The word non aligned means being “non aligned with the great power blocs of the world for distancing oneself from rivalry between the two camps”.
But it did not mean being passive neutrals. We judged each issue on its merit and did not toe the line of one or the other superpower.
NAM Received The Support Of Several Popular Leaders In History
The pioneers of non-aligned movement were:
1. Jawaharlal Nehru, prime minister of India
2. Gamal Abdul Nasir, President of Egypt
3. Sukarno, President of Indonesia
4. Joseph Broz Tito, marshal of Yugoslavia
5. Kwame Nkrumah, prime minister of Ghana
President Sukarno hosted a conference of 29 Asian and African countries at Bandung. It marked the birth of new Asia and Africa. The first summit of NAM nations was held at Belgrade in 1961. It was attended by 25 non-aligned Nations. The 16th summit was held at Tehran (Iran) in 2012. It was attended by heads of state or government of 118 Nations.
How India Distanced Herself From The Two Hostile Camps
India was careful to keep her distance from the two military alliances ( NATO and Warsaw Pact) and two power blocs. In 1950 India strongly condemned North Korean aggression against South Korea. In 1956 India condemned the Anglo-French action in Egypt on the Suez canal issue. But in the same year Hungary under Imre Nagy, a staunch nationalist withdrew from the Warsaw pact. Soviet Union invaded Hungary and installed a pro-Russian government there. India’s comment on this event was in a low key manner we were not loud in our condemnation of the Soviet aggression. Therefore, India’s policy of non-alignment was criticized for being ‘inconsistent’ and ‘unprincipled’. Despite such exceptions by and large India judged each international issue on its merits and get economic assistant from both the power blocs.
Basic Principle Of India’s Foreign Policy
1. Non-alignment as the means of promoting peace and progress all over the world.
2. Opposition to colonialism, imperialism and racism.
3. Peaceful coexistence
4. Being firm in our resolve not to initiate a nuclear war
5. Respect for human rights
6. Support to the UN actions
7. Stress on the need for a new international economic order.
India was also a signatory member of the United Nations and actively participated in its campaigns. India is a peace-loving country.
How Was NAM Relevant?
1. The spirit of the non-aligned movement is that the poor and the small countries of the world should not lose their sense of identity.
2. The core issues like colonialism or more correctly neo-colonialism disarmament democracy and human rights are as relevant today as ever.
3. With the relaxation of the cold war the name leaders did rightly shift their emphasis from political to economic matters. They stressed the importance of a new international economic order.
4. The name has now seriously taken the question of reshaping the UN security council in order to make it a more democratic and more representative body.
What’re your views about the relevance of the NAM comment in the comment section.
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