India and Non-Alignment — Formative Years

Abstract

: Prior to India’s independence, Jawaharlal Nehru declared non-alignment to be the guiding principle of Indian foreign policy. The same approach is taken by the current government of India, which adheres to this tradition. This chapter shows that non-alignment meant very little right from the start, as it was neither defined nor did it give any practical guidance for a general course or individual cases. On the contrary, a rivalling concept for an aligned foreign policy, authored by the Ministry of External Affairs first Secretary-General G.S. Bajpai, was based on a quarter-century of experience on the international floor and breathed deep realism. While Nehru over the years left it mostly with commonplaces, Bajpai’s realism occasionally surfaced both in the prime minister’s statements and Indian foreign policy. Early decision-making, decisions and non-decisions in the cases of China and Germany show confusion in the upper ranks of the Indian Foreign Service. Finally, national interest was pursued for pragmatic or economic motives, although the term was strictly avoided in the public as it contracted the Nehruvian idea of uniqueness and idealism.