PYQ Vault · Paper 2 · Indian Foreign Policy: Determinants & Institutions
“India’s current foreign policy marks significant qualitative shifts from that of previous regimes”. Discuss.
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
_—-R!-_:« Shift is real → but measured in ambition, pace, risk- appetite → nota break with core interests R2 question tests rupture vs evolution → stake: qualitative shift genuine, yet grounded in continuity
Body flow
change of self-image: balancing power → leading power → institutional markers (Quad, JAI trilateral, Act East, foundational agreements with US, SAGAR) → West Asia recalibration: Desai (Palestine no longer zero-sum) → Pant (old balancing dropped, UAE/Saudi ties) → firmer posture (Doklam, surgical + pre-emptive strikes) → new risk-appetite
Counter-view
continuities persist → Gandhian idealism, Gujral Doctrine with some neighbours, strategic autonomy, South-South cooperation
Conclusion routes
X!''_:- Raja Mohan's ‘Third Republic’ → new chapter after Nehruvian and Manmohan eras R2 shifts genuine but build on strategic autonomy + civilisational identity → evolution, not rupture
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
