History of Indian foreign relations
He dealt with five major issues:[1][2] Nehru kept India's membership in the British Commonwealth, despite the widespread distrust of Britain across his Congress party.
[10][11] Nehru set out to establish a conference of the states bordering the Indian Ocean, from Egypt and Ethiopia to the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand.
It was an ambitious plan and gave Nehru the opportunity to give advice to the recently decolonized governments in the region, especially Burma and Ceylon.
[12] With favorable publicity in America, Nehru and Menon discussed whether India should "align with the United States 'somewhat' and build up our economic and military strength.
The American Secretary of State Dean Acheson recognized Nehru's potential world role but added that he was "one of the most difficult men with whom I have ever had to deal.
Nehru was especially annoyed that Moscow had adopted a negative and destructive approach to South East Asia, apparently trying to destabilize the region.
The net result was that India gained prestige in the Third World, and set the stage for a close relationship with the Soviet Union.
Nehru based India's foreign policy on these five principles, as articulated in 1954:[19] He did not mention a fierce determination to retain control of the Kashmir, a goal that would soon emerge.
The stated aims of the foreign policy of the Indira Gandhi premiership between 1967 and 1977 include a focus on security, by fighting militants abroad and strengthening border defenses.
Repression and violence by the Pakistani army led 10 million refugees to cross border in to India over the coming months.
[23] India had signed a treaty with the Soviet Union promising mutual assistance in the case of war, while Pakistan received active support from the United States during the conflict.
Northern India and Pakistan somewhat overlap in areas of certain demographics and shared lingua francas (mainly Punjabi, Sindhi and Hindustani).
Soon after their independence, India and Pakistan established diplomatic relations but the violent partition and numerous territorial claims would overshadow their relationship.
Since the early 1980s, relations between the two nations soured particularly after the Siachen conflict, the intensification of Kashmir insurgency in 1989, Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests in 1998 and the 1999 Kargil war.
Additionally, the 2008 Mumbai attacks carried out by Pakistani militants[36] resulted in a severe blow to the ongoing India-Pakistan peace talks.
Since 2016, the ongoing confrontation, continued terrorist attacks and an increase in nationalist rhetoric on both sides has resulted in the collapse of bilateral relations, with little expectation they will recover.
[citation needed] Since the election of new governments in both India and Pakistan in the early 2010s, some attempts have been made to improve relations, in particular developing a consensus on the agreement of Non-Discriminatory Market Access on Reciprocal Basis (NDMARB) status for each other, which will liberalize trade.
[48][49] The diplomatic relations between India and the United States have evolved over time, with various themes emerging and shaping the trajectory of the relationship.
[56] The cultural and economic relations between China and India datex back to ancient times, with the Silk Road playing a significant role in facilitating trade and the spread of Buddhism.
In the 1950s, while China was closely aligned witrh the Soviet Union, India was a leader of the non-alignment movement trying to remain independent of the confrontations of the Cold War.
