[Draft]

Summary

This two-page draft, dated 2 December 1959, sets out the Swatantra Party’s position on military alliances and India’s defence policy. It distinguishes non-involvement in military pacts from neutrality on individual issues, arguing that India should judge each question without preconceived theories but according to moral and ethical principles, national interests, and security needs. The Party supports strengthening India’s defences and obtaining military equipment and assistance from any available source, rejecting the assumption that military aid necessarily entails political conditions; Yugoslavia is cited as an example.

The draft urges India to settle disputes with Pakistan through friendly and mutually advantageous relations while accepting the need for common defence against a perceived northern enemy. It also criticises what it calls Communist commitments to international communism and world conquest, and argues that India’s pursuit of peace must not become passive acceptance of aggression or encroachment on freedom and democracy. The document is untitled and unsigned; it speaks institutionally in the name of the Swatantra Party.

Key points

• The Swatantra Party advocates non-involvement in military pacts while preserving freedom to assess each foreign-policy issue independently.
• Foreign and defence policy should be guided by moral and ethical principles, national interests, and India’s security needs.
• India should strengthen its defences and accept military equipment or assistance from any available source.
• Military assistance is not necessarily incompatible with political independence; Yugoslavia is offered as an example.
• The Party calls for friendly and mutually advantageous relations with Pakistan while supporting common defence against a northern enemy.
• The draft presents Communism as committed to international communism and world conquest and warns against Communist attempts to undermine India’s determination.
• Peace, in the Party’s view, cannot mean passive acceptance of aggression or encroachment on freedom and democracy.