Non-Aligned Movement and India's Role

7.1 Origins of NAM

The Non-Aligned Movement emerged as newly independent nations from Asia and Africa rejected the binary choice of aligning with either the American or Soviet bloc.

Bandung Conference April 1955

• 29 Asian and African countries met in Bandung, Indonesia (18–24 April 1955)
• Declared commitment to the Panchsheel (Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence) — mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, equality, peaceful coexistence
• Panchsheel was first articulated in the India-China Agreement on Tibet (29 April 1954)
• Bandung was the intellectual foundation for NAM

First NAM Summit 1961

• Held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (September 1961)
• 25 founding member states
• Key founders: Nehru (India), Tito (Yugoslavia), Nasser (Egypt), Sukarno (Indonesia), Nkrumah (Ghana)
• Defined non-alignment as staying out of military alliances — NOT the same as neutrality; NAM nations actively engaged diplomatically

7.2 Nehru's Foreign Policy and the Cold War

Jawaharlal Nehru was the chief architect of India's non-alignment policy. His approach rested on:

• Independence of judgement: India would judge each issue on its merits, not automatically follow US or USSR positions
• Peaceful coexistence (Panchsheel): Avoid military confrontation; resolve disputes through dialogue
• Anti-colonialism and anti-racism: Strong support for African independence movements; condemned South African apartheid
• Economic self-reliance: India accepted aid from both blocs — US aid (wheat imports under PL-480) and Soviet aid (Bhilai Steel Plant)

Challenges to Non-Alignment

• Korean War: India served as intermediary — sent 60th Indian Field Ambulance to both sides; V.K. Krishna Menon negotiated POW repatriation at the UN
• Hungarian Crisis 1956: Nehru condemned Soviet invasion but delayed criticism, drawing accusations of selective outrage
• Sino-Indian War 1962: China attacked India, undermining the India-China peace framework; India accepted US military aid during the conflict
• 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty: India tilted toward USSR during the Bangladesh liberation war; perceived as departing from non-alignment; justified as necessary given US-China-Pakistan coordination

7.3 Cold War Impact on the Developing World

The Cold War profoundly shaped the post-colonial world:

• Superpower client states: Many countries received military and economic aid in exchange for strategic alignment — often prolonging authoritarian rule
• Military coups backed by superpowers: CIA backed coups against elected PM Mohammad Mosaddegh of Iran (1953), against Allende in Chile (1973), and backed the Pinochet regime
• USSR backed: Cuba's Castro (1959), Nasser, Angola's MPLA, Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh, Ethiopia's Mengistu
• Arms transfers: Both superpowers flooded the developing world with weapons — contributing to lasting regional conflicts
• Development aid as Cold War tool: Both USA and USSR used foreign aid to win influence — India, Egypt, and Indonesia skilfully played both sides for development funding

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