NAM

Sunday, 27 September 2015

1:00 pm

NAM = NON ALIGNED MOVEMENT

This is one of the basic tenets of our foreign policy.
NAM has given a voice to the 3rd world countries, has promoted a sense of
solidarity among them. Without NAM to bind them together, their voice would
have gotten lost in international politics and these countries would have been
dominated by either one of the power blocs.
But due to NAM, we have a VOICE.
---> 1947: Even before India became formally free, an ASIAN RELATIONS
CONFERENCE hosted at Delhi
---> 1955: BANDUNG CONFERENCE -- A conference of Afro-Asian nations held in
Bandung, Indonesia. The participating states did not belong to any military or
political bloc
The 10 principles declared here contained the CORE ESSENCE of the PANCHSHEEL
which were to be declared later in the context of Sino-Indian relations.
---> 1961: BELGRADE SUMMIT: NAM was founded formally at BELGRADE,
Yugoslavia
---> India has ALWAYS opposed the discriminatory NPT and CTBT.
---> 1986: AFRICA Fund proposed by Rajiv Gandhi
AFRICA = Action For Resisting Invasion, Colonialism and Apartheid Fund --->
primarily aimed at ending apartheid, especially in South Africa
Is NAM still relevant today?
YES! Consider the dominance of the WTO, the World Bank, the hegemony of the
western powers, the dictatorial attitude of the P5 countries who are unwilling to
allow any change in the UNSC or give up their veto powers, the tensions between
RUSSIA and US, the Syria issue, the Crimea issue.

Is NAM still relevant today?

YES! Consider the dominance of the WTO, the World Bank, the hegemony of the
western powers, the dictatorial attitude of the P5 countries who are unwilling to
allow any change in the UNSC or give up their veto powers, the tensions between
RUSSIA and US, the Syria issue, the Crimea issue.