India's External Relations, Class 12 Political Science

What India’s External Relations is about

Weightage: Politics in India since Independence: India's External Relations carries 6 of the 80 theory marks.Source: CBSE Political Science (028) syllabus 2026-27, course structure

Key concepts

International context and foreign policy

NCERT section International Context

Domestic and international factors both shape foreign policy, just as they shape a family's behaviour.

Developing countries:

• Lack resources to push their concerns internationally, so they pursue modest goals, focusing on peace and development in their neighbourhood.
• Economic and security dependence on powerful states sometimes shapes their foreign policy; after the Second World War many supported the policies of countries giving them aid or credit.
• This produced two camps: one under the US and its Western allies, the other under the Soviet Union. The Non-Aligned Movement was an alternative in which India played an important role.

India's situation in 1947: the Cold War was just beginning. India's aim: respect the sovereignty of all and achieve security through peace, as in Article 51 of the Directive Principles.

Inherited burdens: disputes left by the British, Partition's pressures and poverty alleviation.

Worked example

Why do developing countries usually pursue more modest foreign policy goals? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. They lack the resources to advocate their concerns effectively in the international system, so they focus on peace and development in their own neighbourhood.
2. Their economic and security dependence on powerful states, for aid and credit, sometimes influences their foreign policy choices.

Answer: Limited resources and dependence on powerful states make them focus on modest, regional goals.

Non-alignment and Nehru's role

NCERT section The Policy of Non-alignment; Nehru's Role; Distance from Two Camps

Roots: India's national movement was part of the worldwide struggle against colonialism and imperialism, influencing Asian and African liberation movements. The INA of Subhash Chandra Bose showed links with overseas Indians. Independence coincided with the Cold War, the UN, nuclear weapons, Communist China and decolonisation.

Nehru's role: as PM and his own Foreign Minister (1946-1964) he deeply shaped foreign policy. Three objectives:
1. Preserve sovereignty.
2. Protect territorial integrity.
3. Promote rapid economic development.
Strategy: non-alignment. Some (like Ambedkar) wanted closeness to the US bloc as pro-democracy; anti-communist parties (Jana Sangh, later Swatantra Party) wanted a pro-US policy; but Nehru had considerable leeway.

Distance from two camps:

• India pursued a peaceful world by non-alignment, reducing Cold War tensions and contributing to UN peacekeeping.
• It stayed out of military alliances: the US-led NATO and the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact.
• A difficult balance: in 1956 India led protests against Britain's attack on Egypt (Suez) as neo-colonial, but did not join public condemnation of the USSR's invasion of Hungary the same year.
• By and large India took independent stands and got aid from both blocs.
• Pakistan joined US-led alliances; the US was unhappy with non-alignment and India's growing partnership with the USSR, causing unease in Indo-US relations in the 1950s.
• Planned development based on import substitution limited export-oriented growth and India's economic interaction with the world.

Nehru (letter to K. P. S. Menon, January 1947): India should be friendly to both blocs yet join neither, even if each suspected India of leaning to the other.

Worked example

What were the three major objectives of Nehru's foreign policy, and how did he seek to achieve them? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. To preserve hard-earned sovereignty, protect territorial integrity and promote rapid economic development.
2. He sought to achieve them through the strategy of non-alignment: keeping away from both Cold War military blocs.

Answer: Sovereignty, territorial integrity and economic development, through non-alignment.

Afro-Asian unity

NCERT section Afro-Asian Unity

Given India's size, location and power potential, Nehru saw a major role for India in world, and especially Asian, affairs.

• Asian Relations Conference, March 1947, five months before independence, under Nehru's leadership.
• 1949: India convened an international conference to support Indonesia's freedom from Dutch rule.
• Staunch support for decolonisation; firm opposition to racism, especially apartheid in South Africa.
• Bandung Conference (1955) in Indonesia: the zenith of India's engagement with newly independent Asian and African nations; it later led to the NAM.
• First NAM Summit: Belgrade, September 1961. Nehru was a co-founder; the core leadership was Nehru, Nkrumah (Ghana), Nasser (Egypt), Sukarno (Indonesia) and Tito (Yugoslavia).

