Question

State the role of Jawaharlal Nehru under the following heads:

1. Vision in starting the NAM.
2. Curbing the mad race for armaments.
3. As the spokesman for the newly independent countries of Asia and Africa.

Answer 1

1. Under Nehru's direction, India was the first nation to start the non-alignment trend.
   1. PT. Nehru was visionary.
   2. He came to see that joining any of the two major blocs would pose the most threat to the sovereignty and integrity of India and the other recently independent countries of Asia or Africa.
   3. He urged these nations to keep themselves away from the politics of two opposing camps, which had previously resulted in two world wars.
   4. He promoted respect between all countries for their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
   5. Nehru was the one who progressively guided Asian and African nations towards non-alignment.
   6. He persuaded these nations that they possessed immense moral power and that, working together, they could apply pressure on the problems of war and peace.
   7. He headed the Bandung Conference alongside Joseph Broze Tito of Yugoslavia, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Chou En Lai of China, Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam, and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, therefore confirming his points of view.
   8. Belgrade in 1956 gave the resolutions adopted at the Bandung Conference a final form.
   9. It was determined here to create a confederation of the recently sovereign nations.
2. Nehru also opposed the insane race for drmaments and demanded disarmament and eradication of nuclear weapon stockpiles. India signed a deal in 1963 outlawing nuclear tests in line with his disarmament strategy.
3. In the Cold War era, Nehru was recognised as the best voice for Asian and African State neutrality.
   1. Nehru spoke against the alignment policy, saying, "By aligning yourself with any one force, you lose your opinion and give up the policy you would ordinarily pursue because somebody else wants you to adopt another policy. I do not believe that is the appropriate policy for us to implement."
   2. Nehru disapproved of the military or financial alliances even if he was dedicated to the western interpretation of liberalism and democracy. He opposed these partnerships since he thought they promoted imperialism and colonialism and would probably lead to a race for weapons.
   3. Nehru opposed the two power blocs' stated ideology.
   4. His influence came from socialism. He therefore fervently supported democratic socialist ideas.
   5. His non-alignment approach was aimed to guarantee freedom of decision-making of the freshly decolonised nations, not to support a third bloc.
   6. Under Nehru's care, India significantly helped to disseminate the NAM message. India advanced the cause of freedom for several Asian and African nations still under foreign control.