UPSC Prelims 2011 · GS Paper I
Question 42: International Relations and Current Affairs
With reference to "Look East Policy" of India, consider the following statements :
- 1.India wants to establish itself as an important regional player in the East Asian affairs.
- 2.India wants to plug the vacuum created by the termination of Cold War.
- 3.India wants to restore the historical and cultural ties with its neighbours in Southeast and East Asia.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
AnswerThe answer is (b).
India launched the Look East Policy in the early 1990s, under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao, to build economic, strategic and cultural ties with Southeast and East Asia and to establish India as an important regional player there. It also revived old civilisational and historical links with the region. The given answer holds statements 1 and 3 to be the stated aims and treats the claim about plugging a vacuum after the Cold War as not one of them.
- 1. The policy aims to make India a significant regional player in East Asia.
- 2. The policy was framed around economic, strategic and cultural engagement, not filling a power vacuum.
- 3. It revives historical and cultural links with Southeast and East Asia.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 1 is correct, (c) goes: it leaves 1 out.
What you needed to know: The policy aims to make India a significant regional player in East Asia.
- Then, if you were sure statement 2 is not correct, (d) goes: it includes 2.
What you needed to know: The policy was framed around economic, strategic and cultural engagement, not filling a power vacuum.
- Then, if you were sure statement 3 is correct, (a) goes: it leaves 3 out.
What you needed to know: It revives historical and cultural links with Southeast and East Asia.
Only (b) is left. This one needs every statement.
This follows an unofficial answer: UPSC has not published its key for this year, and if that answer is wrong, so is this path.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Statement 3 on historical and cultural ties is also an aim.
- (b) Right: regional player status and restoring historical and cultural ties.
- (c) Statement 1 on becoming a regional player is also an aim.
- (d) Includes statement 2 on a Cold War vacuum, which the given answer does not accept.
Worth knowing: Statement 2 is arguable, since the policy began just after the end of the Cold War and the Soviet collapse, so some read the answer as (d).
Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2011, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.