India and Foreign Policy

Once, I published a little something somewhere, in response to an allegation that India was being trapped in 'it's foreign policy' (sic). Having views to the contrary at the time, I decided to rebutt with this:

I don't think India is being trapped into anything. We're not in a position to be bullied into towing anyone's line. India is one of the few nations in the world that managed to stay neutral during the Cold War, even starting the NAM for countries not wanting to be embroiled in a power-bloc race.

India is also one of the few countries that developed nuclear weapons, and after the sanctions imposed by the world's biggest economies following the Pokhran Tests, still managed to survive economically very well.

Not only that, we have survived most economic disasters in the last fifty years. This comes from an innate sense of self-sufficiency. How many of your chests swell with pride when you hear that Space program is making progress, or that our missiles have been tested successfully? HAL has come out with one of the best high-alt helis recently (saw it yesterday on the news) and a adv Jet Trainer as well.

All this, and more, inspite of vested interests (from many sources) trying to keep us to stick to a more moderate pace, if not completely stagnant.

Let us also not forget that our GDP is competing with that of China's. To really see the enormity of the fact, try comparing labour organization, industrial regulation, and manufacturing subsidies from both countries.

We both got independent at around the same time. Us in '47, them in '49 (if I remember correctly). They subsequently went under communism and dictatorship. We have followed democracy for most of our history (leaving aside the Emergency). There were (and still are) many who say that India would have better realised Her potential if Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose had had his way and imposed a firmer government on the country.

That could be, but remember this. Inspite of all the party-feuding, all the dissensions, all the CIA moles, all the terrorists, all the Naxals, all the infighting, all the Harshad Mehtas, all the Kargils, all the Tsunamis, all the Punjab Militancies, all the Manipurs, all the Ayodhyas, all the Mandal Commisions, all the Reservation, all the conflicts with our neighbors, all the LTTE debacles, all the efforts diverted towards peacekeeping missions throughout the world, all the Mumbai Blasts, all the Delhi Blasts, all the almost daily Kashmir Blasts, all the pain and all the suffering, we have emerged as one of the foremost countries of the world today.


India is a country one can no longer afford to ignore.

From being a vassal state under the Mughals, from being one of the colonies of the British, exploited mercilessly with no regard for the Indian future, we have forged ourselves an Indian future. One that caused evey one of us to wake up some day, look at the flag hanging from a public building somewhere, and be proud to belong here.

So, no, I do not believe that India is being trapped in anything of a foreign policy mesh.

If all of you have followed the WTO situation as closely as I have, you will see that India is not ready to give into the US's demand for allowing US agri products (highly subsidized) into the Indian Market freely. This is simply economic suicide.

And yet, one coud argue that India should have given in, seeing as how important the N-Deal is. The US might take off in a huff, and not go through on the N-deal, (which it may not even now; declarations from the Prez are meaningless, if not ratified by the Congress, unless in a state of War).

So, does that mean that India is stupid to not give in to the WTO agenda? Of course not. We re not being bullied, because we are not letting anyone bully us. Over Nuclear Reactors or anything else.


I would write more on the so-called landmark N-Deal, but this is hardly the place. Also, it is a long post as it is.

Never forget, People can bully you only if you let them.