The Nehru Years: An International History of Indian Non-Alignment

Originating in the wake of cold war bipolarity, non-alignment became the dominant approach under Nehru, until the early 1960s to navigate India’s engagement with the international system. Faced with volatility of superpower contestation, the policy of non-alignment described as ‘leading ourselves’Footnote¹ served as the basis for India’s diplomatic interventions in addressing cold war politics around decolonisation, regional conflicts, disarmament and nuclear arms control. The military rout in the 1962 Sino-Indian war which knocked India out of the ‘world of its own making’, marked a major rupture point in the Indian strategic outlook. A re-evaluation of India’s foreign policy objectives and strategies in the aftermath of the conflict led to reduced enthusiasm for non-alignment as New Delhi engineered an insular foreign policy approach, with more focus towards its immediate periphery and regional interests and recalibrating ties with major powers like the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK) and the Soviet Union (SU).