India's Foreign Policy and International Relations
What this domain tests
Objectives, the Non-Aligned Movement, Panchsheel, nuclear doctrine, relations with neighbours and major powers, and India's role in multilateral institutions are tested.
Core rules
- Objectives: protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity, promoting national interest, economic development, and peace.
- Panchsheel (1954, India-China): mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference, equality and mutual benefit, peaceful coexistence.
- NAM emerged from the Bandung Conference (1955) and was founded at Belgrade (1961). Non-alignment meant not joining either Cold War bloc; it did not mean neutrality or isolationism.
- Nuclear policy after Pokhran-II (1998): credible minimum deterrence, no first use, non-use against non-nuclear states, and a commitment to disarmament. India is not a signatory to the NPT.
- Multilateral: UN, SAARC, BIMSTEC, BRICS, SCO, Quad, G20 (India hosted in 2023).
- Neighbourhood: India-China boundary dispute, India-Pakistan (terrorism, Indus Waters Treaty), and relations with Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Worked example
Why does India describe NAM as relevant after the Cold War? Reasoning: the Cold War ended but unequal power, sanctions and pressure to choose sides persist. Non-alignment gives strategic autonomy, the freedom to buy defence equipment or oil from multiple partners, and a voice for the Global South. The answer should distinguish autonomy from neutrality, since India has taken clear positions on terrorism and territorial integrity.
Traps
- Equating non-alignment with neutrality.
- Saying India signed the NPT.
- Placing Panchsheel after NAM.
- Treating the Quad as a military alliance; it is a consultative grouping.