International Context or Relations
❑In post-independence period, India faced many
challenges to make a strong foreign policy.
❑ India shaped its foreign relations with an aim to respect
the sovereignty of all other nations and to achieve
security through the maintenance of peace.
❑ In post Second World War period, world politics led to
the division of countries of the world into two clear
camps-one under the United States and other under the
Soviet Union.
Th
e Policy of
Non-
Alignment
• The Cold War era marked the political, economic and military
confrontation at the global level between the two blocs led by the
superpowers, the US and the USSR.
• Along with this in other prevailing world politics Indian leadership
was in the direction to pursue its national interests with these
international context
Nehru exercised foreign policy from 1946 to 1964.
Distance From Two Camps
❑India wanted to keep away from the military alliances led
by US and Soviet Union against each other. The US was not
happy about India’s independent initiatives the policy of
non-alignment.
❑During 1950s India took an independent stand on various
international Issues and could get aid and assistance from
members of both power blocs.
❑India’s independent stand and her growing relations with
USSR hurt the sentiments of USA. Therefore, there was a
considerable unease in Indo-US relations during 1950s.
Peace and Conflict with China
❑ Independent India began its relationship with China on a friendly
note as India was one of the first countries to recognize the
communist government.
❑Some of Nehru's colleagues like Vallabhbhai Patel, were worried
about possible Chinese aggression in future but Nehru thought it
was exceedingly unlikely that India will face an attack from China.
❑Panchsheel (The five principles of peaceful co-existence)
Agreement signed between Indian Prime Minister Nehru and the
Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai on 28th April 1954 was a step in the
direction of stronger relationship between two.
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The Chinese Invasion, 1962
❑ China annexed Tibet in 1950 and removed historical buffer between two
countries. The issue of Dalai Lama added fuel to the fire.
❑China claimed two areas within the Indian territory: Askai-Chin area in the
Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir and state of Arunachal Pradesh in
North Eastern Frontier Agency (NEFA).
❑China launched a swift and massive invasion in October 1962 on both the
disputed areas.
❑ The China war dented India’s image at home and abroad.
❑The Sino-Indian conflict and the growing rift between China and the Soviet
Union created irreconcilable differences within the Communist Party of India
(CPI).
Wars and Peace with Pakistan
❑ The conflict started with Pakistan just after independence over the dispute
on Kashmir.
❑The India-Pakistan Indus Waters Treaty was signed by Nehru and General
Ayub Khan in 1960 which has worked well despite all ups and downs in the
Indo-Pak relations.
❑In April 1965, Pakistan launched armed attacks in the Rann of Kutch area of
Gujarat which was followed by a bigger offensive in Jammu and Kashmir in
August-September.
❑ The hostilities came to an end with the UN intervention. Indian Prime
Minister Lai Bahadur Shastri and Pakistan’s General Ayub Khan signed the
Tashkent Agreement, brokered by the Soviet Union, in January 1966.
Bangladesh War, 1971
In a dramatic internal politics during 1970 After months of diplomatic tension and
the East and West Pakistani rulers were military build-up, a full-scale war
not willing to accept the democratic between India and Pakistan broke out in
verdict. December 1971.
1970 Dec. 1971
1971 3 July 1972
Throughout 1971, India had to bear the On 3rd July 1972 the Shimla Agreement
burden of about 80 Lakh refugees who was signed between Indira Gandhi and
moved to East Pakistan and took shelter Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
in the neighboring areas in India.
‘India’s Nuclear Program’ (Updates)
❑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.
India-Israel Relations’
Nearly 45 years after independence, due to political reasons, India's
foreign policy in the Middle East region, now called West Asian region,
and India's relations with West Asian countries were mainly
concentrated with Islamic countries.
‘India-
Israel this period India's attitude towards Israel, the only non-Islamic
During
Relations’
nation in the region, remained neglected 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 BJP-led 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 defense, counterterrorism, space
research, water and energy and agricultural development.
1. What message does this cartoon convey?
2. Which year is being shown here?
1. This cartoon conveys message on Indo-China tensions to be resolved.
2 1962, Chinese invasion.
