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How did the Indian National Congress support nonalignment during the Cold War?

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Mahatma Gandhi, holding a walking stick, walks beside Sarojini Naidu during the Salt March protest in 1930, with several men following behind them. — Indian National Congress Indian National Congress leaders Mahatma Gandhi (left) and Sarojini Naidu (right) on the Salt March in western India, March 1930.

During the Cold War, the Indian National Congress championed a foreign policy of nonalignment, which sought to maintain India’s independence by avoiding formal military alliances with either the Western bloc or the communist bloc. Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, who served as the chief architect of this strategy, India aimed to form ties with both sides while actively participating in international affairs to promote peace and prevent global nuclear annihilation.12

This policy was grounded in the Five Principles, or Panch Shila, which emphasized mutual respect for territorial integrity, nonaggression, and noninterference in internal affairs. Nehru was a founding leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, which encouraged developing nations to abstain from collective defense arrangements that served the interests of the superpowers.23

Despite this commitment, the party’s approach was pragmatic and driven by national security interests. When American support for Pakistan threatened India’s security, the Congress Party moved to endorse a treaty of peace, friendship, and cooperation with the Soviet Union in 1971.214