In a September 1946 radio broadcast, Jawaharlal Nehru singled out the US, Soviet Union and China as the three countries most relevant to India’s future. Historian Ramachandra Guha records that in 1947, speaking in the Constituent Assembly on how India hoped to be friends with both the US and the USSR, Nehru declared, “We lead ourselves.”
When India attained Independence, there was little doubt among its founding fathers on how the nation will lead. India would find its rightful place in the world by showing how numerous religions, languages, ethnic groups and communities can peacefully coexist and economically prosper without having to take sides in a polarised world. It was a nation that beat back colonialism with Gandhian non-violence. When it ushered in people’s rule, it was determined to marshal its diversity around the idea of India without compromising the principles of equality and freedom even when most outsiders did not give it a chance.
Though India’s voice has been clear at multilateral trade and governance forums, it has struggled to balance its political ambitions and national interest. That meant even though it was a leader of NAM, its defining relationship was with the USSR throughout the middle years of independent India’s existence. After the unravelling of the Soviet Union, the strategic landscape changed and India too had to change with it. The early signs of a more assertive but quiet diplomacy focussed on national interest can be found in the early Nineties.
An expansionist China also means other nations in the Asian neighbourhood would look up to India to provide leadership. Most nations are more comfortable with democratic India than autocratic China. A couple of years ago, Japan signed a security cooperation agreement with India. There is also a possibility of nuclear cooperation between the two nations. Japan also came to India’s rescue during the East Asia Summit in 2005. Suspecting that China wanted to keep the grouping under its influence, Japan lobbied hard to get India included along with Australia and New Zealand.
(This story appears in the 27 August, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)