C. Rajagopalachari (1950) wrote that India, lacking material, men and money, was being recognised as the biggest moral power in the civilised world.

Worked example

Explain India's efforts towards Afro-Asian unity under Nehru. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. India convened the Asian Relations Conference in March 1947, five months before independence.
2. It convened a conference in 1949 to support Indonesia's freedom struggle against Dutch colonial rule, and opposed racism and apartheid.
3. The Bandung Conference of 1955 marked the zenith of India's engagement with newly independent Asian and African nations.
4. Bandung led to the NAM, whose first summit was held in Belgrade in September 1961; Nehru was a co-founder.

Answer: Through the Asian Relations Conference, support for Indonesia, opposition to apartheid, the Bandung Conference and co-founding NAM.

Peace with China: Panchsheel and Tibet

NCERT section Peace and Conflict with China; Tibet

Friendly start: after the Chinese revolution in 1949, India was among the first to recognise the communist government; Nehru helped it in international forums. Sardar Patel worried about future aggression, but Nehru thought an attack 'exceedingly unlikely'; the border was long guarded by paramilitary forces, not the army.

Panchsheel: the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, jointly announced by Nehru and Zhou Enlai on 29 April 1954; leaders exchanged visits greeted by friendly crowds.

Tibet (box):

• Historically China sometimes claimed control over Tibet; at times Tibet was independent. In 1950 China took control; many Tibetans opposed it.
• India tried to persuade China to recognise Tibet's claims, but through Panchsheel's clause on respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty (1954), India conceded China's claim over Tibet.
• The Dalai Lama came with Zhou Enlai in 1956 and told Nehru of worsening conditions; China promised greater autonomy.
• 1958: armed uprising in Tibet, suppressed. 1959: the Dalai Lama crossed into India and was granted asylum; China protested.
• Many Tibetans have since taken refuge in India; Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) is perhaps the largest settlement and the Dalai Lama's home. In the 1950s-60s the Socialist Party and Jan Sangh supported Tibet's independence.
• China created the Tibet Autonomous Region; Tibetans dispute China's claims on territory and autonomy and oppose the settlement of Chinese people there.

Worked example

What was Panchsheel? How did it affect the Tibet issue? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Panchsheel was the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence jointly announced by Nehru and Zhou Enlai on 29 April 1954.
2. Through its clause on respecting each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, India conceded China's claim over Tibet.

Answer: Five principles of peaceful coexistence (1954); India thereby accepted China's claim over Tibet.

The Chinese invasion, 1962

NCERT section The Chinese Invasion, 1962

Two developments strained relations:
1. Tibet: China's annexation (1950) removed a historical buffer; India grew uneasy at the suppression of Tibetan culture; the Dalai Lama's asylum (1959) led China to allege anti-China activities from India.
2. Boundary dispute: India said the boundary was settled in colonial times; China rejected colonial decisions. China claimed Aksai Chin (Ladakh) and much of Arunachal Pradesh (then NEFA). Between 1957 and 1959 China occupied Aksai Chin and built a strategic road. Talks failed; border skirmishes followed (talks between Nehru and Mao also proved futile).

The war: while the world watched the Cuban Missile Crisis, China launched a swift, massive invasion in October 1962 on both disputed regions. The first attack lasted a week and captured key areas in Arunachal; a second wave came next month. India held the Chinese in Ladakh, but in the east they advanced nearly to the Assam plains. China then declared a unilateral ceasefire and withdrew to pre-war positions.

Consequences:

• Dented India's image at home and abroad; India sought military help from the US and Britain; the Soviet Union stayed neutral.
• A sense of national humiliation but also stronger nationalism.
• Some top commanders resigned or retired; Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon left the cabinet.
• Nehru was criticised for a naive assessment of China and lack of military preparedness; the first no-confidence motion against his government was debated; the Congress lost key by-elections.
• With the Sino-Soviet rift, the CPI split in 1964; the pro-China faction formed the CPI(M), and many of its leaders were arrested.
• Alerted leaders to the Northeast: Nagaland became a state; Manipur and Tripura (UTs) got elected assemblies.
• Full diplomatic relations were restored only in 1976; Vajpayee (External Affairs Minister) visited in 1979; Rajiv Gandhi was the first PM after Nehru to visit China; trade has since been emphasised.

