Indian Foreign Policy during the Initial Days of Cold War With Respect To Pakistan

Abstract

India since its inception as an independent nation tried hard to rewrite its colonial foreign policy, in which the British Indian Government framed rules for the South Asian politics. It ignored that it was the natural legatee of British’s role for peace, stability and hegemony in South Asia. The first and foremost thing India has done after the transfer of power is to dismantle the power structures with neighbor states which the British build for years. Nehru’s frequent anti-West rhetoric on the international forums in the name of anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism alienated India. Pakistan which was born out of partition followed the pragmatic foreign policy which helped it in withstanding India. Its policy ensured it with credible allies and aid. It entered into strategic relationships with both the US and China, during its early days, bringing the Cold War to the borders of India. This made India to move close with the Soviet Union formally. The Chinese aggression at the borders forced India to redraw its foreign policy options. This paper examines Indian foreign policy during the initial days of Cold War with respect to Pakistan and presents us a critical view on the Indian foreign policy.