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68 PoliticsinIndiasinceIndependence further after the 1971 war. After the war, assembly elections in most States took place, bringing large majorities for the Congress party in many states. India, with its limited resources, had initiated development planning. However, conflicts with neighbours derailed the five-year plans.Thescarceresourcesweredivertedtothedefencesectorespecially after 1962, as India had to embark on a military modernisation drive. The Department of Defence Production was established in November 1962 and the Department of Defence Supplies in November 1965. The Third Plan (1961-66) was affected and it was followed by three Annual Plans and the Fourth Plan could be initiated only in 1969. India’s defence expenditure increased enormously after the wars. India’snuclearpolicy Another crucial development of this period was the first nuclear explosion undertaken by India in May 1974. Nehru had always put his faith in science and technology for rapidly building a modern India. A significant component of his industrialisation plans was the nuclear programme initiated in the late 1940s under the guidance of Homi J. Bhabha. India wanted to generate atomic energy for peaceful purposes. Nehru was against nuclear weapons. So he pleaded with the superpowers for comprehensive nuclear disarmament. However, the nuclear arsenal kept rising. When Communist China conducted nuclear tests in October 1964, the five nuclear weapon powers, the US, USSR, UK, France, and China (Taiwan then represented China) – also the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council – tried to impose the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 on the rest of the world. India always considered the NPT as discriminatory and had refused to sign it. When India conducted its first nuclear test, it was termed as peaceful explosion. India argued that it was committed to the policy of using nuclear power only for peaceful purposes. I am confused! Isn’t The period when the nuclear test was conducted was a difficult it all about atom period in domestic politics. Following the Arab-Israel War of 1973, the bombs? Why don’t entire world was affected by the Oil Shock due to the massive hike in we say so? the oil prices by the Arab nations. It led to economic turmoil in India resulting in high inflation. As you will read in Chapter Six, many agitations were going on in the country around this time, including a nationwide railway strike. Although there are minor differences among political parties about how to conduct external relations, Indian politics is generally marked by a broad agreement among the parties on national integration, protection of international boundaries, and on questions of national interest. Therefore, we find that in the course of the decade of 1962-1971, when India faced three wars, or even later, when different parties came to power from time to time, foreign policy has played only a limited role in party politics. Reprint 2026-27