Worked example

What were the political consequences of the 1962 war for India? (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. It dented India's image; India had to seek military help from the US and Britain while the Soviet Union stayed neutral.
2. Defence Minister V. K. Krishna Menon left the cabinet and some army commanders resigned or retired.
3. Nehru was criticised for his naive assessment of China and lack of preparedness; the first no-confidence motion against his government was moved, and the Congress lost key by-elections.
4. It split the CPI in 1964 (CPI and CPI(M)) and drew attention to the Northeast, leading to statehood for Nagaland and assemblies for Manipur and Tripura.

Answer: Loss of prestige, ministerial and military changes, criticism of Nehru, a CPI split and reorganisation of the Northeast.

Wars and peace with Pakistan: 1947 to 1965

NCERT section Wars and Peace with Pakistan

Kashmir: conflict began right after Partition. A proxy war broke out in Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, but did not become a full war; the issue went to the UN. Pakistan became a key factor in India's relations with the US and later China.

Cooperation despite conflict:

• Both governments worked to restore women abducted during Partition to their families.
• A long river-water dispute was resolved through World Bank mediation: the Indus Waters Treaty, signed by Nehru and General Ayub Khan in 1960, which has worked well despite ups and downs.

1965 war:

• By then Lal Bahadur Shastri was PM.
• April 1965: Pakistan attacked the Rann of Kutch (Gujarat); then a bigger offensive in Jammu and Kashmir in August-September, hoping for local support, which did not come.
• To ease pressure, Shastri ordered a counter-offensive on the Punjab border; the Indian army reached close to Lahore.
• Hostilities ended with UN intervention. In January 1966, with the Soviet Union as mediator, Shastri and Ayub Khan concluded the Tashkent Agreement.
• India inflicted considerable losses, but the war worsened India's economic difficulties.

Worked example

Describe the 1965 war between India and Pakistan. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. In April 1965 Pakistan attacked the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, followed by a bigger offensive in Jammu and Kashmir in August-September, hoping for local support that did not come.
2. PM Lal Bahadur Shastri ordered a counter-offensive on the Punjab border, and the Indian army reached close to Lahore.
3. The war ended with UN intervention; Shastri and General Ayub Khan signed the Soviet-brokered Tashkent Agreement in January 1966.
4. Though India inflicted heavy military losses, the war added to India's economic difficulties.

Answer: Pakistan's attacks in Kutch and Kashmir, India's Punjab counter-offensive, UN-ended hostilities and the Tashkent Agreement.

The Bangladesh war, 1971

NCERT section Bangladesh War, 1971

Pakistan's crisis (from 1970): its first general election gave a split verdict: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's party won in West Pakistan; the Awami League of Sheikh Mujib-ur Rahman swept East Pakistan, as Bengalis protested years of being treated as second-class citizens. The rulers rejected the verdict and the demand for a federation.

Repression: in early 1971 the army arrested Sheikh Mujib and unleashed terror in East Pakistan; people began a struggle to liberate Bangladesh. India bore about 80 lakh refugees and gave moral and material support; Pakistan accused India of conspiring to break it up.

Diplomacy:

• The US and China backed Pakistan. US-China rapprochement: Henry Kissinger secretly visited China via Pakistan in July 1971.
• In August 1971, as a counterweight to the US-Pakistan-China axis, India and the Soviet Union concluded a 20-year Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which promised India Soviet backing in case of attack.

War (December 1971): Pakistani aircraft attacked Punjab and Rajasthan and its army moved on the J&K front. India retaliated with air force, navy and army on both fronts. Supported by local people, the Indian army advanced fast in the east; within ten days it surrounded Dhaka from three sides and about 90,000 Pakistani troops surrendered. With Bangladesh free, India declared a unilateral ceasefire. The Shimla Agreement (Indira Gandhi and Bhutto, 3 July 1972) formalised peace.

