Welcome dear students! Today we are going to learn about India's Foreign Policy and Global Challenges from Class 10 Social Science.
We will begin with a brief introduction to India’s foreign policy, followed by an examination of the denial of human rights, economic inequality, the arms race, and terrorism. Political philosopher Karl Wolfgang Deutsch says, if civilization is destroyed in future, it will not by famine or plague but by international relations and foreign policy. His words highlight the importance of studying foreign policy. Jawaharlal Nehru’s role in laying a solid foundation for India’s foreign policy is significant. Hence, he is called Father of Indian Foreign policy.
Let us understand the meaning and definition of Foreign Policy. The policy followed by a nation in dealing with other nation is called Foreign Policy. Today every nation needs its own Foreign Policy. Prof. Mahendra Kumar states that Foreign policy is a series of carefully planned activities for the achievement of objectives in foreign relations ordered by the concept of National interest.
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Now, let us look at the factors determining India’s Foreign Policy. Determinants of Foreign Policy are the decisive factors that drive the formulation of Foreign Policy. A country’s Foreign policy is based on the Geographical, Historical, Cultural, Social, Economical, Political, Demographic, Military and philosophical background of that country. India’s Foreign Policy is also shaped by several factors. They are as follows. First, common determining factors: Unity and sovereignty of the nation, Interdependence, Protection and development of national interests, and Stimulating factors. Second, internal determining factors: Geographical location of the nation, Size of population, and Ideological economic and military aspects. Third, external determining factors: International conditions, Relations with international organisation, and Global public opinion. The above general, internal and external factors have their own influence on the formulation of India’s foreign policy.
Moving to the Foreign policy of India, as every country has its own foreign policy to protect its interests, India has formulated its own foreign policy based on its geographical, cultural, social, economical, political and moral background. The evolution of Indian Foreign policy can be traced back to the British period. In 1925 the Indian National Congress created a separate department of external affairs to deal with foreign countries, for convenience of study. Its evolution can be divided into three phases.
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Phase one is Jawaharlal Nehru’s Idealism phase from 1947 to 1959. During this phase, Nehru’s idealism greatly influenced foreign policy of India. Idealism is an Idea that inspires every one to live in peace. Nehru’s foreign policy of idealism proved in his stand for taking the Kashmir issue to the United Nations in 1947 for a peaceful settlement. The Panchasheela agreement with China in 1954, support for Non alignment, anti colonialism, anti apartheid and anti imperialism reflected his stance, but his ideal foreign policy came under criticism due to insidious policies of countries like China, USA and Pakistan.
Phase two is the Phase of Strategic Realism from 1959 to 1991. Jawaharlal Nehru pursued a policy of peaceful coexistence with China. But due to China’s attack on India in 1962, Nehru himself reconsidered his Idealistic policy with China. In international relations, there is neither permanent enemy nor permanent friend. Giving shelter to Dalailama of Tibet, an enemy of China in 1959, and in 1961 military conquest of Goa from Portuguese marked the beginning of strategic realism. After Nehru, prime ministers like Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi led the development of strategic realism. Lal Bahadur Shastri opposed American policy in Vietnam even knowing it could lead to food crises in India. Indira Gandhi was responsible for liberation of East Pakistan from Pakistan and creation of Bangladesh. During the period of Rajiv Gandhi, Sumdorong Chu standoff with China were the examples of India’s strategic realism from 1959 to 1991.
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Phase three is the Economic experimental phase from 1991 to present. In International politics a country’s economic power has major impact on balance of power. India realized this lately during P.V. Narasimha Rao’s period. India abandoned protectionist economic policy. India adopted globalization and opened up to the world in the form of liberalization, privatization and allowed private investment. All the subsequent prime ministers supported and encouraged this policy. As a result, India is now recognized as the 5th largest economic power in the world. A foreign policy that empowers the country’s economy has become increasingly popular. The foreign policy implemented today, may not lead to economic crises. In this way India’s foreign policy has been evolving at different times to adopt to international conditions.
