International Relations

The Panchsheel Agreement was signed on April 29, 1954, by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, focusing on mutual respect for sovereignty and non-aggression. [Memory Trick: 'Panch'-sheel has five letters in 'China' which represents the bilateral pact of 1954.]

The summit of NAM took place in September 1961 in Belgrade, spearheaded by Yugoslavia's Josip Broz Tito, India's Jawaharlal Nehru, and Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser. [Memory Trick: Non-aligned nations wanted to build a secure 'Bel'-grade (Beautiful grade/shield) protecting themselves from cold war blocs.]

The treaty was signed on July 2, 1972, in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh following the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. [Memory Trick: 'Indira' of India and 'Bhutto' of Pakistan met in the hills of 'Shimla' ('Simla') to resolve 1971 scars.]

The peace declaration was signed on January 10, 1966, by Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistani President Ayub Khan under Soviet mediation in Tashkent (present-day Uzbekistan). [Memory Trick: The 'Soviet' premier mediated the pact in the historic cotton country 'Tash-kent'.]

The McMahon Line is the effective boundary between Northeast India and Tibet, proposed by Sir Henry McMahon at the Simla Convention in 1914. [Memory Trick: 'Mac'-Mahon line protects 'Mani'-pur and Arunachal in the Eastern hills.]

Signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960, by PM Nehru and President Ayub Khan, the treaty dividing the six Indus basin rivers was brokered by the World Bank. [Memory Trick: Managing water systems for billions requires massive funding = World 'Bank' mediation.]

Formulated by PM I.K. Gujral in 1996, the doctrine states that India, as the largest country of South Asia, does not ask for reciprocity from neighbors like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Maldives, but gives unilaterally in goodwill. [Memory Trick: 'Gujral' sounds like 'Guzarish' (polite goodwill) which means generous assistance without expecting payback.]

The Raisina Dialogue, held in New Delhi since 2016, is named after Raisina Hill, the seat of the Government of India. [Memory Trick: The Ministry of External Affairs sits on 'Raisina' Hill, therefore 'Raisina' Dialogue.]

Chabahar Port is located on the Gulf of Oman in Iran. It provides India alternate access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan. [Memory Trick: Chabahar is India's 'Chabi' (key) to bypass hurdles to Central Asia.]

The QUAD is an informal strategic forum comprising United States, Japan, Australia, and India, initially pitched by Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in 2007. [Memory Trick: Quad corners are US-Japan in the Pacific, and Australia-India in the Oceans.]

I2U2 stands for India and Israel (I2), United States and United Arab Emirates (U2). [Memory Trick: I-2 (India, Israel) + U-2 (USA, UAE) = I2U2.]

The 'Act East Policy' was launched by PM Narendra Modi at the East Asia Summit in Myanmar in November 2014, shifting focus from mere economic relations to security and strategic linkages. [Memory Trick: PM took office in '14' (2014) and started immediate 'Action' ('Act East').]

The Durand Line boundary was established in 1893 by Sir Mortimer Durand and Afghan Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, dividing Pak-Afghan territories and cutting ethnic Pashtun lands. [Memory Trick: Pashtuns find it hard to 'Endure' (Durand) the division of their community.]

An EEZ grants a sovereign state exclusive rights to explore and exploit marine resources up to 200 nautical miles from its coast. Territorial sea is 12 NM. [Memory Trick: Double century ('200') is hit when you cruise deep into the economic ocean.]

Nepal claimed Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura in its updated political map in 2020, asserting historical borders under the 1816 Sugauli Treaty. [Memory Trick: 'Kalapani' boundary is high up towards 'Nepal' foothills.]

The Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal was made possible by Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954, allowing trade of atomic fuels despite India not being an NPT signee. [Memory Trick: '1-2-3' is the count before 'US' (USA) turned on the green signal for atomic fuels.]

India and Pakistan joined the SCO as full members on June 9, 2017 at the Astana Summit in Kazakhstan. [Memory Trick: Double membership addition in Year '17' (2017) to maintain regional balance.]

The 'String of Pearls' refers to a network of Chinese military and commercial facilities along sea lines of communication, encircling India (from Gwadar to Hambantota). [Memory Trick: China strings shiny 'Pearls' of ports around India's neck.]

The Land Boundary Agreement was ratified by the 100th Constitutional Amendment Act, allowing exchange of 111 Indian enclaves to Bangladesh and 51 enclaves to India. [Memory Trick: 'L-B-A' directly resolves the Land Boundary Alignment.]

The ORF acts as the core joint convener of this flagship global policy discussion event. [Memory Trick: 'O-R-F' is the official research partner of MEA on Raisina Hill.]

INSTC is a 7,200-km multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road routes for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia, bypassing the Suez Canal. [Memory Trick: North (Russia) to South (India/Mumbai) transit corridor = INSTC.]

The G4 nations support each other's bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council: India, Brazil, Germany, and Japan. [Memory Trick: 'G4' is the club of four industrial giants: 'I'-ndia, 'B'-razil, 'G'-ermany, 'J'-apan (IBGJ).]

The treaty defining the codes of diplomatic missions and immunities was adopted in April 1961 in Vienna. [Memory Trick: NAM was born in '61 and the diplomatic rules of Vienna were also coded in '61 (1961).]

The Teesta River flows through Sikkim and West Bengal before entering Bangladesh. Sharing its dry-season flow is a major point of negotiation between New Delhi and Dhaka. [Memory Trick: 'Teesta' has 'T' for 'Tension' with 'Tista' delta users of Bangladesh.]

Malabar began as a bilateral US-India exercise but expanded with Japan's entry in 2015, and Australia's inclusion in 2020, making it a QUAD exercise now. [Memory Trick: Malabar has the active presence of 'QUAD' naval fleets.]