jbp123/hello · Datasets at Hugging Face

instruction stringlengths 1 84	input stringlengths 1 85	output stringlengths 1 83
was made more broad-based. It had three items on the agenda	for discussion viz., the problem of communal harmony, unrest in	the north-eastern region and need for a new education system.
The council set up a standing committee to keep a constant watch	on the activities of communal and other divisive forces posing a	threat to the national unity.
In 1986, the NIC was reconstituted and its membership was	further increased. It recognised terrorism in Punjab as an attack	on the unity, integrity and secular ideals of the country.
Accordingly, it passed a resolution to fight terrorism in Punjab. The	council also set up a 21-member committee to function on a	continuing basis. The committee was asked to formulate both
short-term as well as long-term proposals for maintaining	communal harmony and preserving national integrity.	In 1990, the National Front Government headed by V.P. Singh
reconstituted the National Integration Council. Its strength was	increased to 101. It included prime minister as chairman, some	Central ministers, state chief ministers, leaders of national and
regional parties, representatives of women, trade and industry,	academicians, journalists and public figures. It had various items	on the agenda for discussion, viz., Punjab problem, Kashmir
problem, violence by secessionists, communal harmony and Ram	Janmabhomi-Babri Masjid problem at Ayodhya. But, there was no	concrete result.
In 2005, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government	reconstituted the National Integration Council under the	chairmanship of the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. The 103-
member NIC was constituted after a gap of 12 years having held	its meeting in 1992. Besides some central ministers, state and UT	chief ministers and leaders of national and regional parties, the
NIC included chairpersons of National Commissions, eminent	public figures and representatives from business, media, labour	and women. The NIC was to function as a forum for effective
initiative and interaction on issues of national concern, review	issues relating to national integration and make	recommendations.
The 14th meeting of the NIC was held in 2008 in the backdrop	of communal violence in various states like Orissa, Karnataka,	Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir and Assam and so on.
Promotion of education among minorities, scheduled castes and	scheduled tribes; elements contributing to national integration;	removal of regional imbalances, caste and identity divisions;
prevention of extremism; promotion of communal harmony and	security among minorities; and equitable development were some	of the important items on the agenda of the meeting.
(NIC) under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, Manmohan	Singh. The NIC has 147 members, including Union Ministers,	Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,
the Chief Ministers of all states and union territories with	Legislatures. It also includes leaders of national and regional	political parties, chairpersons of national commissions, eminent
journalists, public figures, and representatives of business and	women’s organisations. It is chiefly aimed at suggesting means	and ways to combat the menace of communalism, casteism and
regionalism.	In October 2010, the Government also constituted a Standing	Committee of the NIC. It consists of Union Home Minister as
Chairman, four Union Ministers, nine Chief Ministers of various	states and five co-opted members from NIC. It would finalise the	agenda items for NIC meetings.
The 15th meeting of the NIC was held in September, 2011. The	agenda for the meeting included measures to curb communalism	and communal violence; approach to the Communal Violence Bill;
measures to promote communal harmony; measures to eliminate	discrimination, especially against minorities and scheduled tribes;	how the state and the police should handle civil disturbances; and
how to curb radicalisation of youth in the name of religion and	caste.	The 16th meeting of the NIC was held on 23–09-2013. A
Resolution was passed in the meeting to condemn violence, take	all measures to strengthen harmonious relationship between all	communities, to resolve differences and disputes among the
people within the framework of law, to condemn atrocities on	Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, to condemn sexual	abuse and to ensure that all women enjoy the fruits of freedom to
pursue their social and economic development with equal	opportunities, and to safeguard their right of movement in the	public space at any time of the day or night.
Table 78.1 Meetings of the National Integration	Meeting Number Held on	First Meeting 2nd and 3rd June, 1962
Second Meeting 20th to 22nd June, 1968	Third Meeting 12th November, 1980	Fourth Meeting 21st January, 1984
Fifth Meeting 7th April, 1986	Sixth Meeting 12th September, 1986	Seventh Meeting 11th April, 990
Eighth Meeting 22nd September, 1990	Ninth Meeting 2nd November, 1991	Tenth Meeting 31st December, 1991
Eleventh Meeting 18th July, 1992	Twelfth Meeting 23rd November, 1992	Thirteenth Meeting 31st August, 2005
Fourteenth Meeting 13th October, 2008	Fifteenth Meeting 10th September, 2011	Sixteenth Meeting 23rd September, 2013
NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR COMMUNAL	HARMONY	The National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH) was set
