Articles

Foreign Policy is the mechanism national governments use to guide the diplomatic interactions with other countries and international organizations and ensure that its voice is heard on global forums. Foreign affairs are closely integrated with country’s security and development priorities and directly impacts its citizens as well as its diaspora. India has seen all the phases of foreign policies: from the glories of the Ancient India where foreign policy was used to serve the interest of the people to the dark phase of Afghan, Turkish and British invaders where foreign policy was guided by their own interests and then reviving after the devastation of over 1000 years to be a ‘Vishwaguru’. 

FOREIGN POLICY IN ANCIENT INDIA

The main source of information regarding diplomatic thought in Ancient India are the Vedas, the Epics and the treatises like ‘Arthashastra’. Ramayana and Mahabharata were the robust foundations of foreign relations. In Ramayana, when Lord Rama sent Lord Hanuman and Angad to King Ravana to persuade him to avoid war and give back Rama’s wife which he abducted, Ravan rebuffed the plea and gave orders to kill Hanuman. Hanuman not only managed to escape but also went a step further of his mission by setting Lanka ablaze and also met Mata Sita. This is an example which highlights the roles and responsibilities of an envoy. Rama firmly believed that it is imperative to choose the right envoy who is wise, speaks to the point and has a presence of mind as they can sabotage the king by being in connivance with the enemy which Vibhishana turned out to be for Ravana. In Mahabharata, Lord Krishna as an envoy of Pandavas went to Kauravas to avoid war and also negotiated a peace treaty between Pandavas and King of Virata which helped the Pandavas gain allies in the war. Vidura and Sanjaya, the advisor and charioteer of King Dhritarashtra also advised him to make peace with the Pandavas and avoid the destruction of Kuru dynasty are other examples of diplomacy. ‘Yato Dharmas Tato Jaya’, a Sanskrit shloka meaning ‘Where there is dharma, there will be victory’ which occurs in Mahabharata tells us that our policies must be rooted into dharma and for promoting righteous national interest. 

The first treatise on diplomacy, Chanakya’s ‘Arthashastra’ acts as a beacon for current foreign diplomats. The six principles of Chanakya to maintain India’s foreign relations are:

• Vigraha (war)
• Sandhi (making peace with strong enemy)
• Yana (march or expedition)
• Dvaidhibhava (making peace with one and end war with another)
• Asana (neutrality)
• Samasraya (alliance)

With Chanakya and his dynamic foreign policy, Chandragupta’s Mauryan Empire was one of history’s most extensive ranging from Kabul River valley and Himalayas in west and north to Vindhya range on South. His descendants, Bindusara and Ashoka continued to expand the empire to the south mainly because of Chanakya and his efficient government model. Besides Mauryan Empire, Chola Empire under whom the trade and other commercial activities excelled also had a robust foreign policy and dominated Malaysia, Thailand and extended their influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia. The Ancient India established strong ties with other countries and maintained supremacy from cultural perspective. 

FOREIGN POLICY IN MEDIEVAL INDIA

After the rich and glorious ancient history that India had came the dark phase for the ‘Golden Bird’ with the arrival of Turkish and Afghan invaders. During the Middle Ages, Chola and other southern empires were losing their hold in South Asia and this gave them an opportunity to invade India. After they established their rule, Afghan and Turkish invaders tried to maintain diplomatic ties with Central Asia and Arab world. Delhi Sultans tried to avert the invasion of Mongol Genghis Khan which was on the rise. Iltutmish with his foreign policy and diplomacy averted the invasion of India by Mongols but after his death there were regular incursions into Delhi Sultanate. 

After Iltutmish’s death and arrival of Khilji’s, Delhi Sultanate’s relation with Persia and Central Asia took a new high. There was still the pressure of Mongol invasion on Delhi Sultanate, but suddenly Mongol threat receded with the rise of Muhammad Bin Tughluq and marked the departure of Khilji dynasty. The Tughluq’s established friendly relations with Mongol Empire and Persia as they believed in use of military powers only in the case the objective could not be achieved by diplomatic talks.

The Mughals originated in Central Asia and objective of their foreign policy was influenced by interaction with three great powers of the time: The Safavid Empire of Persia, The Ottoman Empire of Turkey and Uzbek Empire of Central Asia. The Mughals tried to maintain the balance of power among the three. The other objectives of their foreign policy were to protect India from foreign invasions so that they can rule India for a prolonged period and escalate trade and commerce for their own interests.

So, if we summarize the foreign policy of Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire, the only objective they had was to protect the territories from foreign invasions to loot India and expand their rule with the use of power and against the will of the public. 

FOREIGN POLICY IN PRE-INDEPENDENT INDIA

British foreign policy was always guided by the interests of the British Empire and not India. They aimed at expansion of British Empire inside and outside the territories of India. They ensured that India’s trade is carried on in Britain’s interest. Their purpose of foreign policy was to use Indian economy as feeder economy for the development of British economy. Britisher’s foreign policy made India an exporter of primary products such as raw silk and cotton, etc and an importer of finished consumer goods like cotton, woollen clothes. There was a huge export surplus due to excess exports and this export surplus was used to make payments for expenses incurred by an office setup by colonial government in Britain and to meet expenses on war fought by British government leaving not even a single penny for the Indians while the blood shed was Indian. 

FOREIGN POLICY IN INDEPENDENT INDIA

After the sun sat on the British Empire, India was a backward and stagnant economy. It was a tough challenge for India to resurrect after being under colonialism for over 1000 years. India’s foreign policy since Independence can be divided in six phases.

The first phase was from year 1946 to 1962, the objectives of foreign policy at that time were non-alignment, economic development and consolidating its integrity. In the second phase from 1962 till 1971, India’s foreign policy zeroed its attention on recovery from two wars in 1962 and 1965. India made practical choices on security and political challenges despite scarcity of resources. During the third phase (1971-1991), India showed use of its hard power in India-Pakistan war in 1971. It was also a difficult phase as US-China-Pakistan axis threatened India’s prospect as a global power. Collapse of USSR and sanctions from US forced India to revamp its foreign policy. The objectives of India’s foreign policy during fourth phase (1991-1999) were safeguarding its strategic autonomy and reaching out to engage the US, ASEAN countries intensively. During the fifth phase (2000-2013) India was a balanced power with improved relations with both Russia and West. India developed closed ties with US and was able to forge 123 nuclear deals. The current and sixth phase (2013-till present) is a phase of energetic diplomacy. India’s policy of multi alignment and Nation First has poised to become political and economic pole in multipolar world. Within this phase, India has become one of the fastest growing economies of the world and the leader of the Global South by being a beacon for them in development.

CONCLUSION

India has seen the devastating transformation from being called the ‘Golden Bird’ to being one of the most backward countries after the British, Afghan and Turkish invaders left. After Independence, through the collective efforts of all governments and their foreign policies we are not only standing on our feet but will also be the 3rd largest economy by 2029. Today, at a torrent time in international affairs where issues like Ukraine war, food security, etc are plaguing the globe, the world is looking at India to drive a consensus in G20 and other various forums where previously India was not at the high table of decision making. India follows an approach of working with multiple partners on different agendas and working in tandem with everyone and therefore, India’s vision of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ is relevant in today’s world and foreign policy. India had faced and is facing many challenges. India have made mistakes in the past. It will be India’s endeavour to learn from those mistakes and not repeat them in future and make India a ‘Vishwaguru’ which it was in ancient times and sustain India’s global role for a long haul and bring back the ‘Amrit Kaal’. From 3rd century manuscripts to ‘India First’ foreign policy, India was and will be a ‘Vishwaguru’.