Two words best describe India’s diplomatic relationship with Iran and the United States–“it’s complicated.” In the years to come, it is only very likely that this relationship will get more complicated.
As India became an independent nation, Jawaharlal Nehru the nation’s first Prime Minister, pioneered a policy of “non-alignment.” Back then, it was considered to be something of an innovation in diplomacy and international affairs. Through his initiative, it evolved into the Non-Aligned Movement, a forum of 120 developing nations that are not aligned with or against any major power bloc.
Though it was mostly pursued on paper, it gave the country’s foreign policy a semblance of neutrality and non-partisanship. Moreover, during the cold-war era, it allowed India to stay out of the power games played out between two major powers, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.
The policy of non-alignment also offered a clear direction to India’s foreign policy and allowed it to assert its “strategic sovereignty” with ease, especially when it concerned matters of national interest.
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