The Bandung Conference: Precursor to Non-Alignment

Before the Non-Aligned Movement had a name, newly independent Asian and African nations gathered in Indonesia to chart their own path. Nehru was one of the meeting’s central figures.

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Modern Indian History · ModHist0037

The Bandung Conference — Precursor to Non-Alignment

The Conference

Held 18-24 April 1955.

In Bandung, Indonesia.

Also called the Asian-African Conference.

First major gathering run by newly independent nations.

Organizers

Five nations: the Colombo Powers.

India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon.

Proposed at Colombo, April 1954.

Finalised at Bogor, December 1954.

Key Figures

Nehru — India.

Sukarno — Indonesia.

Nasser — Egypt.

Zhou Enlai — China.

Scale & Reach

29 countries took part.

~1.5 billion people represented.

54% of world population at the time.

No direct Cold War power involvement.

Ten Principles

Known as the Dasasila Bandung.

Issued 24 April 1955.

Covered human rights & sovereignty.

Peaceful coexistence, non-aggression.

Legacy

Precursor to the Non-Aligned Movement.

NAM formally launched at Belgrade, 1961.

Six years of gradual development.

Marked India’s early leadership among new nations.

📑 Contents

1Must Know
2Good to Know
3Test Yourself
4Great to Know

Must Know

The Bandung Conference was held from 18 to 24 April 1955, in Bandung, Indonesia. It brought together newly independent Asian and African nations.
It was organised by five nations, known as the Colombo Powers: India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Burma, and Ceylon.
The conference is also known as the Asian-African Conference. It aimed to promote cooperation among nations that had recently emerged from colonial rule.
Jawaharlal Nehru was one of the conference’s central figures, alongside leaders like Indonesia’s Sukarno, Egypt’s Nasser, and China’s Zhou Enlai.
The conference promoted principles of anti-colonialism and international cooperation among developing nations, later sometimes grouped together as the “Third World.”
Bandung is widely seen as a key precursor to the Non-Aligned Movement, which formally launched several years later at the 1961 Belgrade summit.

Good to Know

Bandung brought together countries with very different political systems and interests, united mainly by their shared recent experience of colonial rule and their desire for an independent international voice.
29 countries took part, together representing about 1.5 billion people — roughly 54% of the world’s population at the time.
Nehru’s prominent role at Bandung reflected India’s early leadership ambitions among newly independent nations, well before the formal Non-Aligned Movement existed as an organisation.
Several years passed between Bandung (1955) and the Belgrade NAM summit (1961). That gap shows how the idea of organised non-alignment developed gradually, through several stages, rather than emerging fully formed at once.

Test Yourself

Great to Know

Bandung’s significance lies partly in what it was: one of the first major international gatherings organised entirely by and for newly independent Asian and African nations. The established Cold War powers had no direct involvement. This symbolically asserted these countries’ independent voice on the world stage.
The conference’s broad, loosely defined anti-colonial solidarity later crystallised into the more formal structure of the Non-Aligned Movement. This shows how an initial shared sentiment among diverse nations can gradually develop into a lasting international institution.
The conference closed with the Ten Principles of Bandung (Dasasila Bandung), a declaration covering human rights, sovereignty, and peaceful coexistence, issued in its final communiqué on 24 April 1955.

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