Editing Jawaharlal Nehru (section)

=== Foreign policy ===
{{further|List of state visits made by Jawaharlal Nehru}}
{{See also|India and the Non-Aligned Movement}}
Throughout his long tenure as the prime minister, Nehru also held the portfolio of [[Minister of External Affairs (India)|External Affairs]].  His idealistic approach focused on giving India a leadership position in nonalignment. He sought to build support among the newly independent nations of Asia and Africa in opposition to the two hostile superpowers contesting the Cold War.

==== The Commonwealth ====

[[File:Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Ministers of the Commonwealth Nations, at Windsor Castle (1960 Commonwealth Prime Minister's Conference).jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of Queen Elizabeth II with Nehru and other Commonwealth leaders |[[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth&nbsp;II]] with Nehru and other Commonwealth leaders, taken at the [[1960 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference|1960 Commonwealth Conference]], [[Windsor Castle]]]]

After independence, Nehru wanted to maintain good relations with Britain and other British Commonwealth countries. As prime minister of the [[Dominion of India]], he acquiesced only after Krishna Menon's redrafting of  the 1949 [[London Declaration]], under which India agreed to remain within the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] after becoming a republic in January 1950, and to recognise the British monarch as a "symbol of the free association of its independent member nations and as such the Head of the Commonwealth".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DGU-AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA265 |title=The Journal of Korean Studies, Volume 18, Number 2 (Fall 2013) |last1=Sorensen |first1=Clark W. |last2=Baker |first2=Donald |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-4422-3336-2|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5FbNCwAAQBAJ&pg=PR2 |title=The Rise, Decline and Future of the British Commonwealth |last=K. Srinivasan |date=7 November 2005 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] UK |isbn=978-0-230-24843-4 |page=11}}</ref> The other nations of the Commonwealth recognised India's continuing membership of the association.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://thecommonwealth.org/london-declaration|title = London Declaration|date = 16 May 2019|access-date = 22 August 2021|archive-date = 4 July 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210704130811/https://thecommonwealth.org/london-declaration|url-status = dead}}</ref>

==== Non-aligned movement ====
[[File:Jawaharlal Nehru’s tour of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 1961 (01).jpg|thumb|alt= See caption |Nehru with [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] and [[Josip Broz Tito]] in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 1961]]
On the international scene, Nehru was an opponent of military action and military alliances. He was a strong supporter of the United Nations, except when it tried to resolve the Kashmir question. He pioneered the policy of non-alignment and co-founded the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] of nations professing neutrality between the rival blocs of nations led by the US and the USSR.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jawaharlal-nehru-the-architect-of-indias-foreign-policy/articleshow/58767014.cms|title=Non-Aligned Movement: Jawaharlal Nehru – The architect of India's foreign policy|date=20 May 2017|first=Affanul|last=Haque|website=The Times of India|access-date=7 January 2022|archive-date=6 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006223403/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/jawaharlal-nehru-the-architect-of-indias-foreign-policy/articleshow/58767014.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> The term "non-alignment" was coined earlier by [[V. K. Krishna Menon]] at the United Nations in 1953 and 1954.<ref>{{cite book | last=Ali | first=H.M.W. | title=India and the Non-aligned Movement | publisher=Adam Pub. | year=2004 | isbn=978-81-7435-367-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VezCRvqKq7MC&pg=PA7 | page=7}}</ref> India recognised the People's Republic of China soon after its founding (while most of the Western bloc continued relations with [[Taiwan]]). Nehru argued for its inclusion in the United Nations and refused to brand the Chinese as the aggressors in the west's conflict with Korea.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Robert Sherrod |author-link=Robert Sherrod|date=19 January 1963 |title=Nehru:The Great Awakening |journal=[[The Saturday Evening Post]] |volume=236 |issue=2 |pages=60–67}}</ref> He sought to establish warm and friendly relations with China in 1950 and hoped to act as an intermediary to bridge the gulf and tensions between the communist states and the Western bloc.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bf8vAQAAIAAJ|title = Encyclopaedia Indica: Great political personalities of Post Colonial Era-I|date = 1996|pages=81|first= Shyam Singh|last=Shashi|publisher = Anmol Publications|isbn = 9788170418597}}</ref>

Nehru was a key organiser of the [[Bandung Conference]] of April 1955, which brought 29 newly independent nations together from Asia and Africa, and was designed to galvanise the nonalignment movement under Nehru's leadership. He envisioned it as his key leadership opportunity on the world stage, where he would bring together emerging nations.<ref>[[Sarvepalli Gopal]],''"Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography" Vol.2'', 2:232–235.</ref> He was one of the key participants of the [[1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement]] in 1961 in [[Belgrade]], [[FPR Yugoslavia]].

