India’s foreign policy was built around the principles of peace and cooperation. But India fought three wars in a space of ten years between 1962 and 1971. Would you say that this was a failure of the foreign policy? Or would you say that this was a result of international situation? Give reasons to support your answer.
Right from the beginning, India has desired for peace not merely as an ideal but also as an essential condition for its own security. According to Pt. Nehru, peace for India was not “Specific Neutralism” but an active positive approach towards international relations.
India’s three wars within a span of 10 years cannot be regarded as the failure of its foreign policy, rather it was the result of an international situation that had cropped up and forced India in order to guard its own territorial integrity and sovereignty to compromise on its principles. However, the country firmly maintains its stand of promoting peace and security.
a. The war with China in the year 1962 can be attributed to the origin of the border dispute related to the McMahon Line, which demarcates boundaries of India and China in NEFA (presently, Arunachal Pradesh).China refuses to acknowledge the same considering it an ‘imperial line’ and with the construction of road by the Chinese across the Aksai chin region in 1956–57, the dispute culminated into a full-fledged Indo- China war in 1962.
b. The territorial regions of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin area of Ladakh were the main pretext of the war. The war started with the Chinese launching offensives in the Ladakh region on October 20, 1962 and subsequent advancement of the Chinese troops over the Indian forces. The war eventually ended after the Chinese ceasefire on November 20, 1962.
c. A more serious armed conflict with Pakistan was over the Kashmir issue, when in April 1965, Pakistan launched armed attacks on the Rann of Kutch area of Gujarat, followed by a bigger offensive in Jammu and Kashmir in August-September resulting in a fierce battle between the two countries. The hostilities between the two were temporarily suspended with the 1966 Tashkent agreement.
d. The 1971 Indo-Pak war was due to the developments in East Pakistan where India was confronted with the problem of refugees from East Pakistan and offered all moral and material assistance. With the US coming closer to Pakistan, India, in looking into its increased vulnerabilities, came closer to the Soviet Union so as to counter the US-Pakistan-China axis. After months of military and diplomatic tensions, a full-fledged war broke out between India and Pakistan in 1971. However, with the signing of the Shimla agreement between the two nations, peace was restored.
India’s three wars within a span of 10 years cannot be regarded as the failure of its foreign policy, rather it was the result of an international situation that had cropped up and forced India in order to guard its own territorial integrity and sovereignty to compromise on its principles. However, the country firmly maintains its stand of promoting peace and security.
a. The war with China in the year 1962 can be attributed to the origin of the border dispute related to the McMahon Line, which demarcates boundaries of India and China in NEFA (presently, Arunachal Pradesh).China refuses to acknowledge the same considering it an ‘imperial line’ and with the construction of road by the Chinese across the Aksai chin region in 1956–57, the dispute culminated into a full-fledged Indo- China war in 1962.
b. The territorial regions of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin area of Ladakh were the main pretext of the war. The war started with the Chinese launching offensives in the Ladakh region on October 20, 1962 and subsequent advancement of the Chinese troops over the Indian forces. The war eventually ended after the Chinese ceasefire on November 20, 1962.
c. A more serious armed conflict with Pakistan was over the Kashmir issue, when in April 1965, Pakistan launched armed attacks on the Rann of Kutch area of Gujarat, followed by a bigger offensive in Jammu and Kashmir in August-September resulting in a fierce battle between the two countries. The hostilities between the two were temporarily suspended with the 1966 Tashkent agreement.
d. The 1971 Indo-Pak war was due to the developments in East Pakistan where India was confronted with the problem of refugees from East Pakistan and offered all moral and material assistance. With the US coming closer to Pakistan, India, in looking into its increased vulnerabilities, came closer to the Soviet Union so as to counter the US-Pakistan-China axis. After months of military and diplomatic tensions, a full-fledged war broke out between India and Pakistan in 1971. However, with the signing of the Shimla agreement between the two nations, peace was restored.
