In the given question, a statement of Assertion is followed by a statement of Reason. Mark the correct answer.

Assertion: India’s policy of non-alignment was criticised on a number of counts.

Reason: India’s non-alignment was said to be ‘unprincipled’. In the name of pursuing its national interest, India, it was said, often refused to take a firm stand on crucial international issues.

Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct and the Reason is the correct explanation of the Assertion.

India’s policy of non-alignment was criticised on a number of counts. Here we may refer to only two criticisms:

First, India’s non-alignment was said to be ‘unprincipled’. In the name of pursuing its national interest, India, it was said, often refused to take a firm stand on crucial international issues.

Second, it is suggested that India was inconsistent and took contradictory postures. Having criticised others for joining alliances, India signed the Treaty of Friendship in August 1971 with the USSR for 20 years. This was regarded, particularly by outside observers, as virtually joining the Soviet alliance system. T