==== Defence and nuclear policy ====
While averse to war, Nehru led the campaigns against Pakistan in Kashmir. He used military force to annexe [[Indian annexation of Hyderabad|Hyderabad in 1948]] and Goa in 1961. While laying the foundation stone of the [[National Defence Academy]] in 1949, he stated:<blockquote>We, who for generations had talked about and attempted in everything a peaceful way and practised non-violence, should now be, in a sense, glorifying our army, navy and air force. It means a lot. Though it is odd, yet it simply reflects the oddness of life. Though life is logical, we have to face all contingencies, and unless we are prepared to face them, we will go under. There was no greater prince of peace and apostle of non-violence than Mahatma Gandhi...but yet, he said it was better to take the sword than to surrender, fail or run away. We cannot live carefree assuming that we are safe. Human nature is such. We cannot take the risks and risk our hard-won freedom. We have to be prepared with all modern defence methods and a well-equipped army, navy, and air force."<ref>''[[Indian Express]],'' 6 October 1949 at Pune at the time of lying of the foundation stone of [[National Defence Academy]].</ref><ref>Mahatma Gandhi's relevant quotes, "My non-violence does not admit of running away from danger and leaving dear ones unprotected. Between violence and cowardly flight, I can only prefer violence to cowardice. Non-violence is the summit of bravery."
"I do believe that, where there is only a choice between cowardice and violence, I would advise violence." "I would rather have India resort to arms in order to defend her honour than that she should in a cowardly manner become or remain a helpless witness to her own dishonour." – All Men Are Brothers Life and Thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi as told in his own words. UNESCO. pp. 85–108.</ref></blockquote>

Many hailed Nehru for working to defuse global tensions and the threat of [[nuclear weapon]]s after the [[Korean War]] (1950–1953).<ref>{{Cite book | publisher = Panchsheel Publishers| page = 131| last = Bhatia| first = Vinod| title = Jawaharlal Nehru, as Scholars of Socialist Countries See Him| year = 1989}}</ref> He commissioned the first study of the [[effects of nuclear explosions on human health]] and campaigned ceaselessly for the [[Nuclear disarmament|abolition]] of what he called "these frightful engines of destruction". He also had pragmatic reasons for promoting de-nuclearization, fearing a nuclear arms race would lead to over-militarisation that would be unaffordable for developing countries such as his own.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = [[C. Hurst & Co.]] Publishers| pages = 141, 261|url={{Google books|X90G8gnoqv4C|page=PA141|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}|isbn=978-1-85065-180-2| last = Dua| first = B. D. | author2=James Manor| title = Nehru to the Nineties: The Changing Office of Prime Minister in India| year = 1994}}</ref>

==== Defending Kashmir ====
{{further|Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948|UN mediation of the Kashmir dispute}}
[[File:Nehru visiting Srinagar Brigade Headquarters Military Hospital.jpg|right|thumb|Nehru inspecting the troops on a visit to the Srinagar Brigade Headquarters Military Hospital, April 1948]]
At [[Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma|Lord Mountbatten's]] urging, in 1948, Nehru had promised to hold a [[plebiscite]] in [[Kashmir]] under the auspices of the UN.<ref>{{Cite book |url={{Google books|4Rh7DAdsK0gC|page=PA137|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |title=Raj, Secrets, Revolution: A Life of Subhas Chandra Bose |last=Mihir Bose |publisher=Grice Chapman Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-9545726-4-8 |page=291}}</ref> Kashmir was a disputed territory between India and Pakistan, the two have [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1947|gone to war]] over it in 1947. However, as Pakistan failed to pull back troops in accordance with the UN resolution, and as Nehru grew increasingly wary of the UN, he declined to hold a plebiscite in 1953. His policies on Kashmir and the integration of the state into India were frequently defended before the United Nations by his aide, V. K. Krishna Menon, who earned a reputation in India for his passionate speeches.<ref name="nytimes1974">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/06/archives/vk-krishna-menon-india-defense-minister-un-aide-dies-a-year-of.html |title=V.K. Krishna Menon, India Defense Minister, U.N. Aide, Dies |date=6 October 1974 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2 December 2018 |archive-date=2 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202155117/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/06/archives/vk-krishna-menon-india-defense-minister-un-aide-dies-a-year-of.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1953, Nehru orchestrated the ouster and arrest of [[Sheikh Abdullah]], the prime minister of Kashmir, whom he had previously supported but was now suspected of harbouring separatist ambitions; [[Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad]] replaced him.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/A-fateful-arrest/article15401893.ece|title=A fateful arrest|first=Ramachandra|last=Guha|date=2 August 2008|access-date=15 August 2021|work=[[The Hindu]]|archive-date=19 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319081416/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/A-fateful-arrest/article15401893.ece|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MUeyUhVGIDMC&pg=PA1 |title=Jawaharlal Nehru, a Biography |last=Sankar Ghose |publisher=Allied Publishers |year=1993 |isbn=978-81-7023-369-5 |pages=1888–190}}{{page?|date=September 2024}}</ref>

