ABSTRACT
From the day of Independence, the nation stood for secularism. In spite of the Partition, the riots that followed it, and Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, the country remained loyal to the secular vision of its founding fathers. Independent India’s foreign policy of nonaggression, the five principles of Panch Sheel from which arose the Non-Aligned Movement, along with Nehru’s stature, helped India gain international recognition and a sense of national pride.
