India's Foreign Policy Class 12th Political Science Notes

Introduction

—  Immediately after independence India faced the external challenge with an innovative response by way of the policy of non- alignment.

—  India also found itself in conflict with neighbours.

—   This led to three wars in 1962, 1965 and 1971.

—  The chapter describes the relationship between external and internal politics by focussing on:-

       i.            International context that shaped external relations of India.

     ii.            The operational principles that informed relations of India.

  iii.            Indi- China relations and Indo- Pak relations

   iv.            The evolution of India’s nuclear policy.

Foreign Policy

—  Foreign Policy of a nation reflects systematic statements of national interests along with the interaction of domestic and external factors of a nation.

—  For e.g. trade, diplomacy, sanctions, military/defense, intelligence, foreign aid, and global environmental policy. Trade policy is the way the United States interacts with other countries to ease the flow of commerce and goods and services between countries.

International Context

—  The world had witnessed a devastating war and was grappling with issues of reconstruction, many new countries were emerging as a result of the collapse of colonialism.

—  And most new nations were trying to come to terms with the twin challenges of welfare and democracy.

—  After Independence, immediately India’s foreign policy reflected all these concerns in the period.

—  Apart from these factors at the global level, India started participating in the world affairs as an independent nation state with the overall context like the legacy of many international disputes left by the British, pressures created by partition and poverty alleviation.

—  India decided to conduct foreign relations with an aim to respect the sovereignty of other nations to achieve security through maintenance of peace.

—  For this India laid down Directive Principles of State Policy in the Article 51 of Indian Constitution. Both domestic and international environment influence the foreign policy of a nation

—  The developing countries lack required resources to effectively advocate their concerns in the international system. They focus more on peace and development in their own neighbourhood.

—  Their economic and security dependence on the more powerful states occasionally influences their foreign policy.

—  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.

—  This resulted in the division of countries of the world into two clear camps. One was under the influence of the US and its western allies and the other was under influence of the then Soviet Union.

Consensus in Foreign Policy matters

—  Pt. Nehru played a crucial role in the architecture of setting National Agenda for Foreign policy.

—  Both as a Prime Minister and foreign minister he played profound influence in the formulation and implementation of India’s foreign policy from 1946 to 1964.

—  When different parties came to power from time to time, foreign policy of India played a limited role in party politics.

The policy of Non- Alignment

—  The first objective was to follow NAM, not to join either the military blocs formed by USA and Soviet Union.

—  To promote rapid economics development and maintain friendly relations with other nations.

—  The creation of the Indian National army (INA) by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose during the Second World War.

Relevance of Non-Align Movement

—  It was based on the recognition that decolonize state share historical affiliation and can become powerful force if they come together

—  It means that poor and often very small countries of the world need not become followers of any of the big country, they could pursue an independent foreign policy

—   It was based on a resolve to democracy is international system by thinking about an alternative world order to redress the existing in equalities

Nehru’s Role

—  JL Nehru was the country’s PM from 1946 to 1964 and was also the foreign minister.

—  The three major objectives of Nehru’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 non- alignment.

—  Some political parties and leaders like Bhartiya Jan Sangh, later the Swatantra Party and Dr. Ambedkar also wanted India should keep close relation with USA.

Distance from two Camps

—  During the Cold War, the US- led (NATO) and the Soviet led Warsaw Pact came into existence.

—  India advocated Non- Alignment as the ideal foreign policy approach. This was a difficult balancing act and sometimes the balance did not appear perfect.

—  In 1956 when Britain attacked Egypt over the Suez Canal issue, India Protested it.

—  But in the same year when the USSR invade Hungary, India did not protest it.

—  India did take an independent stand on various international issues.

—  While India was trying to convince the other developing countries about the policy of Non-alignment, Pakistan joined NATO.

—  The US was not happy about India’s independent initiatives, the policy of Non- Alignment and very close to the USSR.

Afro- Asian Unity

—  Nehru establishment of contacts between India and other newly independent states in Asia and Africa.

—  India convened the Asian Relations Conference in March 1947.

—  India made a lot of efforts for the freedom of Indonesia and an international conference held in 1949 to support its freedom struggle.

—  India was a staunch supporter of the decolonization process and firmly opposed racism, especially apartheid in South Africa.

—  The Afro- Asian conference held in the Indonesian city of Bandung in1955.

—  The establishment of the NAM was also held in Afro-Asian Conference.

—  The First Summit of NAM was held in Belgrade in September 1961.

Russian India

·        India has maintained goods relations with all the Post- Communist countries, but the strongest relations are still those between Russia and India.

·        Indo- Russia relations are a significant aspect of India’s foreign policy. For Example Indian heroes from Amitabh Bachchan to Shahrukh Khan are famous figure in Russia.