up in 1992. It is an autonomous body under the administrative	control of the Union Home Ministry. It promotes communal	harmony, fraternity and national integration.
The vision and mission of the NFCH are as follows:	Vision: India free from communal and all other forms of violence	where all citizens especially children and youth live together in
peace and harmony.	Mission: Promoting communal harmony, strengthening national	integration and fostering unity in diversity through collaborative
social action, awareness programs, reaching out to the victims of	violence especially children, encouraging interfaith dialogue for	India’s shared security, peace and prosperity.
The activities undertaken by the NFCH are mentioned below:	1. To provide financial assistance to the child victims of societal	violence for their care, education and training, aimed at their
effective rehabilitation	2. To promote communal harmony and national integration by	organising variety of activities either independently or in
association with educational institutions, NGOs & other	organisations	3. To conduct studies and grant scholarships to institutions /
scholars for conducting studies	4. To confer awards for outstanding contribution to communal	harmony and national integration
5. To involve Central / state governments / UT Administrations,	industrial / commercial organisations, NGOs and others in	promoting the objectives of the Foundation
6. To provide information services, publish monographs and	books, etc. on the subject	NOTES AND REFERENCES
1. Myron Weiner: Politics of Scarcity: Public Pressure and	Political Response in India, 1963.	2. H.A. Gani: Muslim Political Issues and National
Integration, P. 3.	3. Rasheeduddin Khan: National Integration and	Communal Harmony (in National Integration of India,
Volume II, Edited by Sinha).	4. Kousar J. Azam: Political Aspects of National	Integration, P. 82.
5. B.K. Nehru: The Indira Gandhi Memorial Lectures	delivered at the University of Kerala in January, 1988.	6. It was a three-member commission headed by Fazl Ali.
Its other two members were K.M. Panikkar and H.N.	Kunzru.	7. In 2000, three more new states of Chhattisgarh,
Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were created out the	territories of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar	respectively.
8. Tamil Nadu Government opposed the three language	formula and continued to teach only two languages, that	is, English and Tamil in the educational institutions of
79 Foreign Policy	T	he foreign policy of India regulates India’s relations with
other states of the world in promoting its national interests.	It is determined by a number of factors, viz., geography,	history and tradition, social structure, political organisation,
PRINCIPLES OF INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY	1. Promotion of World Peace	India’s foreign policy aims at the promotion of international peace
and security. Article 51 of the Constitution (Directive Principles of	State Policy) directs the Indian State to promote international	peace and security, maintain just and honourable relations
between nations, foster respect for international law and treaty	obligations, and encourage settlement of international disputes by	arbitration. Besides peace is necessary to promote the economic
development of nations. Jawaharlal Nehru said: “Peace to us is	not just a fervent hope; it is emergent necessity”.	2. Anti-Colonialism
The foreign policy of India opposes colonialism and imperialism.	India views that the colonialism and imperialism leads to	exploitation of the weaker nations by the imperialist powers and
affects the promotion of international peace. India advocated the	liquidation of colonialism in all forms and supported the liberation	movement in Afro-Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaya, Tunisia,
Algeria, Ghana, Namibia and so on. Thus, India expressed her	solidarity with the people of Afro-Asian nations in their struggle	against colonial and imperialist forces like Britain, France,
Holland, Portugal and so on. The present neo-colonialism and	neo-imperialism is also opposed by India.	3. Anti-Racialism
Opposition to racialism in all its forms is an important aspect of	Indian foreign policy. According to India, racialism (i.e.,	discrimination between people on the basis of race), like
colonialism and imperialism, leads to exploitation of the blacks by	the whites, social inequity and hinders the promotion of world	peace. India strongly criticised the policy of apartheid (racial
Africa in 1954 as a protest against the policy of apartheid2.	Similarly, India played an important role in the liberation of	Zimbabwe (earlier Rhodesia) and Namibia from the white
domination.	4. Non-Alignment	When India became independent in 1947, the world was divided
into two blocs on ideological basis, namely, the capitalist bloc	headed by USA and the communist bloc headed by the former	USSR. In such a situation of ‘cold war’, India refused to join any of
these two blocs and adopted a policy of non-alignment. In this	context, Jawaharlal Nehru observed: “We propose to keep away	from the power politics of groups, aligned against one another,
which have led in the past to world wars and which may again	lead to disasters on an even vaster scale. I feel that India can play	a big part, and perhaps an effective part, in helping to avoid war.
