Political Science 3 Marks Question

Foreign policy of any country is the mirror of national interests as in India:

1. During non-congress government in 1977, Janata Party announced to follow nonalignment genuinely. This implied that the pro-Soviet tilt in foreign policy will be corrected. Since then, all governments took initiatives to restore better relations with China and entered into close ties with the US.
2. In Post 1990 period the ruling parties were criticised for their pro-US foreign policy. During this period Russia had lost its global pre- eminence despite it has been India’s good friend. Hence, India’s foreign policy shifted to a more pro-US strategy.
3. Besides, the contemporary international situation is also more influenced by economic interests than military interests so made an impact on India’s foreign policy i.e. Indo-Pakistan relations have witnessed new developments.

Nehru regarded conduct of foreign relations as an essential indicator of independence due to the following reasons:

1. India decided to conduct its foreign relations with an aim to respect the sovereignty of all other nations and achieve security through the maintenance of peace. This aim is reflected in the Directive Principles of State Policy under Article 51 of the Indian Constitution.
2. India always advocated the policy of Non-alignment, made efforts to reduce cold war tensions and contributed human resources to UN peace keeping operations. India’s leadership had to pursue its national interests within the prevailing international context.
3. India took independent stand and got assistance from members of both the blocs.

India’s Nuclear Policy:The first nuclear explosion was undertaken by India in May 1974. Nehru had always put his faith in science and technology for rapidly building a modern India.
A significant component of his industrialisation plans was the nuclear programme initiated in the late 1940s under the guidance of Homi J. Bhabha. India wanted to generate atomic energy for peaceful purposes.
Nehru was against nuclear weapons. So he pleaded with the superpowers for comprehensive nuclear disarmament. However, the nuclear arsenal kept rising. when Communist China conducted nuclear tests in October 1964, the five nuclear weapon powers, the US, USSR, UK, France, and China (Taiwan then represented 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.