India's Defense and Security Strategy

The nuclear deals between the US and India raise the question about military and defense-security behavior of India. What is the defense and security strategy of India and what changes occurred in this strategy after 2003? The authors believe that India’s defense and security strategy from the time of independence has had different phases which could be named as, the ‘reactionary’ military strategy, the ‘innovative’ military strategy, the ‘balance-oriented’ military strategy, the period of ‘strategic ambiguity’ and multilateralism and finally the move to ‘strategic transparency’ joint with coalition with the US and its allies. The present article aims to make an assessment of the history of developments in India’s strategic approaches, the prospect for India’s status in future international system and the challenges for this status.