Maharashtra Board Class 9 Political Science Chapter 5 India and other Countries PDF Download

India And Other Countries

Let's Revise!

In the last chapter, we studied the United Nations and got to know about its role in peacekeeping. We also got to know that India has always helped the United Nations in this task. In this chapter, we shall take a critical review of India's relations with neighbouring countries. We will also understand India's relations with some faraway nations.

With help of the map of South Asia given below, find out India's neighbours, with whom India shares her boundaries.

Find out which other of our neighbouring countries share boundaries with each other.

India And Her Neighbours

India's position in Asia is geographically and politically important.

Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Maldives are India's neighbours. The values of equality and mutual respect have a great importance in India's foreign policy. India has established relations with neighbouring countries on the basis of these values. India is the biggest country in the Indian subcontinent. Similarly, India is economically and technologically more advanced. It is thus natural that India has a great influence among the South Asian countries.

Teacher's Note

India helps all its neighbours like good family members help each other. Just like your family works together, India and its neighbouring countries also work together for peace and progress.

Exam Trick

Remember the 9 neighbours of India: Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. You can make a list and learn them in groups.

Points to Remember

India has nine neighbouring countries.
India is the biggest country in South Asia.
India is more advanced economically and technologically.
Equality and mutual respect are important in India's foreign policy.
India has great influence among South Asian countries.

India And Pakistan

In 1947 India was partitioned and two independent countries, India and Pakistan, were created.

India-Pakistan

Indo-Pak relations are influenced by three main factors:

1. Differences in the world views of both the countries

2. The Kashmir question

3. Nuclear rivalry between the two countries

India and Pakistan have totally different world views. In line with the Indian world view, India opposed the military alliances of the Cold War and tried to solve the Indo-Pak conflict bilaterally. The Shimla Agreement of 1972 was based on this principle. On the other hand, Pakistan tried to maintain relations with the Islamic world and China and entered into a military agreement with America.

Pakistan considers Kashmir as the biggest hurdle in establishing relations with India. The first Indo-Pak war took place in 1965 over Kashmir. The Tashkent Agreement was signed in 1966, but nothing much came out of it. Even though the 1971 war was about the creation of Bangladesh, it also had the dimension of the Kashmir problem to it. The Shimla Agreement in1972 provided a new format to the interaction between India and Pakistan. In 1999, there was a conflict between India and Pakistan over the infiltration by Pakistan in the Kargil region. Even today the Kashmir question is the basic cause of conflict between the two countries. The nature of the conflict has changed and this new type of conflict can be described as terrorism.

Both India and Pakistan conducted nuclear tests in 1998 and that gave rise to new concerns in this region. Many countries feel that these two nations should not get locked in nuclear conflict. One more issue in Indo-Pak relations is the border dispute in Sir Creek area. Both countries have made efforts to establish a dialogue with each other; but considering the way in which Pakistan is supporting terrorists against India and is engineering terrorist activities in India, all efforts at establishing dialogue are proving to be unsuccessful.

Teacher's Note

India and Pakistan are like two brothers who sometimes fight over things. The main fight is about Kashmir, which is like a piece of land both want. We should always try to talk and make peace.

Exam Trick

Remember: Three main problems between India and Pakistan are (1) Different world views, (2) Kashmir, and (3) Nuclear weapons. Just remember KDD - Kashmir, Different views, and Dangerous nuclear weapons.

Points to Remember

India and Pakistan were created in 1947 when India was partitioned.
Kashmir is the biggest problem between the two countries.
The Shimla Agreement of 1972 was important for both countries.
Both countries did nuclear tests in 1998.
Terrorism is now a big problem in their relations.

India-China

The conflict between India and China is connected to two issues: 1. Border issue and 2. Status of Tibet

The Border dispute between India and China is related to Aksai Chin area and the Macmahon line. China claims that the area south of Aksai Chin and Macmahon line (Arunachal Pradesh) is Chinese Territory. China is not willing to agree that Macmahon Line is an international border. India made several efforts to sort this border dispute by means of dialogue. But it has not met with much success. In 1962 China attacked India.

Tibet was traditionally autonomous. But when China was stepping up its military control in Tibet, Dalai Lama took asylum in India. This issue has been responsible for the conflict between the two countries.

The threat to India's security is increasing due to the friendship between China and Pakistan, supply of weapons from China to Pakistan and also transfer of missile and nuclear weapons technology. The increasing friendship between China and Pakistan and increasing influence of China over India's other neighbours is a cause of concern for India. Even then, India has always made efforts to improve relations with China. A joint executive group has been set up to solve the Sino-Indian border dispute. When the rate of economic growth of both India and China increased, the trade relations between both the countries began to get strengthened. Because of improvement in economic and trade relations between India and China and a series of tripartite talks between Russia, China and India, Sino-Indian relations are improving slowly. Even though the border dispute is not completely resolved, it has taken a back seat and relations in other areas have become more important.

Teacher's Note

India and China are like two big neighbours who have some disagreement about their border. It is like two homes that share a wall and argue about the exact line of that wall. But both countries are now trading and talking more.

Exam Trick

Remember: China-India problems are (1) Border - Aksai Chin and Macmahon Line, and (2) Tibet - Dalai Lama. Just remember "Border and Buddha" - Border means land problem, Buddha means Tibet.

Points to Remember

The Macmahon line is the border between India and China.
China claims Arunachal Pradesh as its territory.
Dalai Lama took asylum in India from Tibet.
China and Pakistan are very friendly, which worries India.
Trade between India and China is now growing.

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