Therefore, it becomes all the more necessary that India should not	be lined up with any group of power which for various reasons are	full of fear of war and prepare for war”.
“When we say that India follows a policy of non-alignment, it	means (i) that India has no military alliances with countries of	either bloc or indeed with any nation; (ii) India has an independent
approach to foreign policy; and (iii) India attempts to maintain	friendly relations with all countries”3 .	5. Panchsheel
Panchsheel implies the five principles of conduct in international	relations. It was embodied in the Preamble of the Indo-China	Treaty on Tibet, signed in 1954 by Jawaharlal Nehru and Chou-
En-Lai, the Chinese Premier. The five principles were:	(i) mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and	sovereignty;
(ii) non-aggression;	(iii) non-interference in each other’s internal affairs;	(iv) equality and mutual benefit; and
“India perceived the ‘Panchsheel’ as productive of peaceful	cooperation of sovereign nations instead of the balance of terror	and the degrading cold war tensions, being brought about by the
rival great power pacts and alliances. India explained it as based	on the concept of universalism as against the concept of the	balance of power”4 .
Panchsheel became very popular and many countries of the	world like Burma, Yugoslavia, Indonesia and so on adopted it.	Panchsheel and non-alignment are the greatest contributions of
India to the theory and practice of international relations.	6. Afro-Asian Bias	Even though the foreign policy of India stands for maintaining
friendly relations with all the countries of the world, it has always	exhibited a special bias towards the Afro-Asian nations. It aims at	promoting unity among them and tries to secure for them a voice
and an influence in the international bodies. India has been	seeking international assistance for the economic development of	these countries. In 1947, India called the first Asian Relations
Conference in New Delhi. In 1949, India brought together the	Asian countries on the burning issue of Indonesian freedom. India	played an active role in the Afro-Asian Conference at Bandung
(Indonesia) in 1955. India also played an important role in the	formation of Group of 77 (1964), Group of 15 (1990), Indian	Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (1995), BIST
Economic Cooperation (1997), and SAARC (1985). India earned	the name of ‘Big Brother’ from many of the neighbouring	countries.
7. Links with Commonwealth	In 1949 itself, India declared the continuation of her full	membership of the Commonwealth of the Nations and the
acceptance of the British Crown as the head of the	Commonwealth. But, this extra-constitutional declaration does not	affect India’s sovereignty in any manner as the Commonwealth is
allegiance to the British Crown nor the latter has any functions to	discharge in relation to India.	India remained a member of the Commonwealth because of
pragmatic reasons. It thought that the membership in the	Commonwealth would be beneficial to her in the economic,	political, cultural and other spheres. It has been playing an
important role at the CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of	Governments Meet). India hosted the 24th Commonwealth	Summit at New Delhi in 1983.
8. Support to the UNO	India became a member of the UNO in 1945 itself. Since then, it	has been supporting the activities and programmes of UNO. It has
expressed full faith in the objectives and principles of UNO. Some	of the facets of India’s role in UNO are:	(i) It is through the UNO that India embarked on the policy of
fighting against the colonialism, imperialism and racialism,	and now neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism.	(ii) In 1953, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit of India was elected as the
President of the UN General Assembly.	(iii) India actively participated in the UN Peace-keeping missions	in Korea, Congo, El Salvador, Combodia, Angola, Somalia,
Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Yugoslavia and so on.	(iv) India continued to participate actively in the open ended	working groups of the UNO. India was the Co-chairman of the
working group on the strengthening of the UN which	submitted its report in 1997.	(v) Several times, India has been a nonpermanent member of
the UN Security Council. Now, India is demanding a	permanent seat in the Security Council.	9. Disarmament
The foreign policy of India is opposed to arms race and advocates	disarmament, both conventional and nuclear. This is aimed at	promoting world peace and security by reducing or ending
expenditure on the manufacture of arms. India has been using the	UNO platform to check the arms race and to achieve	disarmament. India took the initiative of holding a six-nation
summit at New Delhi in 1985 and made concrete proposals for	nuclear disarmament.	By not signing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) of
1968 and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) of 1996,	India has kept its nuclear options open. India opposes NPT and	CTBT due to their discriminatory and hegemonistic nature. They
perpetuate an international system in which only five nations	(USA, Russia, China, UK and France) can legitimately posses	nuclear weapons.
OBJECTIVES OF INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY	India’s foreign policy is directed towards the realisation of the	following objectives5 :