Effects: national jubilation; seen as a sign of growing military prowess; Indira Gandhi's popularity soared; the Congress won large majorities in state elections.

Cost of wars: resources diverted to defence after 1962: Department of Defence Production (November 1962), Department of Defence Supplies (November 1965); the Third Plan suffered; three Annual Plans followed and the Fourth Plan began only in 1969.

Fast forward: Kargil (1999): intruders occupied points on India's side of the LoC (Mashkoh, Dras, Kaksar, Batalik); India suspected Pakistan Army involvement; conflict in May-June; by 26 July 1999 India had recovered many points. It drew world attention as both had just become nuclear powers; soon after, the Pakistan Army under General Pervez Musharraf took over the government.

Worked example

Why did India sign the Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the Soviet Union in 1971? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The US and China supported Pakistan; US-China rapprochement (Kissinger's secret visit via Pakistan, July 1971) created a US-Pakistan-China axis.
2. To counter this, India signed a 20-year treaty with the USSR in August 1971, which assured Soviet support if India faced an attack.

Answer: To counter the US-Pakistan-China axis and secure Soviet support during the Bangladesh crisis.

India's nuclear policy and foreign policy consensus

NCERT section India's Nuclear Policy

Origins: Nehru had faith in science and technology. The nuclear programme began in the late 1940s under Homi J. Bhabha, for peaceful atomic energy. Nehru opposed nuclear weapons and pleaded for comprehensive nuclear disarmament, but arsenals kept growing.

NPT: after China's nuclear tests in October 1964, the five nuclear powers (US, USSR, UK, France, China; also the P5) tried to impose the NPT (1968). India saw it as discriminatory and refused to sign.

1974 test: India's first nuclear explosion in May 1974, called a peaceful explosion; India said it was committed to peaceful nuclear use. It came at a difficult time: the 1973 Arab-Israel war caused an oil shock, inflation and agitations including a nationwide railway strike.

Fast forward: India opposed the indefinite extension of the NPT (1995) and refused to sign the CTBT, since such treaties applied selectively and legitimised the five powers' monopoly. May 1998 tests demonstrated military capability; Pakistan followed; sanctions were imposed and later waived. Doctrine: credible minimum nuclear deterrence, 'no first use', and commitment to global, verifiable, non-discriminatory disarmament.

Consensus: despite minor differences, parties broadly agree on national integration, protection of borders and national interest, so foreign policy has played a limited role in party politics.

Shifting alliances: the Janata government (1977) promised genuine non-alignment, correcting the pro-Soviet tilt; since then governments have improved relations with China and the US. After 1990, with Russia's decline and economic interests rising, policy became more pro-US. Efforts to normalise India-Pakistan ties include train and bus services.

Worked example

Why did India refuse to sign the NPT? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. India considered the NPT (1968) discriminatory: it let the five nuclear powers keep their weapons while denying others the right.
2. India wanted global, comprehensive and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament, and later also refused the CTBT for similar reasons.

Answer: Because it was discriminatory, legitimising the monopoly of five nuclear powers.

India’s External Relations in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• Non-Alignment and Nehru's Foreign Policy
• China, Tibet and the 1962 War
• India's Nuclear Policy, the 1974 and 1998 Tests and Shifting Alliances
• Wars and Peace with Pakistan: 1965, the 1971 Bangladesh War and Kargil

India’s External Relations: key facts

Article 51

Promote peace and security; just and honourable relations; respect international law and treaties; settle disputes by arbitration

Directive Principles.

Nehru's objectives

Sovereignty + territorial integrity + rapid economic development, via non-alignment

PM and Foreign Minister 1946-64.

Balance tested

1956: led protest against Suez attack on Egypt; did not condemn Soviet invasion of Hungary

Aid from both blocs.

Afro-Asian unity

Asian Relations Conference Mar 1947; Indonesia conference 1949; Bandung 1955; NAM Belgrade Sept 1961

Nehru, Nkrumah, Nasser, Sukarno, Tito.