Menon was instructed to deliver an unprecedented eight-hour speech defending India's stand on Kashmir in 1957; to date, the speech is the longest ever delivered in the [[United Nations Security Council]], covering five hours of the 762nd meeting on 23 January, and two hours and forty-eight minutes on the 24th, reportedly concluding with Menon's collapse on the Security Council floor.<ref name="nytimes1974" /> During the [[filibuster]], Nehru moved swiftly and successfully to consolidate Indian power in Kashmir (then under great unrest). Menon's passionate defence of Indian sovereignty in Kashmir enlarged his base of support in India and led to the Indian press temporarily dubbing him the "Hero of Kashmir". Nehru was then at the peak of his popularity in India; the only (minor) criticism came from the far right.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8272473.stm |title=A short history of long speeches |date=25 September 2009 |work=[[BBC News]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305174645/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8272473.stm |archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Majid, Amir A. |year=2007 |title=Can Self Determination Solve the Kashmir Dispute? |url=http://www.ier.ro/documente/rjea_vol7_no3/RJEA_Vol7_No3_Can_Self_Determination_Solve_the_Kashmir_Dispute.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Romanian Journal of European Affairs |volume=7 |issue=3 |page=38 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316211935/http://www.ier.ro/documente/rjea_vol7_no3/RJEA_Vol7_No3_Can_Self_Determination_Solve_the_Kashmir_Dispute.pdf |archive-date=16 March 2012}}</ref>

==== China ====
[[File:Prime Minister Nehru and Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of Nehru with Mao Zedong |Nehru and [[Mao Zedong]] in Beijing, China, October 1954]]
In 1954, Nehru signed with China the [[Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence]], known in India as the Panchsheel (from the Sanskrit words, ''panch'': five,'' sheel'': virtues), a set of principles to govern relations between the two states. Their first formal codification in treaty form was in an agreement between China and India in 1954, which recognised Chinese sovereignty over [[Tibet]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MUeyUhVGIDMC&pg=PA1 |title=Jawaharlal Nehru, a Biography |last=Sankar Ghose |publisher=Allied Publishers |year=1993 |isbn=978-81-7023-369-5 |pages=266–268}}</ref> They were enunciated in the preamble to the "Agreement (with the exchange of notes) on Trade and Intercourse between Tibet Region of China and India", which was signed at Peking on 29&nbsp;April 1954. Negotiations took place in Delhi from December 1953 to April 1954 between the Delegation of the [[People's Republic of China]] (PRC) Government and the Delegation of the Indian Government on the relations between the two countries regarding the disputed territories of [[Aksai Chin]] and South Tibet. By 1957, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai had also persuaded Nehru to accept the Chinese position on Tibet, thus depriving Tibet of a possible ally, and of the possibility of receiving military aid from India.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Li |first1=Jianglin |last2=Wilf |first2=Susan |title=Tibet in agony : Lhasa 1959 |year=2016 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=40–41 |isbn=978-0-674-08889-4 |oclc=946579956}}</ref> The treaty was disregarded in the 1960s, but in the 1970s, the Five Principles again came to be seen as important in [[China–India relations]], and more generally as norms of relations between states. They became widely recognised and accepted throughout the region during the premiership of Indira Gandhi and the three-year rule of the [[Janata Party]] (1977–1980).<ref>The full text of this agreement (which entered into force on 3 June 1954): {{Cite web |url=http://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%20299/v299.pdf |title=Treaties and international agreements registered or filed and recorded with the Secretariat of the United Nations |year=1958 |website=[[United Nations Treaty Series]] |publisher=United Nations |location=New York |pages=57–81 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327031415/http://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%20299/v299.pdf |archive-date=27 March 2012 |access-date=14 August 2012 |volume=299}}</ref> Although the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were the basis of the 1954 Sino-Indian border treaty, in later years, Nehru's foreign policy suffered from increasing Chinese assertiveness over border disputes and his decision to grant [[Right of asylum|asylum]] to the [[14th Dalai Lama]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/9x8RPd562DusWqVQQ91NfN/Nehrus-India.html |title=Nehru's India |date=23 May 2014 |access-date=15 August 2021 |work=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]] |archive-date=12 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221212075501/https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/9x8RPd562DusWqVQQ91NfN/Nehrus-India.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== United States ====
[[File:Indo US.jpg|thumb|alt=See caption |Nehru receiving US President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] at Parliament House, 1959]]
[[File:President John F. Kennedy Meets with Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru (1).jpg|right|thumb|Nehru with John F. Kennedy at the White House, 7 November 1961]]
In 1956, Nehru criticised the joint invasion of the [[Suez Canal]] by the British, French, and Israelis. His role, both as Indian prime minister and a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, was significant; he tried to be even-handed between the two sides while vigorously denouncing [[Anthony Eden]] and co-sponsors of the invasion. Nehru had a powerful ally in the US President Dwight Eisenhower who, if relatively silent publicly, went to the extent of using America's clout at the [[International Monetary Fund]] to make Britain and France back down. During the [[Suez crisis]], Nehru's right-hand man, Menon attempted to persuade a recalcitrant [[Gamal Nasser]] to compromise with the West and was instrumental in moving Western powers towards an awareness that Nasser might prove willing to compromise.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/indias-moment-in-the-suez-canal-crisis/article9320638.ece|title=India's moment in the Suez Canal crisis|first=Swapna Kona|last=Nayudu|date=8 November 2016|access-date=15 August 2021|website=[[Business Line]]|archive-date=28 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728020914/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/indias-moment-in-the-suez-canal-crisis/article9320638.ece|url-status=live}}</ref>