was made more broad-based. It had three items on the agenda

for discussion viz., the problem of communal harmony, unrest in

the north-eastern region and need for a new education system.

The council set up a standing committee to keep a constant watch

on the activities of communal and other divisive forces posing a

threat to the national unity.

In 1986, the NIC was reconstituted and its membership was

further increased. It recognised terrorism in Punjab as an attack

on the unity, integrity and secular ideals of the country.

Accordingly, it passed a resolution to fight terrorism in Punjab. The

council also set up a 21-member committee to function on a

continuing basis. The committee was asked to formulate both

short-term as well as long-term proposals for maintaining

communal harmony and preserving national integrity.

In 1990, the National Front Government headed by V.P. Singh

reconstituted the National Integration Council. Its strength was

increased to 101. It included prime minister as chairman, some

Central ministers, state chief ministers, leaders of national and

regional parties, representatives of women, trade and industry,

academicians, journalists and public figures. It had various items

on the agenda for discussion, viz., Punjab problem, Kashmir

problem, violence by secessionists, communal harmony and Ram

Janmabhomi-Babri Masjid problem at Ayodhya. But, there was no

concrete result.

In 2005, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government

reconstituted the National Integration Council under the

chairmanship of the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. The 103-

member NIC was constituted after a gap of 12 years having held

its meeting in 1992. Besides some central ministers, state and UT

chief ministers and leaders of national and regional parties, the

NIC included chairpersons of National Commissions, eminent

public figures and representatives from business, media, labour

and women. The NIC was to function as a forum for effective

initiative and interaction on issues of national concern, review

issues relating to national integration and make

recommendations.

The 14th meeting of the NIC was held in 2008 in the backdrop

of communal violence in various states like Orissa, Karnataka,

Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir and Assam and so on.

Promotion of education among minorities, scheduled castes and

scheduled tribes; elements contributing to national integration;

removal of regional imbalances, caste and identity divisions;

prevention of extremism; promotion of communal harmony and

security among minorities; and equitable development were some

of the important items on the agenda of the meeting.

(NIC) under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, Manmohan

Singh. The NIC has 147 members, including Union Ministers,

Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,

the Chief Ministers of all states and union territories with

Legislatures. It also includes leaders of national and regional

political parties, chairpersons of national commissions, eminent

journalists, public figures, and representatives of business and

women’s organisations. It is chiefly aimed at suggesting means

and ways to combat the menace of communalism, casteism and

regionalism.

In October 2010, the Government also constituted a Standing

Committee of the NIC. It consists of Union Home Minister as

Chairman, four Union Ministers, nine Chief Ministers of various

states and five co-opted members from NIC. It would finalise the

agenda items for NIC meetings.

The 15th meeting of the NIC was held in September, 2011. The

agenda for the meeting included measures to curb communalism

and communal violence; approach to the Communal Violence Bill;

measures to promote communal harmony; measures to eliminate

discrimination, especially against minorities and scheduled tribes;

how the state and the police should handle civil disturbances; and

how to curb radicalisation of youth in the name of religion and

caste.

The 16th meeting of the NIC was held on 23–09-2013. A

Resolution was passed in the meeting to condemn violence, take

all measures to strengthen harmonious relationship between all

communities, to resolve differences and disputes among the

people within the framework of law, to condemn atrocities on

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, to condemn sexual

abuse and to ensure that all women enjoy the fruits of freedom to

pursue their social and economic development with equal

opportunities, and to safeguard their right of movement in the

public space at any time of the day or night.

Table 78.1 Meetings of the National Integration

Meeting Number Held on

First Meeting 2nd and 3rd June, 1962

Second Meeting 20th to 22nd June, 1968

Third Meeting 12th November, 1980

Fourth Meeting 21st January, 1984

Fifth Meeting 7th April, 1986

Sixth Meeting 12th September, 1986

Seventh Meeting 11th April, 990

Eighth Meeting 22nd September, 1990

Ninth Meeting 2nd November, 1991

Tenth Meeting 31st December, 1991

Eleventh Meeting 18th July, 1992

Twelfth Meeting 23rd November, 1992

Thirteenth Meeting 31st August, 2005

Fourteenth Meeting 13th October, 2008

Fifteenth Meeting 10th September, 2011

Sixteenth Meeting 23rd September, 2013

NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR COMMUNAL

HARMONY

The National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH) was set

up in 1992. It is an autonomous body under the administrative

control of the Union Home Ministry. It promotes communal

harmony, fraternity and national integration.