China timeline

1949	recognition
1950	Tibet taken
1954	(29 Apr) Panchsheel
1957-59	Aksai Chin road
1959	Dalai Lama asylum
1962	(Oct) invasion
1976	relations restored
1979	Vajpayee visit

Disputed: Aksai Chin and NEFA (Arunachal).

1962 effects

Image dented; US and UK help, USSR neutral; Krishna Menon resigns; first no-confidence motion; CPI split 1964; Northeast reorganised

Nationalism strengthened.

Pakistan timeline

1947	Kashmir proxy war
1960	Indus Waters Treaty
1965	war, Jan 1966 Tashkent
1971	(Dec) war, 3 July 1972 Shimla
1999	Kargil

World Bank mediated Indus treaty.

1971 war facts

80 lakh refugees; Kissinger visit July 1971; Indo-Soviet treaty Aug 1971; 90,000 surrender; Bangladesh freed

Indira Gandhi's popularity soared.

Defence spending

Dept of Defence Production Nov 1962; Dept of Defence Supplies Nov 1965; Fourth Plan only in 1969

Wars derailed planning.

Nuclear policy

Bhabha programme late 1940s; NPT 1968 refused; May 1974 peaceful explosion; 1995 NPT extension opposed; CTBT refused; May 1998 tests

Doctrine: credible minimum deterrence, no first use.

How the board asks India’s External Relations

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember India’s External Relations

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• Nehru's objectives

  "STD": Sovereignty, Territorial integrity, Development.

  Use it when: Foreign policy goals.

• NAM founders

  "Nehru's Neighbours Seek Togetherness": Nehru, Nkrumah, Nasser, Sukarno, Tito.

  Use it when: NAM leadership.

• Wars and agreements

  "62 China; 65 Tashkent (66); 71 Shimla (72)".

  Use it when: War-agreement pairs.

• Nuclear years

  "68 NPT, 74 peaceful, 98 tests".

  Use it when: Nuclear policy.

India’s External Relations: board-level solved questions

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Case-study practice (Section E style)

Read the situation, then answer every part. In the board paper this is a 4-mark question split into 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 marks.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is split into step marks. Show every step: a right final answer alone rarely earns full marks.

Where students lose marks in India’s External Relations

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Saying the USSR supported India in 1962

  Confusion with 1971.

  ✓Do this: The USSR stayed neutral in 1962; India got help from the US and Britain.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Confusing the Tashkent and Shimla Agreements

  Both India-Pakistan agreements.

  ✓Do this: Tashkent: Shastri-Ayub, January 1966 (after 1965); Shimla: Indira-Bhutto, 3 July 1972 (after 1971).

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Writing that non-alignment meant neutrality on all issues

  Common misconception.

  ✓Do this: It meant not joining military blocs while taking independent stands (e.g. Suez protest).

  Usually costs: 1-2 marks.

• ✗Mistake: Dating Bandung and the first NAM summit wrongly

  Both linked.

  ✓Do this: Bandung 1955 led to NAM; first summit Belgrade, September 1961.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Calling the 1974 test a weapons test

  Confusion with 1998.

  ✓Do this: India termed 1974 a peaceful explosion; 1998 tests demonstrated military capability.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

NCERT exercise guide: India’s External Relations

What each exercise in the NCERT chapter tests, how to approach it, and a question of the same kind solved step by step. Questions here are written in our own words.

Practice questions on India’s External Relations

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

   The first NAM summit was held at:
   (a) Bandung
   (b) Belgrade
   (c) New Delhi
   (d) Cairo

   Hint

   September 1961.

   Answer

   (b) Belgrade.

2. Q2 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

   The Indus Waters Treaty was mediated by:
   (a) the UN
   (b) the World Bank
   (c) the Soviet Union
   (d) the USA

   Hint

   Nehru and Ayub Khan, 1960.

   Answer

   (b).

3. Q3 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonBoard level

   Assertion (A): India refused to sign the NPT.
   Reason (R): India considered the NPT discriminatory.
   Choose (a)-(d).

   Hint

   Five powers keep weapons.

   Answer

   (a) Both are true and R explains A.

