India's Neighbourhood First Policy

India&s;s former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had once remarked that “you can change your friends but not your neighbours.” This statement signifies the importance of having a stable and peaceful neighbour as the presence of the opposite could cause grave concern. Historically, most of India&s;s former Prime Ministers had aspired to cultivate good relations with India&s;s neighbours; an exception in this regard is Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, who went an extra mile to propose non-reciprocity in dealing with the neighbours. This policy, which came to be known as the “Gujral doctrine,” went a long way to improve India&s;s relationship with its neighbours, as on many occasions earlier, India was dubbed as a “big brother” or the “Elephant in the room.”