Nuclear policy and changing alliances

The wars of 1962, 1965 and 1971 were costly. Money went to defence instead of development. The Fourth Five Year Plan was delayed and could begin only in 1969.

Nuclear policy: under Nehru, India built a nuclear programme guided by the scientist Homi J. Bhabha. Its aim was peaceful energy. Nehru wanted the world to give up nuclear weapons altogether (universal disarmament).

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 let the five countries that already had nuclear weapons keep them, while stopping everyone else from getting them. India refused to sign it, calling it discriminatory: a treaty that divided the world into nuclear 'haves' and 'have-nots' permanently.

In May 1974, India conducted what it called a 'peaceful' nuclear test at Pokhran.

Later steps:

• India opposed the indefinite extension of the NPT in 1995 and refused to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
• In May 1998, India tested nuclear weapons and declared itself a nuclear power. Pakistan tested soon after.
• India's nuclear doctrine promises 'no first use': it will not be the first to use nuclear weapons, and it remains committed to a world free of them.

Continuity and change: Indian parties broadly agree on the basic aims of foreign policy. When the Janata Party came to power in 1977, it promised 'genuine non-alignment', meaning less tilt towards the Soviet Union. Ties with the US and China improved slowly, and much more after 1990, when the Cold War ended and India opened its economy.