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    Bharti Singh
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    of 2

    Before we look at the content and direction of our foreign policy and

    the challenges that we face today, I think it will be in order if we dwelt


    a little on the past in order to get our moorings right. India had a
    unique freedom struggle. It was different from any freedom struggle
    that the world had known before. The freedom struggle of India was
    not only largely non-violent but also contained a high degree of
    idealism. That perhaps explains why India, even after it became
    independent, did not nurse the kind of bitterness against former
    colonial rulers that we have noticed in other countries which achieved
    independence. The fact that we joined the Commonwealth of nations
    is proof of the absence of that bitterness.

    The evolution of foreign policy that took place immediately after


    independence was informed with the same degree of idealism that
    permeated the freedom struggle and I make this my starting point. In
    fact, you will find that not only in the case of India, but all over the
    world there has been a conflict between idealism and realism in the
    formulation and implementation of all policies, especially foreign
    policy. So initially when India achieved its independence, this idealism
    formed the bedrock of her foreign policy and there was no dearth of
    issues for her to espouse. For example, the war against colonialism
    had started in India. In that war, the first victory was that of India. It
    was therefore natural for India to assume a leadership role against
    colonialism. It was also India’s destiny to lead the fight against racism,
    particularly the policy of apartheid which was being practiced in South
    Africa. The war against colonialism and the war against racism
    formed, some of the basic ingredients of India’s early foreign policy.

    India also looked at the world and saw more and more countries
    achieving their freedom from colonial rule. When these newly
    emerging countries looked at the world, they found a world divided
    between the communist bloc and the non-communist bloc. It was the
    age of the Cold War. Under the leadership of Pandit Nehru, President
    Nasser and President Tito, this community of nations evolved what is
    known as the Non-Aligned Movement. Over a period of time, NAM not
    only acquired a political dimension but also strong economic content.
    The Group of 77 which consisted mostly of the non-aligned countries
    became an important instrument of negotiation and articulation of
    views of the developing countries in all fora where economic issues
    were discussed.

    Immediately after the independence of India, Pt. Nehru observed and I


    quote "the objectives of our foreign policy are the preservation of
    world peace and the enlargement of human freedom”. He also
    described the idealism of today as the realism of tomorrow. So, these
    were the origins of India’s foreign policy and during the decade of 50s
    and 60s, you will notice that as a result of this idealism, India was
    among the most prominent countries which had not only achieved
    independence but was also working for the independence of other
    countries.

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