Regional Aspirations and Foreign Policy
NCERT Class 12 - Politics in India Since Independence, Chapters 4 and 8
Regional Aspirations and Foreign Policy
A diverse country faces demands from regions and a world of competing powers outside. India's response to both has followed the same principle - accommodation through negotiation rather than suppression, though with lapses and long delays.
Regional aspirations
- Regional demands have taken three broad forms - for statehood, for greater autonomy within the Union, and in a few cases for separation, which the Constitution does not permit.
- Punjab - the demand for a Punjabi-speaking state was met in 1966; later demands in the Anandpur Sahib Resolution led to a decade of violence, addressed by the Punjab accord of 1985.
- Assam - a long movement over migration and identity ended with the Assam accord of 1985.
- The North-East saw movements in Nagaland, Mizoram and elsewhere; the Mizoram accord of 1986 is regarded as one of the most successful settlements, converting an insurgency into electoral politics.
- Jammu and Kashmir has had a distinct political history since its accession in 1947, marked by contested autonomy and external interference.
- New states were created on grounds of development and identity - Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand in 2000, and Telangana in 2014.
- The lesson drawn in NCERT is that regional aspirations are normal in a democracy, and that negotiation and power sharing settle them while force only prolongs them.
Principles of foreign policy
| Principle | Content |
|---|---|
| Non-alignment | Independent judgement on each issue rather than joining either Cold War bloc |
| Panchsheel | Five principles of peaceful coexistence, stated in the 1954 agreement with China |
| Anti-colonialism | Support for freedom movements in Asia and Africa |
| Peaceful settlement | Preference for negotiation, arbitration and the United Nations |
| Strategic autonomy | Freedom to build capacity and choose partners according to national interest |
- The Bandung Conference of 1955 in Indonesia brought Asian and African nations together, and the Non-Aligned Movement was formally founded at Belgrade in 1961.
- Non-alignment was not neutrality or isolation - it meant taking positions issue by issue, and India often did take sides on specific questions.
Turning points
- 1962 - the conflict with China ended the phase of easy confidence and forced attention to defence preparedness.
- 1965 - the war with Pakistan, ended by the Tashkent agreement of 1966.
- 1971 - the war leading to the creation of Bangladesh, preceded by the Indo-Soviet treaty and followed by the Simla Agreement of 1972, which committed both sides to settling disputes bilaterally.
- 1974 and 1998 - nuclear tests at Pokhran, after which India declared a doctrine of no first use and minimum credible deterrence.
- After the end of the Cold War, foreign policy shifted towards economic diplomacy, engagement with all major powers, and regional groupings, while retaining strategic autonomy as the guiding idea.
हिंदी संकेत: गुटनिरपेक्षता का अर्थ तटस्थता नहीं है - इसका अर्थ है हर मुद्दे पर स्वतंत्र निर्णय। यह भेद कथन-आधारित प्रश्नों में बार-बार आता है।
Exam me kaise aata hai
Factual questions ask where the Non-Aligned Movement was founded, which year each accord was signed, and which agreement committed India and Pakistan to bilateral settlement. Match-the-following links accord with state. Statement-based questions test whether non-alignment means neutrality.
UPSC / State PSC ke liye
For an essay, argue that regional accommodation and non-alignment rest on the same instinct - dealing with plurality by negotiation rather than domination. Note the criticism of both: that accords were often signed late, after long violence, and that non-alignment left India without dependable allies in 1962. Both criticisms are fair and belong in a balanced answer.
Yahan confuse hote hain
✗ The Non-Aligned Movement was founded at Bandung | ✓ Bandung was the 1955 conference; NAM was founded at Belgrade in 1961
✗ Non-alignment meant staying neutral on every issue | ✓ It meant judging each issue independently, not neutrality
✗ Telangana was created in 2000 | ✓ Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand came in 2000; Telangana in 2014
Ek nazar me
- Regional demands take the form of statehood, autonomy or, rarely, separation.
- Punjab accord and Assam accord were signed in 1985; the Mizoram accord in 1986.
- Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were created in 2000, and Telangana in 2014.
- Foreign policy principles - non-alignment, Panchsheel, anti-colonialism and peaceful settlement.
- Bandung Conference in 1955; the Non-Aligned Movement founded at Belgrade in 1961.
- 1962 China conflict, 1965 and 1971 wars, and the Simla Agreement of 1972.
- Nuclear tests at Pokhran in 1974 and 1998, followed by a no first use doctrine.
Ab isi chapter ke questions ExamAtlas mock test me practice karo.