Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) as an organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961, and was largely conceived by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru; Indonesia’s first President, Sukarno; Egypt’s second President, Gamal Abdel Nasser; Ghana’s first President Kwame Nkrumah; and Yugoslavia’s President, Josip Broz Tito. All five leaders were prominent advocates of a middle course for states in the Developing World between the Western and Eastern Blocs in the Cold War. The phrase itself was first used to represent the doctrine by Indian diplomat V. K. Krishna Menon in 1953, at the United Nations. The emergence of NAM was essentially a sequel to escalating tension between the Western and Eastern Blocs in the post-cold war era wherein the US led the Western and the Soviet Union led the Eastern Block. Increasing tension between the two blocs had become an impediment to the development of de-colonized countries that later on came to be labeled as the Third World.
Looking in retrospect, we find that the Western Bloc usually suspected the NAM as having pro-socialist tendencies and in some cases some of these countries like India were categorically treated as pro-Soviet allies though formally there were no alliances for any of them. Consequently, US did not treat the NAM with sympathy and even was very favourably disposed towards those countries that had fallen in the basket of the imperialist bloc by virtue of entering into military alliances like Baghdad Pact, CENTO or SEATO etc. Though five countries named above were among the founding countries of the organization, and the Bandung Conference in Indonesia was the high watermark of the movement, yet owing to pressures from various quarters and arising out of various situations, NAM could not withstand severe shocks following the implosion of the Soviet Union and emergence of Central Asian States as independent Republics. Yugoslavia and Egypt were caught up in deep internal crisis that seriously hindered their activities as prominent members of the NAM. However, India tried her best to keep the flock together inspiring hope in the NAM members. Of course the members could not carry forward their cherished agenda of bring about an egalitarian system in their respective countries, nevertheless, the role of NAM in minimizing the influence of erstwhile colonial countries cannot be underestimate.
120 member countries of the NAM recently met for the 17th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Poriamar (Venezuela). As Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not available for attending the meeting, the Indian delegation was led by the Vice President Hamid Ansari. It was no surprise for anybody that Indian leader of the delegation directly took up the issue of terrorism in his address and by and large focused on it calling it the most serious threat to peace in contemporary times. India, for quite some time, has been pursuing the matter of terrorism at all available international fora. India has been telling the world community that the source of international terrorism being Pakistan, it should devise means and ways of isolating this country as the perpetrator of violence, terror and related crimes. It has to be remembered that Prime Minister took up the issue of international terrorism in G-20 Summit this summer in Turkey, at a BRICS meeting in Hangzhou and at the ASEAN and East Asia summits in Lao PDR. India considers terrorism as the “biggest threat” to international peace and to the sovereignty of states. The irony is that many European countries besides the United States have been severely challenged by the jihadi terrorists, yet it appears many of them are not enthusiastically responsive to what the Prime Minister has been harking at. Terrorism is spreading its fangs gradually all over the world and as such there is the need that world community should prepare for united response to it. The Vice President has beseeched the NAM to devise consensus on ways and means of meeting this grave threat to the humanity in contemporary times. There is general consensus among the members that this is potent threat but that is not the answer to terror strikes as a result of which innocent people get killed. The world knows that various terrorist organizations have expanded their fangs deep and wide and Pakistan encourages them to conduct attacks on neighbouring countries like Afghanistan and India. The NAM has the responsibility to pass a unanimous resolution urging the UN Security Council to give time frame to Pakistan to dismantle its terrorist structure failing which the UN should impose economic sanctions on that county and bring it to knees.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel