INDIA'S NON-ALIGNMENT AND THE INDO-SOVIET TREATY

This analytical study examines the relationship between India's professed non-alignment policy and its strategic partnership with the Soviet Union as embodied in the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. The article explores the theoretical and practical tensions between non-alignment principles and special relationships with major powers, using the Indian case as a key example. The research investigates the historical context of the Indo-Soviet Treaty, analyzing the strategic calculations that led India to formalize its relationship with the Soviet Union during the Bangladesh liberation war. The study examines how successive Indian governments have reconciled the treaty commitments with non-alignment rhetoric and practice in different international contexts. The article assesses the impact of the Indo-Soviet relationship on India's autonomy in foreign policy, its positioning in the Non-Aligned Movement, and its relations with other major powers. The research also evaluates how changing international dynamics in the early 1980s were affecting the Indo-Soviet relationship and India's non-alignment posture. Furthermore, the analysis considers the broader implications for understanding non-alignment as a foreign policy strategy in the contemporary international system.

The relationship between India's non-alignment policy and its strategic partnership with the Soviet Union represented one of the most significant dilemmas in post-colonial foreign policy, with this article providing a comprehensive analysis of this tension during the early 1980s. The research begins by examining the historical context of the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, analyzing how the Bangladesh crisis, US-China rapprochement, and regional security concerns influenced India's decision to formalize its relationship with Moscow. The analysis explores the theoretical foundations of non-alignment, examining how different interpretations—from equidistance between blocs to independent judgment on issues—created space for special relationships while maintaining non-aligned credentials. The article investigates how different Indian governments from Indira Gandhi to Morarji Desai and back to Indira Gandhi navigated the treaty relationship while articulating non-alignment principles in international forums. The study examines specific issue areas where the treaty relationship influenced Indian foreign policy, including UN voting patterns, arms procurement, economic cooperation, and responses to international crises like Afghanistan and Cambodia. The research assesses the impact on India's leadership role in the Non-Aligned Movement, analyzing how other NAM members perceived India's Soviet relationship and how India justified this relationship within non-alignment frameworks. Based on the comprehensive assessment, the article develops a nuanced understanding of how major non-aligned states navigate strategic partnerships while maintaining rhetorical and substantive commitment to non-alignment principles. The findings provide valuable insights into the practical implementation of non-alignment in a bipolar international system and contribute to understanding how middle powers balance principle and pragmatism in foreign policy.