Page 22 - A Gender-Sensitive Indian Foreign Policy- Why? and How?

Indian Council
of World Affairs

Non-alignment represented the classical feminist approach of
rejecting binaries, either this or that.

Europeans. Some of that was because it was often presented that science
and technology were cited as biggest differences between the colonized and
the oppressors.

Nehruvian vision of embracing the scientific temper, was anchored in the
belief that India could get out of its political, social, economic stagnation and
carve a future for all its citizens. It was an important campaign which was
launched and we must give credit where it is due. The vision to achieve socio-
economic parity with the developed world as a foreign policy goal, to think
about ways in which we could hold our traditions to scrutiny and critique,
and to adopt rationality over obscurantism, with the sense of pride in the
civilisational heritage (which Nehru elaborated in his Discovery of India)
was very special. It was a delicate balance that India needed to achieve to
get socialised in the community of nations. Science and technology and the
scientific temper was, therefore, very important at that point of time.

The second idea that stands out in that era was non-alignment. Non-
alignment represented the classical feminist approach of rejecting binaries,
either this or that. I think it was quite innovative in imagining the world
beyond dominant ideologies, power blocks, the arms race, and ultimately
hegemony, which Amb. Rao also mentioned. Without doubt we have
followed some sort of non-alignment throughout our postcolonial history,
balancing out the big power configurations. As a concept, non-alignment
was a reflection of feminist ideals, theory, and practice. It did not deliver on
long term promises, but that does not necessarily mean that it was wrong to
have even imagined it.

Recognizing different shades of politics, and not being absolutely judgmental
is very critical, and while there may be other aspects but those two stands
out prominently as part of the gendered foreign policy we adopted. Then
came the Indira Gandhi era (time does not permit a detailed analysis) when
she took on the US, China, and Pakistan axis, especially during the Liberation
of Bangladesh (a colossal event in the history of the subcontinent whose
50th anniversary we commemorate this year). Her actions were driven by
humanitarian concerns and not entirely by geopolitical calculations. It is
evident, and the archives of that era reveal that there were huge concerns
about what was happening to women and children in East Pakistan. Indira
Gandhi articulated it in different forums, passionately arguing for a military
intervention as humanitarian gesture on the part of India. Returning 90,000

22 prisoner of wars to Pakistan without any kind of serious bargaining or firm
commitment was also reflective of a politics of trust and bilateralism that

Indian Council of World Affairs An ICWA Conversation