NAM stands for Non-Aligned Movement. The term “non-alignment” was coined by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru during his speech in 1954 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In this speech, Nehru described the five pillars to be used as a guide for Sino-Indian relations, which were first put forth by Chinese Premier, Zhou Enlai called Panchsheel (five restraints). These principles would later serve as the basis of the Non-Aligned Movement.
A significant milestone in the development of this movement was the 1955 Bandung Conference, a conference of Asian and African states hosted by Indonesian President, Sukarno. Sukarno has given a significant contribution to promote this movement. The attending nations declared their desire not to become involved in the Cold War and adopted a “declaration on promotion of world peace and cooperation”,
which included Nehru’s five principles :
• Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
• Mutual non-aggression.
• Mutual non-interference in domestic affairs.
• Equality and mutual benefit.
• Peaceful co-existence.
Six years after Bandung conference an initiative of Yugoslav president Tito led to the first official Non-Aligned Movement Summit, which was held in September 1961 in Belgrade.