4. Q4 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level

   Assertion (A): The Soviet Union brokered the Tashkent Agreement.
   Reason (R): The Soviet Union supported China during the 1962 war.
   Choose (a)-(d).

   Hint

   USSR in 1962.

   Answer

   (c) A is true but R is false: the Soviet Union remained neutral in 1962.

5. Q5 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder board level

   Why did Nehru regard the conduct of foreign relations as an indicator of independence? (2 marks)

   Hint

   Constituent Assembly, March 1949.

   Answer

   He argued that independence fundamentally consists of foreign relations; if foreign relations are controlled by someone else, a country is not truly independent, and all else is only local autonomy. Examples: India's independent stands through non-alignment and refusal to sign the NPT.

6. Q6 · 2 marks · Very short answerHOTS / competency

   Suppose two neighbours share a stream and keep quarrelling over a boundary wall, yet still agree on a fair schedule for drawing water. What does this show, with an India-Pakistan example? (2 marks)

   Hint

   Cooperation despite conflict.

   Answer

   Conflict on one issue need not stop cooperation on another. Despite the Kashmir dispute, India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960 (World Bank mediation), which has worked well, and cooperated to return abducted women.

7. Q7 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level

   Write a short note on consensus in foreign policy matters in India. (4 marks)

   Hint

   Limited role in party politics.

   Answer

   Although parties differ slightly on how to conduct external relations, Indian politics shows broad agreement on national integration, protection of international boundaries and national interest. So during 1962-1971, when India fought three wars, and later when different parties came to power, foreign policy played only a limited role in party politics. Even shifts, like the Janata government's 'genuine non-alignment' in 1977 and later better ties with China and the US, were pursued by Congress and non-Congress governments alike.

8. Q8 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level

   How did wars affect India's planned development? (2 marks)

   Hint

   Defence spending.

   Answer

   Scarce resources were diverted to defence after 1962 (Department of Defence Production, November 1962; Defence Supplies, November 1965). The Third Plan was affected, three Annual Plans followed and the Fourth Plan began only in 1969.

9. Q9 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   How does political leadership affect foreign policy? Give examples from India. (4 marks)

   Hint

   Nehru, Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Janata.

   Answer

   Nehru, as PM and Foreign Minister, shaped non-alignment, Afro-Asian unity, Panchsheel and nuclear disarmament advocacy; his assessment of China was later criticised. Shastri led India in the 1965 war, ordering the Punjab counter-offensive and signing the Tashkent Agreement. Indira Gandhi signed the 1971 Soviet treaty, led the Bangladesh war and the Shimla Agreement; the 1974 nuclear test took place in her time. The Janata government (1977) promised genuine non-alignment to correct the pro-Soviet tilt.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.When was the Asian Relations Conference held?Show answer

   March 1947.

2. 2.Who signed Panchsheel and when?Show answer

   Nehru and Zhou Enlai, on 29 April 1954.

3. 3.Where is perhaps the largest Tibetan refugee settlement in India?Show answer

   Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh.

4. 4.When were full diplomatic relations between India and China restored?Show answer

   In 1976.

5. 5.Where did Pakistan first attack in 1965?Show answer

   The Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, in April 1965.

6. 6.How many Pakistani soldiers surrendered in 1971?Show answer

   About 90,000.

7. 7.Under whose guidance did India's nuclear programme begin?Show answer

   Homi J. Bhabha.

8. 8.What does India's nuclear doctrine profess?Show answer

   Credible minimum nuclear deterrence with 'no first use'.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐Can you state Nehru's three objectives and strategy?
• ☐Can you explain why non-alignment's balance was not always perfect?
• ☐Can you list India's steps for Afro-Asian unity?
• ☐Can you explain Panchsheel and the Tibet issue?
• ☐Can you give causes and consequences of the 1962 war?
• ☐Can you describe cooperation between India and Pakistan despite conflict?
• ☐Can you narrate the 1965 war and Tashkent?
• ☐Can you narrate the 1971 war, the Soviet treaty and Shimla?
• ☐Can you explain India's nuclear policy from Bhabha to 1998?
• ☐Can you explain consensus in foreign policy?

India’s External Relations: frequently asked questions