Now let us study the Principles of Indian Foreign Policy. First, Opposition to colonialism. India itself was a colony of European countries before Independence. It fought against British colonialism and got independence. So, India is aware of the effects of colonialism. It always opposes colonialism in international forums. Second, Opposition to imperialism. India opposes the imperialistic policy of rich countries who expands their empire by exploiting poor countries in the name of colonialism. Third, Opposition to Racial discrimination or Apartheid. As caste system rooted firmly in Indian society in European, American and African countries, the policy of discrimination based on skin colour is practiced. India opposes both. Fourth, Policy of Non Alignment. After 1945, the world was divided in to two groups between America and Russia. India remained neutral and protected its interest without joining any of the group. This is called Non-Aligned policy. Even to day non-alignment policy is one among the basic principles among Indian foreign policy.
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Fifth, Priority for the progress of African and Asian Countries. When we look at the sovereign countries on the world map, we come to know that African and Asian countries are economically backward due to colonialism. It is India’s stand that all these colonised countries must come to mainstream of development. Sixth, Support for disarmament. India supports the stand for preventing the production of atomic bombs, hydrogen bomb and other life threatening weapons. However, India has produced nuclear weapons only as a self defence against external attacks. India is committed to the policy of No first use. Seventh, Support to the United Nations and world peace. Having made Buddha’s mantra of peace as principle of its foreign policy, India is supporting United Nations which itself is established for world peace and its perseverance. Thus, India’s foreign policy is subject to several policy norms in the international forums safeguarding its economical, political, social, cultural and military interests.
Let us move to Global Challenges and India’s role. Being the biggest democracy in the world, India has emerged as the fifth largest economy in development and a leader among the developing countries. India is emerging as a global power and the voice of Non-aligned and other Backward countries. In this situation, India has realised its role in solving problems facing by the world. In order to deal and manage the global challenges according to its capacity, it has implemented a contextual foreign policy to balance with other countries and International organisations. After the second world war, there was a setback to colonial and imperialist policies. With change of old world, the new world emerged. This era began with the establishment of UNO in 1945. However, many Global challenges such as Denial of Human Rights, Arms race, Economic inequality, Racial discrimination and terrorism are still in existence. As a leading members of the world family, India is making complementary efforts to solve all these Global challenges.
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First, Denial of Human Rights. Justifiable and favourable human and social conditions for the development of Human personality are called Human rights. Humanists have advocated the Human rights, that every one is born with it. But, unfortunately most of the people of the world have been denied these Human rights for a long time. We can see the denial of Human rights based on factors like religion, race, gender, cast, colour and nationality. American war of Independence 1776, French revolution of 1789, Russian revolution of 1917, Freedom struggle of India and other countries that happened in the first half of the 20th century are the struggles for human rights. The world witnessed two destructive Global wars in the first half of the 20th century. World has also witnessed the brutal policies of dictatorship leading to loss of lives of many. Indiscriminate violence of nations led to the deaths of millions brutally suppressed freedom and rights of the people. In contrary to this, UNO was established. On 10 December 1948 UN adopted universal declaration of Human rights in its General Assembly. Hence, on 10 December, International Human rights day is celebrated every year. The United Nation universal declaration of Human rights is considered as an important milestone against denial of Human rights. Slavery, Human trafficking, Child labour, exploitation of women, and other similar acts are prohibited under universal declaration of Human rights. Right to life, liberty, Right to self defence, Right to Religious freedom, Cultural and Educational rights are Constitutionally recognised rights in all democratic countries. But, we can still see denial of Fundamental rights in authoritarian regimes and monarchies. India has always advocated universal human rights. India has been advocating protection of Human rights in united nations General Assembly. Fundamental rights are guaranteed in Indian constitution. India opposes genocide and all forms of exploitation and oppression. India tries to protect Human rights through united Nations and other global forums. India has established National Human rights Commission and State Human Rights Commissions in this regard.
