PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · Indian Foreign Policy: Determinants & Institutions
Critically analyze the different phases of India’s foreign policy since independence. How justified, do you think, is S. Jaishankar’s classification of the current phase as the phase of ‘energetic diplomacy’?
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
lntre routes R1 evolution, not rupture → permanent factors (geography /history/culture) continuity vs dynamic factors change → strategic autonomy the constant yardstick k2 six named phases = adaptation to circumstance → present phase the one to test → judge it against the constant thread
Body flow
optimistic non-alignment (1946-62, NAM) → realism & discovery (1962-70, 1962 war → Indo-Soviet Treaty) → regional assertion (1971-91, Bangladesh, Pokhran) → strategic autonomy (1991-99, unipolar → US/Israel/ASEAN) → balancing power (2000-2013, India-US nuclear deal, Russia/China) — each answers its moment, core intact → energetic diplomacy (2014—-present): leading-power aim → India Way (‘transactional bazaar'/‘frenemies’, interests over idealism) → engage America/manage China/reassure Russia → markers: Global South, Indo-Pacific, BRICS-—G20-SCO, Viksit Bharat 2047
Counter-view
__ label captures activism + risk-taking vs strong continuity of core aims (autonomy/security/development) → hard to categorise, India early in transition → government ahead of Track-II (media /think-tanks /academia)
Conclusion routes
R1 ‘energetic diplomacy’ justified as tempo & ambition, not a settled doctrine R2 phases show adaptability & pragmatism; strategic autonomy the value that survives every shift
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
