India’s relation with its neighbour countries

India is a developing industrialised country. It has a long history of cooperation with various countries, is a member of the BRICS, and is an integral part of the developing globe. India was a founding member of several international organisations, including the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank, the G-20 major economies, and the Non-Aligned Movement. India’s foreign policy has traditionally viewed neighbourhoods as a series of expanding concentric circles centred on a central axis of historical and cultural connections. Millions of Indians live and work in other countries, forming a vital link with their homeland. 

In the 1950s, India’s prestige and moral authority were high, allowing it to obtain developmental help from the East and the West. However, despite the reputation that came with India’s nonalignment, the country could not keep Cold War politics from interfering with interstate relations in South Asia.

During the 1960s and 1970s, India’s international standing among developed and developing countries deteriorated as a result of wars with China and Pakistan, disputes with other South Asian countries, and India’s attempt to balance Pakistan’s US and Chinese support by signing the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in August 1971. In the mid-1990s, India drew international attention to Pakistan’s backing for terrorism in Kashmir. India won a significant diplomatic success in the Kargil War.

India was a strong advocate for international peace. As a vast country with a long border, India has a history of welcoming and good neighbourly relations with many of its neighbours. Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bhutan, and Nepal are close to India. 

These nations in the neighbourhood are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Individually and collectively, the member countries represent a world of historical relationships, shared legacies, commonalities, and diversities intricately represented in their ethnic, linguistic, religious, and political fabric. The other two neighbours, China and Myanmar, are no less complicated. India’s position in the region is unique. India shares borders with all other South Asian countries due to geography, whereas no other South Asian country (save Afghanistan and Pakistan) shares borders with any other South Asian country. 

Afghanistan

India and Afghanistan have good relations and cooperate in commercial, technical, and cultural spheres. Infrastructure development, institutional capacity building, modest development projects, and food security support in the form of regular wheat deliveries to Afghanistan are among India’s aid programmes for Afghanistan. In addition, aviation connectivity between the two countries has improved over time. Between Kabul and Delhi, four to five planes operate daily, transporting roughly 1,000 Afghans to India, many of whom are medical tourists seeking treatment in Delhi hospitals.

The Afghan Embassy in Delhi has repeatedly interacted with India’s national and local business and industry chambers to strengthen commercial connections between the two countries. It may be concluded that India plays a vital role in Afghanistan’s steady march toward peace, pluralism, and prosperity. Afghanistan and India have ties beyond their typically government-to-government and solid relations. Afghan and Indian peoples have interacted through trade and business from ancient times, happily living based on shared cultural values and commonalities. 

Bangladesh

The Indian government is committed to preserving positive relations with its neighbours. Bangladesh is one of the country’s immediate neighbours. Because of India’s unwavering support for independence and resistance to Pakistan in 1971, India’s relations with Bangladesh were strained. Many refugees went to India during the independence fight. However, as time went on, several issues arose, including South Talpatti Island, the Tin Bigha Corridor and access to Nepal, the Farakka Barrage and water sharing, border conflicts near Tripura, and the construction of a fence along with the majority of the border, which India justified as a security measure against migrants, insurgents, and terrorists.

India has become increasingly vocal about Bangladesh’s lack of border security. As a result, Bangladesh and India have inked a historic agreement to exchange more than 150 enclaves of land to simplify their border. Bangladesh also offers India a transit route to its North-East states via Bangladesh. 

China

India has a close relationship with China. However, the relationship between these two countries is fluid. However, India and China have indeed enjoyed a long-standing good relationship. Sino-Indian ties have improved steadily since 1988, notwithstanding residual fears from the 1962 Sino-Indian War & ongoing border conflicts in Aksai Chin & Arunachal Pradesh. Both nations have attempted to de-escalate tensions along the border, strengthen commerce and cultural links, and normalise their relations.

High-level representatives and ministers visit both countries regularly. These initiatives have aided in the improvement of ties. Since 2004, China’s and India’s economies have grown together, fostering tighter relations. The two countries’ burgeoning economic ties have also made them better politically, with China and India eager to resolve their border conflict. However, there are several additional concerns concerning China that we are concerned about. At the very least, the tense scenario near the boundary no longer exists. 

Pakistan

When it comes to preserving relations with India, Pakistan has remained adversarial. On the other hand, India has made significant efforts to strengthen and stabilise relations with Pakistan. Pakistan has raised the Kashmir issue in many foreign media outlets. All of these concerns have caused India to express its concern to Pakistan. As a result, India and Pakistan have a tense relationship. The Kashmir issue has been a significant source of contention between India and Pakistan.

Despite historical, cultural, and ethnic ties, Pakistan and India have had a long history of hostility since India’s split in 1947. Several confidence-building measures (CBMs) have been implemented to start the peace process in India and Pakistan. The Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008 severely strained relations between the two. India has accused Pakistan of harbouring extremists on its soil, which Pakistan vehemently rejects. 

Conclusion

There is little question that, in comparison to 20 years ago, India’s problems with its neighbourhood will become more complex and perhaps hazardous. But on the other hand, a neighbourhood-first strategy requires long-term commitment and involvement of government and at the individual level, depending on the deep cultural affinities that characterise India’s interactions with its neighbours.