INDIAN PERCEPTIONS OF EUROPE AND GERMANY

India’s interaction with the ‘Western world’ goes back many centuries. Indus Valley Seals in Mesopotamia and parts of modern-day West and Central Asia underscore the strong historical connections between India and ‘Western’ civilisations. Over the past four centuries, India’s interactions with the West have been defined by the period of colonisation. While the British controlled large parts of the Indian Sub-Continent, the French, Dutch, and Portuguese held onto their pockets of influence. The colonial period has shaped India’s perspective towards the West. On one level, it exposed ordinary Indians to the wrath of Western imperial rule. The 1857 War of Independence and the prolonged freedom struggle underscored the deeply unpopular nature of the Western Colonial project. At the same time, the colonial period also exposed Indians to the concept of Western modernity. Responses to this were two-fold. On one end of the spectrum was Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s Brahmo Samaj, which called for social reforms and embraced the concept of Western education (Kopf, 2015). At the other end was Dayanand Saraswati’s Arya Samaj, which called for a return to the Vedic knowledge systems (Rai & Sharma, 1967). In the initial few decades after independence, the Indian states and an ordinary Indian’s view of the West was shaped by the colonial experience. There was a marked effort to assert Indian independence. The motivations of Western powers were always viewed through a colonial lens. This explains India’s f irm commitment to the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM). The underlying objective of the NAM was to assert India’s strategic autonomy and exercise her choice not to be drawn into the Communist or Capitalist camp. Similarly, the Indian state’s cautious approach to foreign and private enterprise must be viewed. The goal of becoming self-sufficient drove state control over various sectors of the economy. Reducing dependency on external powers was key to safeguarding India’s independence. Economically, the policy of protectionism ensured that foreign and private investment in the Indian economy was tightly controlled. Key sectors were almost wholly closed out to the private sector. This meant the average citizen had limited exposure to foreign labels and products. Basic facilities like getting a phone connection and a new car or scooter involved long waiting periods. The ‘protection’ of the domestic economy from foreign capital goes back to the government’s goal of building self-sufficiency. As a result, India’s approach towards Western powers in the decade following independence was marked by caution and an element of suspicion. This was most evident during the crisis in East Pakistan in 1970-71, when the USA and other Western Powers sided with Pakistan, overlooking concerns over human rights violations. This period marked the lowest point in India’s relations with the West. Besides, India’s foreign policy took a strong anti-colonial stance, providing vocal support for the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa and strong support for the Palestinian cause.