·        Russia and India share a vision of multipolar World order i.e. Collective Security, greater regionalism, democratization with the decision making through bodies like UN.

·        More than 80 bilateral agreements have been experienced between India and Russia as a part of the Indo-Russia Strategic Agreement of 2001.

·        India has been benefitted from its relationship on the issues like Kashmir, energy supplies, sharing information on international terrorism and balancing its relation with China.

·        Russia is also benefitted from India on grounds of the second largest arms market for Russia.

·        Russia and India have collaborated on various scientific projects also.

·        An informal meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin in 2018 at Sochi (Russia) helped accelerate the partnership, growth, development and cooperation between India and Russia.

America India

After the collapse of Soviet Union India decided to liberalise its economy and integrate it with global economy.

India’s impressive economic growth rate made India an attractive economic partner for the US due to its technological dimensions and the role of Indian America Diaspora (प्रचार).

India needs an appropriate mix  of foreign policy strategies to deal with the US.

These factors are interrelated in the following ways:-

       I.            The US absorbed about 65% of India’s total exports in the software sector.

    II.            35% of the technical staff of Boeing (US Company) is estimated to be of Indian origin.

 III.            300000 Indian work in Silicon Valley.

IV.            4. 15% of all high-tech startups are by Indian-Americans.

   V.            In September 2019, Modi visited USA and he addressed a large Indian American in the Houston NRG stadium.

VI.            With an emphasis on increased military cooperation with the initiation of the Tiger Triumph exercises.

VII.            On February 24, 2020, Trump visited Ahmedabad, Gujarat to address a large Indian crowd. The event, titled "Namaste Trump“, The U.S. president and the Indian prime minister to show off their friendly relationship.

VIII.            After bilateral meetings between PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump spelt out the way ahead to scale up relations in trade, security, technology sharing, regional stability, support the transfer of advanced military technology and tackling new challenges such as the Covid-19 outbreak.

Peace and Conflict with China

·        After the Chinese revolution in 1949, India was one of the first countries to recognize the communist government.

·        Vallabhbhai Patel, were worried about a possible Chinese aggression in future, But Nehru thought that India could face an attack from China.

·        The joint establishment of Panchsheel, the five principles of Peaceful Coexistence, by the Indian PM Nehru and the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai on 29 April 1954.

·        Mutual benefits and equality, Mutual non- aggression, Non-intervention in each other’s international affairs, to maintain ionternational peace and understanding.

Tibet issue

·        Tibet is one of the major issues that historically caused tension between India and China. From time to time China had claimed administrative control over Tibet.

·        In 1950, China took over control of Tibet. Large sections of the Tibetan population opposed this takeover.

·        India tried to persuade (समझाना) China to recognize Tibet’s claims for independence.

·        The Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama accompanied the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during the official Chinese visit to India in 1956.

·        Informed JL Nehru about the worsening situation in Tibet. In 1958, there was armed uprising in Tibet against China’s occupation.

·        This was suppressed by the Chinese forces. Sensing that the situation had become worse, in 1959, the Dalai Lama crossed over into the India border and sought asylum which was granted.

·        In the 1950s and 1960s , many political leaders and parties in India including the Socialist Party and the Jana Sangh supported the cause of Tibet’s independence.

The Chinese Invasion, 1962

·        China annexed Tibet in 1950 and thus removed a historical buffer between the two countries.

·        Initially, the government of India did not oppose this openly.

·        India gave shelter to Dalai Lama and protested it and China told India broke Panchsheel agreement.

·        China claimed two areas within the Indian territory Aksai-chin area in the the Ladakh region of J & K and much of the state of Arunachal Pradesh in NEFA (On 15th August 1947 when India became an independent nation, North East Frontier Agency commonly known as NEFA became an integral part of the Union of India.)

·        Between 1957 and 1959, the Chinese occupied the Aksai-chin area and built a strategic road there.

·        While the entire world’s attention was on the Cuban missile crisis, China launched a massive invasion in Oct 1962.

·        India could not take help from USA and USSR due to Cuban missile crisis.

·        China defeated India in the war. Then defense Minister, V. Krishna Menon, had to leave the cabinet.

·        Nehru was criticized and for the first time, a no- confidence motion against his government was moved and debated in the Lok Sabha.

·        The Sino-Indian conflict affected the Political parties also. The CPI party split in 1964 into parts: CPI (in favour of USSR) and CPI (M) (in favour of China).

·        Rajiv Gandhi’s visit to China in Dec 1988 to improve Indo-China relations.

·        They have  also signed agreements on cultural exchanges and cooperation in science and technology. After 1999, trade increased by 30% annually.

·        China’s assistance to Pak’s nuclear programme also created differences.