The vision and mission of the NFCH are as follows:

Vision: India free from communal and all other forms of violence

where all citizens especially children and youth live together in

peace and harmony.

Mission: Promoting communal harmony, strengthening national

integration and fostering unity in diversity through collaborative

social action, awareness programs, reaching out to the victims of

violence especially children, encouraging interfaith dialogue for

India’s shared security, peace and prosperity.

The activities undertaken by the NFCH are mentioned below:

1. To provide financial assistance to the child victims of societal

violence for their care, education and training, aimed at their

effective rehabilitation

2. To promote communal harmony and national integration by

organising variety of activities either independently or in

association with educational institutions, NGOs & other

organisations

3. To conduct studies and grant scholarships to institutions /

scholars for conducting studies

4. To confer awards for outstanding contribution to communal

harmony and national integration

5. To involve Central / state governments / UT Administrations,

industrial / commercial organisations, NGOs and others in

promoting the objectives of the Foundation

6. To provide information services, publish monographs and

books, etc. on the subject

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. Myron Weiner: Politics of Scarcity: Public Pressure and

Political Response in India, 1963.

2. H.A. Gani: Muslim Political Issues and National

Integration, P. 3.

3. Rasheeduddin Khan: National Integration and

Communal Harmony (in National Integration of India,

Volume II, Edited by Sinha).

4. Kousar J. Azam: Political Aspects of National

Integration, P. 82.

5. B.K. Nehru: The Indira Gandhi Memorial Lectures

delivered at the University of Kerala in January, 1988.

6. It was a three-member commission headed by Fazl Ali.

Its other two members were K.M. Panikkar and H.N.

Kunzru.

7. In 2000, three more new states of Chhattisgarh,

Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were created out the

territories of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

respectively.

8. Tamil Nadu Government opposed the three language

formula and continued to teach only two languages, that

is, English and Tamil in the educational institutions of

79 Foreign Policy

T

he foreign policy of India regulates India’s relations with

other states of the world in promoting its national interests.

It is determined by a number of factors, viz., geography,

history and tradition, social structure, political organisation,

PRINCIPLES OF INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY

1. Promotion of World Peace

India’s foreign policy aims at the promotion of international peace

and security. Article 51 of the Constitution (Directive Principles of

State Policy) directs the Indian State to promote international

peace and security, maintain just and honourable relations

between nations, foster respect for international law and treaty

obligations, and encourage settlement of international disputes by

arbitration. Besides peace is necessary to promote the economic

development of nations. Jawaharlal Nehru said: “Peace to us is

not just a fervent hope; it is emergent necessity”.

2. Anti-Colonialism

The foreign policy of India opposes colonialism and imperialism.

India views that the colonialism and imperialism leads to

exploitation of the weaker nations by the imperialist powers and

affects the promotion of international peace. India advocated the

liquidation of colonialism in all forms and supported the liberation

movement in Afro-Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaya, Tunisia,

Algeria, Ghana, Namibia and so on. Thus, India expressed her

solidarity with the people of Afro-Asian nations in their struggle

against colonial and imperialist forces like Britain, France,

Holland, Portugal and so on. The present neo-colonialism and

neo-imperialism is also opposed by India.

3. Anti-Racialism

Opposition to racialism in all its forms is an important aspect of

Indian foreign policy. According to India, racialism (i.e.,

discrimination between people on the basis of race), like

colonialism and imperialism, leads to exploitation of the blacks by

the whites, social inequity and hinders the promotion of world

peace. India strongly criticised the policy of apartheid (racial

Africa in 1954 as a protest against the policy of apartheid2.

Similarly, India played an important role in the liberation of

Zimbabwe (earlier Rhodesia) and Namibia from the white

domination.

4. Non-Alignment

When India became independent in 1947, the world was divided

into two blocs on ideological basis, namely, the capitalist bloc

headed by USA and the communist bloc headed by the former

USSR. In such a situation of ‘cold war’, India refused to join any of

these two blocs and adopted a policy of non-alignment. In this

context, Jawaharlal Nehru observed: “We propose to keep away

from the power politics of groups, aligned against one another,

which have led in the past to world wars and which may again

lead to disasters on an even vaster scale. I feel that India can play

a big part, and perhaps an effective part, in helping to avoid war.

