The Policy of Non-Alignment

The Policy of Non-Alignment

• Many countries in the developing world supported the foreign policy preferences and credit of the powerful nations that gave them aid or credit immediately following the Second World War. It caused the world to be divided into two camps. The Soviet Union controlled one, and the other was driven by the United States of America and its western allies
• India achieved freedom and began to define its foreign policy. The Cold War was only the beginning. The world was getting divided into two camps. India decided not to join any of the county groups. India adopted a new type of foreign policy centered on the policy of non-alignment
• India chose to pursue the policy of non-alignment in foreign affairs. Following were the key factors in India’s initial foreign policy formulation
• The Indian national movement struggle was an integral part of the worldwide fight against imperialism and colonialism
• It had a significant influence on the liberation movements in many African and Asian nations
• The strongest evidence of the links established between India and the overseas Indians during the freedom struggle was Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s founding of the Indian National Army

Nehru’s Role in NAM:

• Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India. He played a crucial role in setting national priorities. He was also the foreign minister of the country
• He had an enormous influence over the formulation and implementation of India’s foreign policy between 1946 and 1964
• Nehru’s foreign policies had three major goals: protect sovereignty, promote economic development, and territorial integrity
• Nehru desired to achieve these goals by the strategy of nonalignment
• Some parties and groups felt India should be more friendly to the US-led bloc because it claimed to be pro-democracy
• Dr. Ambedkar and many parties, including Bharatiya Jan Sangh and later the Swatantra Party, advocated for better ties between the US-led bloc as the bloc claimed pro-democracy

Non Alignment

• Independent India pursued the dream for a peaceful world through its foreign policy. It advocated non-alignment
• Reduce Cold War tensions by contributing human resources and personnel to UN peacekeeping operations
• Non-Alignment was a delicate balance act. Sometimes the balance didn’t look right
• India was able to take an independent position on many international issues and could receive assistance and aid from both the blocs

Relationships between India and USA, NAM:

India was trying to convince other countries about its policy of non-alignment. Pakistan, however, joined the US-led alliances in military operations.

• The US was unhappy with India’s independence initiatives and non-alignment policy
• The US also disliked India’s increasing partnership with the Soviet Union
• Thus, the 1950s saw a lot of tension in Indo-US relations
• India’s import substitution strategy severely limited India’s economic interaction outside the country

Afro-Asian Unity:

• Nehru envisioned India playing a pivotal role in global affairs, especially in Asia. He was a strong advocate of Asian unity
• His era was marked in part by establishing contact between India and other newly independent nations in Asia or Africa
• India organized the Asian Relations Conference (March 1947)
• India took severe steps to ensure the independence of Indonesia from the Dutch colonial regime. It convened an International Conference in 1949 to support the country’s freedom struggle
• India was a staunch advocate of the decolonization process. It strongly opposed racism in South Africa and apartheid
• The 1955 Afro-Asian Unity Conference was held in Bandung, Indonesia. This conference is commonly known as “The Bandung Conference.” It marked India’s zenith in its engagement with the newly independent Asian nations
• The NAM was later established through the Bandung Conference. September 1961 saw the first summit of the NAM in Belgrade. Nehru was also a co-founder of the NAM

Contrary to its relationship with Pakistan, Free India’s relationship with China began on a very friendly note.

Conclusion

The Policy of Non-Alignment and Non-Alignment movement is a very important topic from the Polity section. On a concluding note, we have learnt that many countries in the developing world supported the foreign policy preferences and credit of the powerful nations that gave them aid or credit immediately following the Second World War. It caused the world to be divided into two camps. The Soviet Union controlled one, and the other was driven by the United States of America and its western allies. On-Alignment was a delicate balance act. Sometimes the balance didn’t look right. India was able to take an independent position on many international issues and could receive assistance and aid from both the blocs. India was trying to convince other countries about its policy of non-alignment. Pakistan, however, joined the US-led alliances in military operations. The US disliked India’s increasing partnership with the Soviet Union. During Afro-Asian unity, Jawaharlal  Nehru envisioned India playing a pivotal role in global affairs, especially in Asia.