India’s Foreign Policy under Indira Gandhi: Strategies, Challenges and International Relations
Keywords:
Indira Gandhi, Indian foreign policy, non-alignment, Bangladesh Liberation War, Indo-Soviet Treaty, Pokhran, Simla AgreementAbstract
This paper analyzes the foreign policy of Nehru's successor, Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi (1966-1977 and 1980-1984) who transformed Indian diplomacy from the Nehruvian idealism to assertive and security oriented realism. The study focuses on the Nehruvian principles of ‘non-alignment’ and examines how Indira Gandhi leveraged them for the service of the nation, using the qualitative and historical-analytical approach that is based on scholarly literature published during the period 2013-2017. It delves into her philosophy on self-reliance, non-alignment with rigid dogma, regional primacy and a centralised decision making process, and examines India's geopolitical ties with the Soviet Union, China, and the United States. In-depth discussions are provided on four major issues – India-Pakistan relations and the Simla Agreement, the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation of 1971 and the 1974 Pokhran nuclear test. The results reveal that Indira Gandhi had made India the most powerful nation in South Asia and had asserted its capability to make nuclear weapons and its presence in the developing countries. Her solution, however, did not resolve Kashmir, grown Kashmir's reliance on the Soviet Union, put under strain relations with the USA and neighbouring states, and led to a reduction in policymaking in the institutions. This paper attributes her combination of non-alignment and realism as being a precursor to India's future trajectory towards strategic autonomy.
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