Therefore, it becomes all the more necessary that India should not

be lined up with any group of power which for various reasons are

full of fear of war and prepare for war”.

“When we say that India follows a policy of non-alignment, it

means (i) that India has no military alliances with countries of

either bloc or indeed with any nation; (ii) India has an independent

approach to foreign policy; and (iii) India attempts to maintain

friendly relations with all countries”3 .

5. Panchsheel

Panchsheel implies the five principles of conduct in international

relations. It was embodied in the Preamble of the Indo-China

Treaty on Tibet, signed in 1954 by Jawaharlal Nehru and Chou-

En-Lai, the Chinese Premier. The five principles were:

(i) mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and

sovereignty;

(ii) non-aggression;

(iii) non-interference in each other’s internal affairs;

(iv) equality and mutual benefit; and

“India perceived the ‘Panchsheel’ as productive of peaceful

cooperation of sovereign nations instead of the balance of terror

and the degrading cold war tensions, being brought about by the

rival great power pacts and alliances. India explained it as based

on the concept of universalism as against the concept of the

balance of power”4 .

Panchsheel became very popular and many countries of the

world like Burma, Yugoslavia, Indonesia and so on adopted it.

Panchsheel and non-alignment are the greatest contributions of

India to the theory and practice of international relations.

6. Afro-Asian Bias

Even though the foreign policy of India stands for maintaining

friendly relations with all the countries of the world, it has always

exhibited a special bias towards the Afro-Asian nations. It aims at

promoting unity among them and tries to secure for them a voice

and an influence in the international bodies. India has been

seeking international assistance for the economic development of

these countries. In 1947, India called the first Asian Relations

Conference in New Delhi. In 1949, India brought together the

Asian countries on the burning issue of Indonesian freedom. India

played an active role in the Afro-Asian Conference at Bandung

(Indonesia) in 1955. India also played an important role in the

formation of Group of 77 (1964), Group of 15 (1990), Indian

Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (1995), BIST

Economic Cooperation (1997), and SAARC (1985). India earned

the name of ‘Big Brother’ from many of the neighbouring

countries.

7. Links with Commonwealth

In 1949 itself, India declared the continuation of her full

membership of the Commonwealth of the Nations and the

acceptance of the British Crown as the head of the

Commonwealth. But, this extra-constitutional declaration does not

affect India’s sovereignty in any manner as the Commonwealth is

allegiance to the British Crown nor the latter has any functions to

discharge in relation to India.

India remained a member of the Commonwealth because of

pragmatic reasons. It thought that the membership in the

Commonwealth would be beneficial to her in the economic,

political, cultural and other spheres. It has been playing an

important role at the CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of

Governments Meet). India hosted the 24th Commonwealth

Summit at New Delhi in 1983.

8. Support to the UNO

India became a member of the UNO in 1945 itself. Since then, it

has been supporting the activities and programmes of UNO. It has

expressed full faith in the objectives and principles of UNO. Some

of the facets of India’s role in UNO are:

(i) It is through the UNO that India embarked on the policy of

fighting against the colonialism, imperialism and racialism,

and now neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism.

(ii) In 1953, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit of India was elected as the

President of the UN General Assembly.

(iii) India actively participated in the UN Peace-keeping missions

in Korea, Congo, El Salvador, Combodia, Angola, Somalia,

Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Yugoslavia and so on.

(iv) India continued to participate actively in the open ended

working groups of the UNO. India was the Co-chairman of the

working group on the strengthening of the UN which

submitted its report in 1997.

(v) Several times, India has been a nonpermanent member of

the UN Security Council. Now, India is demanding a

permanent seat in the Security Council.

9. Disarmament

The foreign policy of India is opposed to arms race and advocates

disarmament, both conventional and nuclear. This is aimed at

promoting world peace and security by reducing or ending

expenditure on the manufacture of arms. India has been using the

UNO platform to check the arms race and to achieve

disarmament. India took the initiative of holding a six-nation

summit at New Delhi in 1985 and made concrete proposals for

nuclear disarmament.

By not signing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) of

1968 and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) of 1996,

India has kept its nuclear options open. India opposes NPT and

CTBT due to their discriminatory and hegemonistic nature. They

perpetuate an international system in which only five nations

(USA, Russia, China, UK and France) can legitimately posses

nuclear weapons.

OBJECTIVES OF INDIAN FOREIGN POLICY

India’s foreign policy is directed towards the realisation of the

following objectives5 :