International context India was born as an independent nation-state in a very trying and challenging international context. The world had witnessed a devastating war and was grappling with issues of reconstruction; yet another attempt to establish an international body was underway; many new countries were emerging as a result of the collapse of colonialism; and most new nations were trying to come to terms with the twin challenges of welfare and democracy. Free India’s foreign policy reflected all these concerns in the period immediately after independence. Apart from these factors at the global level, India had its own share of concerns.
The British government left behind the legacy of many international disputes; partition created its own pressures, and the task of poverty alleviation was already waiting for fulfilment. This was the overall context in which India started participating in the world affairs as an independent nation-state. As a nation born in the backdrop of the world war, India decided to conduct its foreign relations with an aim to respect the sovereignty of all other nations and to achieve security through the maintenance of peace. This aim finds an echo in the Directive Principles of State Policy.
Just as both internal and external factors guide the behaviour of an individual or a family, both domestic and international environment influence the foreign policy of a nation. The developing countries lack the required resources to effectively advocate their concerns in the international system. So they pursue more modest goals than the advanced states. They focus more on peace and development in their own neighbourhood.
Moreover, their economic and security dependence on the more powerful states occasionally influences their foreign policy. In the period immediately after the second world war, many developing nations chose to support the foreign policy preferences of the powerful countries who were giving them aid or credits. This resulted in the division of countries of the world into two clear camps. One was under the influence of the United States and its western allies and the other was under the influence of the then Soviet Union.
There was also the experiment called Non- Aligned Movement in which India had played an important role. However, the end of the Cold War changed the context of international relations entirely. But when India achieved its freedom and started framing What does independence consist of? It consists fundamentally and basically of foreign relations.
That is the test of independence. All else is local autonomy. Once foreign relations go out of your hands into the charge of somebody else, to that extent and in that measure you are not independent. Jawaharlal Nehru during a debate in the Constituent Assembly in March .