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Second, Arms race. Arms race is the competition among the countries for production, stockpiling and use of arms. Disadvantages of Arms race include increased fear and instability among countries, which has increased the possibilities of war. It hinders in achieving world peace. It leads to financial loss and economic instability. Former President of USA Eisenhower once expressed, This world in Arms is not spending money alone, it is spending sweat of its labourers, genius of its scientists and the hopes of its children. This statement confirms the ill effects of Arms race. To avoid all the mentioned evils, disarmament is the only need of the hour. Disarmament is an essential for survival of present and future world. It is the only solution to stop the Arms race. Disarmament means the reduction or elimination of certain or all types of armaments or weapons. The question of disarmament and Arms control is considered very serious. Due to the production of Nuclear weapons or bombs chances of war increased. There is a famous saying, we must put an end to war, otherwise war will put an end to mankind. As India is one of the peace loving nations, it advocates disarmament. The elimination of weapons is essential for global security. A number of global agreements have been signed to achieve disarmament or Denuclearisation. They are Strategic Arms limitation treaty or Salt, Nuclear Non proliferation treaty or NPT, Comprehensive test Ban Treaty or CTBT, Proliferation Ban Treaty or PBT, Biological weapons convention or BWC. All of these are considered as important global treaties in preventing Arms race. India supports arms control, otherwise which would lead to mutual assured destruction or MAD. In this regard, all nations including India need to make efforts.
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Third, Economic Inequality. The present day world facing a very big issue of economic inequality among its members. This situation is the historical gift of colonialism and Imperialism. European powers have established their colonies in Africa, Asia and even in Latin American Countries. Due to colonialism and imperialism the resources of the country from Asia, Africa and Latin America were looted. Owing to this policy of imperialism, those countries who suffered alien Colonial rule have remained economically backward. Their progress has been hampered till the first half of the 20th Century. After independence, those countries especially African and Asian countries did endeavour to achieve economic progress. But lack of sufficient capital to develop agriculture, industry, transport and communication, science education, health, and other essential sectors can be seen. Such underdeveloped countries have to depend upon foreign aid. After 1945, in the politically polarised world of American bloc and Russian Communist blocs started assisting these backward countries. But at the same time, these economic inequality and poverty situations of these countries have been exploited to serve the national interests of the advanced countries. Characteristics of Economically backward countries include high poverty and unemployment rates, inadequate utilization of natural resources, poor quality of education, high ill health and malnutrition, lack of technology and lack of proper infrastructure. India has taken following reform measures to Reduce Economic inequality. At this situation, India has launched the policy of non-alignment. She advocated for the economic assistance to the needy countries by rich nations without any conditions. Thereby, India has championed the cause of national pride of the economically weak countries, but at the same time India stood for the smooth flow of capital investment by rich nations. The term third world was used for the first time by a French scholar Alfred Sauvy. The idea of third world seems to emphasis the concept of poor nations. These nations try to over come problems like lack of food, lack of capital, lack of technological knowledge, lack of health facilities, lack of higher education opportunities and similar problems. Similar phenomena like unnecessary spending in foreign countries, free trades, inadequate competition, globalization, and other similar factors are having a negative impact on poor countries. In solving all these, the united nations and developed countries need to make complimentary efforts. India as progressive nation advocates economic justice and equality among all nations of the world.
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Fourth, Terrorism. Terrorism can also be known as extremism. This is a forceful pressure tactic. Terrorism is a political strategy aimed at serving purpose of extremists organisations. It intends to create atmosphere of fear. Such acts of organized violence are illegal and anti social in nature. The collapse of world Trade Centre of USA 2001, Twin bomb blasts occurred at Bali Island of Indonesia in 2002, series of blasts in U.K. Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other regions show the alarming magnitude of global level terrorism. Terrorism fueled by religious fundamentalism, separatist ideologies, leftist thoughts, liberation motives, racialism, and other ideologies. Even a state can sponsor terrorism by funding terrorist organizations. Negative effects of terrorism are as follows. It causes loss of life and property, it is a hindrance to economic development, it threatens socio culture aspects, causes mental disturbance, disrupts law and order, it is a worry to global security of various countries. Road transport, Railways, Airways, government offices, highly populated areas, market places are some of the vulnerable targets of terrorism. Propaganda is normally accompanied with terrorism. It is in the form of unconventional warfare. Suicidal attacks, hijacking of planes, gun battles, bombing, keeping the targeted persons or innocents as hostages are some of the heinous technique of terrorists. India is considered as one of the soft bases for terrorists. Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Assam, and other areas have been chosen as the targets of terrorism in our Country. Terrorist attacks have taken place in many places like serial blast in 1993, on Taj Mahal palace hotel and railway stations in Mumbai, on 26 November 2008, the Parliament in New Delhi, in 2001 places like Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Bodh Gaya and others. It indicates that India is prone to extremism or terrorism. Even Naxalites and separatist groups in North-east States of India carrying terrorist activities funded by some countries also challenging the internal security of nation. Neighbouring counties like Pakistan and China have been accused many a time for their role in terrorist activities in our country.
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Steps taken by India to tackle challenge of terrorism include the establishment of National investigation Agency or NIA. It has formed special forces to counter terrorist operation. India is using defense forces in operations against Terrorism. India has strongly opposed terrorism within India and in foreign soil and is constantly asking for global co-operation to counter terrorism. State Governments have created Anti terrorist squads or ATS. Established Intelligence Agencies like Intelligence Bureau or IB and Research and Analysis Wing or RAW are using strong themed intelligence system. A financial intelligence unit has been setup to prevent the transfer of funds to terrorist organizations. India signifies its support on the global fight against all forms of terrorism. When we examine the history of mankind a truth is revealed. Violence and terrorism have achieved little whereas truth, non-violence, compassion and sacrifice have achieved a lot. The assassinations of Mahatma Gandhiji, Shyamaprasad Mukharji and Indira Gandhi did not create new history. On the contrary, Buddha, Mahavira, Basaveshwara, Gandhiji, B.R. Ambedkar, Nelson Mandela, Dalailama and Mother Teresa spread enthusiasm, new light and peace to the whole world. The effects of peace and compassion are greater than those of violence and hatred.
Let us review some important abbreviations. SALT stands for The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty. NPT stands for The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. CTBT stands for Comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. BWC stands for Biological Weapons convention. NIA stands for National Investigation agency. ATS stands for Anti-terrorism squad. RAW stands for Research and analysis wing. IB stands for Intelligence Bureau.
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Now, let us go through the exercises for this chapter. Section one, Fill in the blanks with suitable words. One. The architect of Indian foreign policy is Jawaharlal Nehru. Two. The world human rights day is celebrated on 10 December. Three. India, as a peace loving country advocates disarmament. Section two, Discuss in group and answer the following questions. Four. What is foreign policy? It is the policy followed by a nation in dealing with other nations, consisting of carefully planned activities for achieving objectives in foreign relations ordered by national interest. Five. Which are the basic principles of India’s foreign policy? They are opposition to colonialism, opposition to imperialism, opposition to racial discrimination or apartheid, policy of non-alignment, priority for the progress of African and Asian countries, support for disarmament, and support to the United Nations and world peace. Six. Which are the challenges faced by world after the second world war? They are denial of human rights, arms race, economic inequality, racial discrimination, and terrorism. Seven. Mention the measures taken by India to protect human rights. India advocates universal human rights in the UN General Assembly, guarantees fundamental rights in the constitution, opposes genocide and exploitation, protects rights through global forums, and has established National and State Human Rights Commissions. Eight. Arms race is a way for global destruction, in this backdrop mention the result of arms race. It increases fear and instability, raises possibilities of war, hinders world peace, leads to financial loss and economic instability, and wastes the sweat of labourers, genius of scientists, and hopes of children. Nine. What are the features of economically backward nations? Explain the reasons for their backwardness. Features include high poverty and unemployment, inadequate resource utilization, poor education, high malnutrition, lack of technology and infrastructure. Reasons are historical colonialism and imperialism which looted resources, lack of capital, and exploitation by advanced nations. Ten. Mention the measures under taken by India to remove economic inequality among backward countries. India launched non-alignment, advocated unconditional economic assistance from rich nations, championed national pride of weak countries, and supported smooth flow of capital investment. Eleven. Explain the effects of terrorism. It causes loss of life and property, hinders economic development, threatens socio-cultural aspects, causes mental disturbance, disrupts law and order, and threatens global security. Twelve. What measures undertaken by India to tackle challenges of terrorism? India established NIA and special forces, uses defense forces, opposes terrorism globally, created state ATS, uses IB and RAW for intelligence, set up a financial intelligence unit to block terror funding, and seeks global cooperation. Section three, Activities. One. Collect the information of Human Rights Commission in safeguarding human rights. Two. Collect information on child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi. Section four, Project. One. Make a study of great personalities who fought against violation of human rights.
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