DETERMINANTS OF INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY

Dr. Jiwan Devi

Assistant Professor in Political Science

HRMMV, Jalandhar

Paper- BA Sem-IV Political Science

INTRODUCTION

• Under foreign policy, nations take necessary steps to fulfill their short-term and long-term interests. Foreign policy decisions are influenced by various important internal and external determinants or elements.
• These determinants are geography, history, traditions, culture, economic development, military strength and international environment.

• These determinants have played important role in the formulation of India’s foreign policy also. India has the heritage of an ancient civilization and culture.
• The foreign policy that India formulated after independence reflected its culture and political tradition
• India’s foreign policy makers had before them the teachings of Kautilya, who had recognized war as an important instrument of power and foreign policy.

• They were also impressed by the Buddhist traditions of Ashoka, who advocated peace, freedom and equality.
• Nehru opted for Ashoka’s tradition and even incorporated them in the Directive Principles of State Policy.
• India’s foreign policy is determinedlargely in accordance with the ideals of our freedom struggle, Gandhian philosophy andthe fundamental principle of Indian tradition of Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam (the world as one family.

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WHAT IS FOREIGN POLICY?

• Foreign Policy  is involved in international relations and activities.
• Broadly speaking, foreign policy is formed by the type of activities and behaviors associated with its own interests related to other states.
• It is the decision-making process for pursuing certain international activities.
• Foreign policy refers to the summation of a state’s response to the international environment, the current and expected decision-making.
• The medium of meeting national interests and goals is intimately involved with foreign policy.

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BASIC PRINCIPLE GOVERNING INDIA’S FOREIGN POLICY

The principles have stood the test of time and are ingrained in international law and India’s foreign policy practice. The principles of Indian foreign policy are as follows –

• Panchsheel
• The policy of Non-Alignment
• The policy of Anti- Colonialism and Anti Racism
• Peaceful settlement of International Disputes
• Foreign Economic Aid – Support to UN, International Law and a Just and Equal World Or

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INTERNAL FACTOR

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The history of international relations shows that geographic location has always been an important determinant of foreign policy. It includes size, topography, boundaries, population, climate, temperature, water resources, soil etc. All these elements are important in varying degrees while formulating the foreign policy of the country. . �

GEOGRAPHICAL FACTOR

• In the Indian context, geographical position provides it an important place in international and regional context but at the same time it also creates a sense of insecurity.
• Presently, India has common land frontiers with Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan.
• In the north it has mountain range like Himalaya where it has border conflicts with China and Pakistan, and in the south, the Indian Ocean which makes India strategically insecure.
• But despite these facts India holds a central position in Asia and the world politics.
• Nehru once stated that “India becomes a kind of meeting ground for various trends and forces and a meeting ground between what may be roughly called the East and the West.

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HISTORY AND TRADITION

• India’s historical development as victim of British colonialism, and her non-violent freedom struggle had a greater share in the shaping of its foreign policy.
• Not only this, the legacy of an ancient civilization and culture also helped India in the foreign policy formulation.
• Nehru had himself said that two major aspects of India’s foreign policy, viz., ‘the positive aspect of peace’ and the desire to promote ‘a larger degree of cooperation among nations’ were partly due to India’s traditional values and past thinking. 

• In foreign policy also, India has adopted the ideal of tolerance.
• It is clearly demonstrated in the famous declaration of Panchsheel signed by Nehru and his Chinese counterpart in 1954.
• Mutual non-interference as well as peaceful co-existence is the guiding principles of our foreign policy.
• However, tolerance does not mean compromise with our national interest.
• That is why after the rude shock of Chinese attack in 1962, India has gone ahead systematically to build an impressive defense system, and having tested five nuclear devices in 1998, India declared itself to be a nuclear-weapon state.

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PANCHSHEEL PRINCIPLES

Panchsheel also called the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence was signed on 29p April 1954 and since then it has become a guiding principle of India’s bilateral relations with other countries.

