Abstract
Indian aspiration to become a great world power is as old as its independent existence. Even before India become independent, Jawaharlal Nehru, who became its first Prime Minister and remained in that position for seventeen years, had nurtured the notion of Great India. His vision of a greater India was instrumental in defining the aims and objectives of Indian foreign and security policies.2 He had a strong conviction that India would recapture its lost glory and power through dedicated efforts in the fields of scientific, industrial and economic development, and military strength.
Indian efforts to gain great power status have continued, though in the intervening period when its economy was not performing well, the plans were put on back burner but never abandoned. To compensate for its weak military strength Indian policy makers relied heavily on ambitious diplomacy for strengthening its security in the initial years. It adopted a policy of non-alignment and claimed to pursue peaceful coexistence with all its neighbors which provided it the required space to work for materializing its great power status vision. This vision however, remained an illusion due to India’s poorly developed technological infra-structure and economy.