India’s non-aligned policy is under severe strain at present as the world has been divided into two over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Whilst countries like America (US) along with a few European nations are urging India to join their camp, Russia and China on the other side are unhappy about India’s reluctance to support them. On its part, New Delhi has categorically maintained that its stand will be completely dictated by national interest as well as the prevailing global scenario. Naturally, India’s upright stand has not pleased anyone and both sides are trying to create a situation to force India to toe their lines. Some international relations experts are of the view that India may have to shed its non-aligned policy sooner than later as the world has undergone a sea of change since the time Jawaharlal Nehru along with Marshal Tito and Gamal Abdel Nasser initiated the non-aligned movement (NAM). There are different opinions against the very thought too, which argues that nearly the four-month-old war in Eastern Europe has undoubtedly proven the benefits of the non-aligned policy. This group has further stressed that India is now the most sought after country as it has not committed its support towards any country involved in the war.
Whatever may be the opinion of experts, it can be safely concluded that close proximity with a superpower always invites more problems than solutions. If the old-timers are to be believed, since Independence India has always been pressured to join such camps repeatedly. Every time, New Delhi has rejected those proposals for the sake of its non-aligned policy. Everything was going well since the dissolution of the erstwhile Soviet Union (USSR) in the eighties. At that time, many opined that in a unipolar world the non-aligned policy would prove irrelevant. Again, India resisted the temptation of joining any block and practiced the non-aligned policy despite a number of nations leaving the movement midway. As the war began, many expected that the situation would force India to drop the non-aligned policy as majority of nations led by the US are supporting Ukraine.
Once again, India has proven the critics of the non-aligned policy wrong by staying neutral in regard to all resolutions brought before the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for or against Russia. As usual, India’s stand has antagonised both sides as it refused to support the flag bearers of neo-colonialism by surrendering before the super powers. India has remained unruffled and has continued its usual business with foreign countries. As a result, the world is now considering reviving non-aligned movement once again to aid in bringing back peace in the world. As a matter of fact, to prevent more destruction due to war, the non-aligned nations should put pressure on the warring sides to end the war at once giving up the idea of establishing hegemony in any part of the world by respecting each other’s sovereignty, one of the clauses of ‘Panchsheel’ policy presented to the world by India.