INDIA'S FOREIGN POLICY & UNITED NATIONS CLASS 10
INDIA'S RELATIONS WITH ITS NEIGHBOURS
Indo-Pak Relations :
- Pakistan came into being as a result of the unfortunate partition of the British India.
- The partition of the country was accompanied by the worst kind of communal riots which left a lot of bitterness.
- The basic difference in the development of two types (Pakistan, an Islamic state and India a secular democratic state) of
- political systems often promotes lack of confidence in both the countries.
- The second and the main reason has been the difference between India and Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir.
- Whereas Kashmir is an integral part of India, Pakistan treats it as a disputed territory.
- In 1947, Pakistan tried to force Kashmir to accede to it by sending invaders.
- But, Kashmir acceded to India, and Indian troops forced the invaders to withdraw from most of Kashmir.
- The UN negotiated a ceasefire, but Pakistan refused to recognise Kashmir’s accession to India.
- Another Indo-Pak war over Kashmir in 1965 also ended through UN mediation.
- India defeated Pakistan in the third Indo-Pak war in 1971, which led to the birth of Bangladesh.
- By the Shimla Agreement of 1972, India and Pakistan resolved to respect the international border and,
- in case of Kashmir, the Line of Control (LOG) as in December 1971. They also agreed to settle all bilateral issues peacefully.
- After 1972, Pakistan supported terrorist activities in Punjab and Kashmir.
- Pakistan also sent intruders across the LOG in 1999. This led to the Kargil conflict,
- and the intruders were ultimately forced to withdraw.
- There was a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001.
- But, since 2003, both countries have taken steps to improve bilateral relations.
(a) Peace Efforts:
- Tashkent Declaration of 1966
- Simla Agreement of 1972
- Bus Diplomacy in 2000
- Agra Summit in 2001
India-China Relations:
- India was one of the first countries to recognise the People’s Republic of China.
- The Sino-lndian agreement of 1954, based on the Panchsheel, recognised China’s authority over Tibet.
- India also supported China’s admission into the UN.
- Dispute over definition of the India-Tibet border, China’s claims over some Indian territories
- India’s granting of asylum to the Dalai Lama and Chinese intrusions into India led to a Sino-lndian war in 1962.
- China-Pakistan closeness, India’s nuclear test in 1974 and Sikkim’s absorption into India further strained Sino-lndian relations.
- Sino-lndian relations have now improved. Though China resented India’s nuclear tests in
- 1998, it supported India in the Kargil conflict of 1999 and condemned the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001.
- India-Bangladesh Relations :
- India played a major role in liberating Bangladesh from Pakistan. In 1972,
- India and Bangladesh concluded a treaty of cooperation, friendship and peace based on the Panchsheel, Nonalignment, Secularism and Socialism.
- After the government of Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was overthrown in 1975, the relation between India and Bangladesh have worsened.
(a) Points of Conflict
- The disagreement over the distribution of Ganga waters after the making of the barrage of Far
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