Article 51 — Promotion of international peace and security

The State shall endeavour to — (a) promote international peace and security; (b) maintain just and honourable relations between nations; (c) foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another; and (d) encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.

Source: Constitution of India, as published by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Article 51 reflects Jawaharlal Nehru's vision of India as a morally engaged and non-aligned power in international affairs. Nehru championed the Panchsheel principles (peaceful coexistence, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful co-existence) in India's foreign policy, first articulated in the 1954 agreement with China. India was a founding force in the Non-Aligned Movement (1961) and consistently advocated at the United Nations for decolonisation and disarmament. Article 51 makes India one of the few countries in the world whose constitution explicitly directs its government toward international arbitration as a method of dispute resolution.

• Article 253
• Article 51A

Last reviewed: 3 July 2026