ABSTRACT
Independent India's foreign policy was developed to a great extent in the aftermath of the Second World War where the most important feature was bi-polarity and superpower confrontation. Nonalignment was a 'common-sense approach' to India's foreign policy after independence combining 'pragmatism' with 'prudence'. It was the coherent guiding principle that countered the criticism that India's foreign policy was too often episodic and reactive. Anti-imperialism became an aspect of Indian foreign policy due to India's own experience of British imperialism. Anti-imperialism gradually percolated down to the Indian masses in the course of the Indian freedom movement, especially through such struggles as the Swadeshi movement, the non-co-operation movement, the civil disobedience movement and the quit India movement. Although India's international concerns remained steady, after Nehru's death the regional part of foreign policy formulation increased in importance. India's foreign policy evolved as a 'dual' pattern, encompassing a global as well as a regional role.