·        China’s military relations with Bangladesh and Myanmar were negative viewed as to Indian interest.

·        The Chinese President and Indian Prime Minister witnessing the signing of an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the Chinese and Indian foreign affairs ministers on opening a new route for Indian pilgrimage (Kailash Mansarovar Yatra) to the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in New Delhi in 2014

·        On 16 June 2017 Chinese troops with construction vehicles and road-building equipment began extending an existing road southward in Doklam, a territory which is claimed by both China as well as India's ally Bhutan.

·         After the Galwan Valley clash on 15 June 2020, there were calls across India to boycott Chinese goods. however, Indian government officials said that border tensions would have little impact on trade.

·        On 29 June 2020, the Indian government banned 59 widely-used Chinese mobile phone and desktop applications in response to rising tensions and diplomatic dispute between the two nations.

‘India-Israel Relations’

·        Nearly 45 years after independence, due to various reasons, India's foreign policy with Israel remained largely unexplored notwithstanding the two nations gaining independence from the British colonial rule in 1947 and 1948 respectively.

·        Though historical and cultural ties between India and Israel have gone back from times immemorial, diplomatic relations formally developed between the two after the opening of Israeli embassy in India in 1992.

·        But even after the establishment of formal diplomatic relations, the relations between the two countries started gaining firmness only after the formation of the NDA Governments in 1996 and 1998 onwards.

·        Relations between the two democratic nations further intensified with the visits of the Two Heads of Government: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel in 2017 and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to India in 2018.

·        The two nations have started cooperation in various fields like cultural exchange, security and defence, counterterrorism, space research,

·        water and energy and agricultural development.

Wars and Peace with Pakistan

·        A first war broke out between the Indian and Pakistan armies in Kashmir during 1947 and India won.

·        The World Bank resolved the issue of India- Pakistan Indus waters Treaty and it was signed by Nehru and General Ayub Khan in1960.

·        In April 1965 Pakistan launched armed attacks in the Rann of Kutch area of Gujrat and India again won this war.

·        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.

Bangladesh War, 1971

·        India’s foreign policy reflects her desire to be an important regional power which reflected during Bangladesh War 1971.

·        In 3^rd war, India defeated Pakistan for the support to the freedom struggle in Bangladesh.

·        In 1971, the Pakistani Army arrested Sheikh Mujib and started a reign of terror on the people of East Pakistan. In response to this, the people started a struggle to liberate “Bangladesh” from Pakistan.

·        India had to bear the burden of about 80 lakh refugees who fled East Pakistan and took shelter in the neighbouring areas in India. India extended moral and material support to the freedom struggle in Bangladesh.

·        In 3rd war, India defeated Pakistan for the support to the freedom struggle in Bangladesh.

·        Later, the signing of the Shimla Agreement between Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on 3 July 1972 formalized the return of peace.

·        Due to 3 wars from 1962-71, India had limited resources & used in military sectors.

·        India had to start on a military modernization drive.

·        The Department of Defense Production was established in Nov 1962 and the Department of Defense Supplies in Nov 1965.

Kargil Cinflict

·        In the early phase of 1999, several points on the India side of the LOC (Line of Control) in the Mashkoh, Dras, Kaksar and Batalik areas were occupied by forces claiming to be Mujahideens.

·        Suspecting involvement of the Pakistan army, Indian forces started reacting to this occupation.This led to a confrontation between the two countries. This known as the Kargil conflict.

·        This conflict went on during May and June 1999. By 26 July 1999, India had recovered control of many of the lost points. The Kargil conflict drew attention worldwide for the reason that only one year prior to that, both India and Pakistan had attained nuclear capability.

India’s Nuclear Policy

·        Pt. Nehru always promoted science and technology to build a modern India, i.e. initiated nuclear programme in the late 1940s under the guidance of Homi J. Bhoba.

·        The Communist china conducted nuclear tests in Oct 1964.

·        The first nuclear test done by India in May 1974.

·        The five nuclear weapon powers, the US, USSR, UK, France, and 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.

·        J L Nehru was against nuclear weapons. India always considered the NPT as discriminatory and had refused to sign it.

·        When India conducted its first nuclear test argued that it was committed to the policy of using nuclear power only for peaceful purposes.

·        The Arab- Israel 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.

·        India's nuclear policy has always been peace-oriented, whose clear impression is reflected in the policy of No First

·        Use. But in view of contemporary regional security challenges, the present government led by Prime Minister

·        Narendra Modi has made it clear that the policy of no first use can be reviewed and changed in consonance with

·        India's regional and national security. In addition, India is committed to ensuring its membership in the Nuclear

·        Suppliers Group (NSG) and opposing partisan and unjust nuclear treaties like CTBT and NPT.