Panchsheel includes the following five principles of foreign policy:

• Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
• Non-aggression against each other.

• Non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.
• Equality and mutual benefit.
• Peaceful co-existence.

These principles of Panchsheel were later incorporated in the Bandung Declaration, signed in the Afro-Asian Conference held in 1955 in Indonesia. They are the core principles of the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) and still guide the conduct of India’s foreign policy.

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ECONOMY FACTOR

• Most of international trade of India was limited to Western countries, particularly Britain and USA.
• India also depended on trade in food items on liberal democratic countries of the west.
• It was natural for India to have favorable and friendly foreign policy towards these countries.
• But, even then India did not join the western bloc during the Cold War.
• India did not even opt for capitalist pattern of development. India, on the other hand, decided to follow liberal democracy and evolutionary socialism

• Foreign aid was required by India in at least two forms.
• Firstly, capital was needed to rapidly modernize its economy, for which it needed improved machinery. Secondly, it needed technical know-how.
• In view of this situation, India tried to formulate her foreign policy in such a way that it gets foreign economic aid without strings, get loans at reasonable rates of interest, technology transfer was easily made possible and received economic assistance both from the West and the East

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MILITARY FACTOR

• After independence, India was militarily a weak nation.
• Its armed forces followed British tradition and strategy.
• India’s senior defense personnel were trained in Britain and our naval ships as well as weapons were mostly manufactured in Britain.
• But after the 1962 debacle in India-China border war, Indian foreign and defense policy could not remain complacent.
• India broadened the scope of market to buy weapons.

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• Our defense personnel were trained to meet any situation from any quarter.
• Within a short period of time, India’s defense forces, using tanks and planes made in India, successfully repulsed the Pakistan attack in 1965.
• While Pakistani armed forces who were mostly using American and other weapons obtained from China were showed by India that its officers, men and weapons had the capacity to meet any challenge.
• India’s decision to develop nuclear energy, gave it an opportunity to conduct a nuclear test in1971 and in 1998 successfully test fired its nuclear weapons.

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IDEOLOGICAL FACTORS

• The Shaping of foreign policies is generally influenced by the ideological commitment of the concerned leadership.
• The leadership in India has never been committed to any extreme ideology.
• However, India’s foreign policy had great influence of Nehru’s personality.

• But, it may be an oversimplification to believe that India’s policy was only influenced by Nehru’s ideology as it was also influenced by the Indian philosophy of humanism and universal brotherhood.
• It is this ideology which must get credit for India’s attempts at friendship with both power blocs during the Cold War days.

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EXTERNAL FACTOR

• Foreign policy of country is the conduct of a county with respect to other countries in the global sphere to promote its national interest.
• India’s foreign policy has evolved over the years under the influence of the country’s geo-strategic location, economic conditions and personality trait of leaders.
• In addition to this the international political environment and foreign policy of major powers and neighbouring countries comprise the external determinant of Indian foreign policy.

QUALITY OF DIPLOMACY

• Quality of diplomacy one of the most important determinants of foreign policy.
• The success or failure of a state in international Politics depends on its diplomatic tactics and excellence.
• Each of the goals and objectives of the state is determined by the diplomatic ingenuity of the government.
• All the goals of foreign policy are determined by the people involved in diplomatic activity.
• It is through diplomatic activity that the main linkages and differences with other states are resolved.
• Diplomats determine the mechanism for combining different interests.

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CONCLUSION

• Foreign policy of India is based on various determinants. Foreign policy is the result of interactions among these determinants. We cannot give more importance to one element in comparison to others as all the elements have equal importance.
• Moreover, India has tried to utilize all these factors efficiently in its favor but sometimes circumstances have played negative role.
• Being a victim of colonial rule and having the limitations of a developing country, the track record of India in utilizing these elements in formulation and execution of its foreign policy has been appreciable.

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