ABSTRACT

This chapter traces and explores the origins of India's strategic thought and suggests that there are ideologies in the Indian context that have existed relatively consistently through time and historical experience. It addresses the geographical, historical and ideational contexts of India's strategic thinking. The chapter discusses the ideas of Kautilya and Mahatma Gandhi's in terms of whether these constitute the essential foundations for India's strategic culture. It explores the relevance of Kautilya's and Mahatma Gandhi's ideas for India's nuclear strategy in the contemporary era. The size and the diversity of India's geographic environment has been an important feature in the development of the Indian subcontinent. The most significant aspect of the Arthasastra for a student of Indian strategic policy is Kautilya's conception of the elements of the state, the 'spheres of influence' or 'mandala', and the sixfold foreign policy. Mahatma Gandhi's ideas cover almost all issues in contemporary politics: from individual to global ideals.