India's External Relations

Lesson

Part 1 — how a newly free India dealt with the Cold War, built non-alignment, and faced the 1962 war with China.

In this lesson you will

Explain the international context in which India's foreign policy was shaped after 1947
Explain the objectives of foreign policy and the policy of non-alignment
Describe India's role in Afro-Asian unity and the Non-Aligned Movement
Analyse India–China relations up to and after the war of 1962

Part 1 at a glance

Concept

The world India entered

Table of four features of the world in 1947 and what each meant for India: the Cold War meant pressure to take sides; decolonisation gave partners among new nations; poverty meant a need for aid, technology and peace; the new United Nations gave a stage
Feature of the world in 1947	What it meant for India
Cold War between two blocs	Pressure to take sides
Wave of decolonisation in Asia and Africa	Natural partners among new nations
Poverty and the need to rebuild	Need for aid, technology and peace
A new United Nations	A stage for a new country's voice

Concept

Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister and Foreign Minister from 1947 to 1964.