964.

▪ The five nuclear powers or P-5 (US, USSR, UK, France, and China) attempted to impose the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 globally.

▪ But, India refused to sign the discriminatory NPT.

▪ The first nuclear test was labelled a "peaceful explosion," aligning with India's commitment to
peaceful nuclear use.

▪ Second Nuclear Test- May 1998 in Pokharan [Operation Shakti]

India adopted a doctrine of ‘’No First Use’’

[Nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a nuclear
attack on Indian territory or Indian forces anywhere]
 Shifting Alliances in World Politics

▪ Janata Party government (1977) aimed for genuine non-alignment, correcting pro-Soviet tilt.

▪ Subsequent governments sought better relations with China and closer ties with the US.

▪ Post-1990, criticism of pro-US foreign policy, influenced by changing global dynamics.

▪ Russia, still important, lost global preeminence; India's foreign policy shifted more pro-US.

▪ Economic interests now play a more significant role.

▪ Indo-Pakistan relations saw new developments with efforts to restore normalcy.

▪ Despite setbacks, efforts for negotiating durable peace have continued.

 THANK YOU
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