From chanakya to modi evolution of india’s foreign policy

Parthians, Greeks, Mongols, Turks and Afghans did not. Even then, instead
of diminishing India’s sense of self, British colonial rule only helped create
a framework of institutions that enabled India to grow beyond its self-
imposed isolation. The Indian independence struggle gave Indians a
platform to restore India’s glorious past while building an independent
future.
Before the advent of Western colonial powers, Indian empires asserted a
civilizational sphere of influence from the Persian Gulf to South-East Asia.
Geography also played a significant role in emphasizing and defining the
importance of India’s land and sea borders. Indian empires often

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incorporated neighbouring territories in order to create buffer states to
ensure security. Modern India has inherited both the belief in a
civilizational sphere of influence and in the idea that geographic neighbours
are critical to a state’s security against invasion, irredentism and
disintegration. For the makers of India’s foreign policy, the Indian
subcontinent is one entity, the states neighbouring India are important for
India’s security and India’s immediate area of interest extends from the
Middle East to South-East Asia.
India’s inheritance in the sphere of philosophy and thought has added to
the world view shaped by geography and security compulsions. Writing in
the 1960s, American scholar on South Asia Norman Palmer noted, ‘Almost
every aspect of foreign as well as of domestic policy in India seems to be
rooted in tradition and to have philosophical underpinnings.’
3
 The invoking
of tradition varies depending on the personality of contemporary India’s
current leader. For example, Nehru cited history frequently in his speeches
whereas some of his successors did not. Modi’s deference to tradition
comes in the form of leading mass yoga sessions on International Yoga Day
more than in historic references in speeches. There is, however, a
continuous trend of turning to India’s heritage both to generate national
pride and to explain contemporary policies.
India’s five millennia as a civilizational entity has always involved
engagement with the outside world. Right from the earliest times, Indian
kingdoms and empires maintained ties with other countries and regions.
There is evidence of diplomatic relations between ancient Indian kingdoms
and those in China, Rome, Greece, Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Hindu and
Buddhist religions that arose in India expanded beyond the subcontinent,
providing evidence of India’s links beyond its shores and mountains. Some
South-East Asian empires were even led by dynasties which practised

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Hinduism and Buddhism – such as the Sri Vijaya Empire in present-day
Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia (Java) during the seventh century.
The makers of modern India have often sought inspiration from their
country’s long history. Most Indians believe that India and Indians have a
rich inheritance, including philosophies and ideas, and contemporary India
can only grow under the shadow of its past. This general principle, of the
present being guided by the past and the future only reflecting it, also
applies to the realm of foreign policy.
For example, Kotha Satchidananda Murty, an Indian philosopher and
professor, compares and contrasts Indian philosophical streams with those
of the West. Writing in the 1960s, Murty asserts there were two
philosophical streams in Indian foreign policy, one realist and the other
idealist or moralist. Murty traces Indian realism to ancient treatises like the
Arthasastra
s, 
Dharmasastra
s and