Topic: India & NAM
Q2. Account for India’s emergence as a leading advocate of the Non-Aligned Movement. Examine how non-alignment advanced India’s interests amid Cold War rivalries. Evaluate the constraints that limited its effectiveness during periods of regional conflict. (15 M)
Difficulty Level: Medium
Reference: InsightsIAS
Why the question
India’s adoption of non-alignment as a response to Cold War bipolarity and evaluates its practical value and limitations.
Key Demand of the question
Explain the factors behind India’s leadership of NAM and how it protected India’s diplomatic and developmental interests. Evaluate the constraints that reduced its effectiveness during regional conflicts.
Structure of the Answer:
Introduction
Introduce non-alignment as an independent foreign-policy strategy that evolved through Afro-Asian cooperation and culminated in the first NAM Summit in 1961.
Body
- India’s emergence as a NAM leader: Mention the historical, strategic and ideological considerations that enabled India to champion non-alignment.
- Advancement of India’s interests: Indicate how non-alignment preserved strategic autonomy while facilitating development and diplomatic influence.
- Constraints during regional conflicts: Highlight how security crises, superpower dependence and internal divisions exposed NAM’s practical limitations.
Conclusion
Conclude that despite its operational limitations, non-alignment gave India diplomatic space and laid the foundation for its contemporary pursuit of strategic autonomy.
