The Non-Aligned Movement, or NAM, is a major international organization in which India has played a key role since its founding. The NAM was established in the Belgrade Conference in 1961 under the Presidency of Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia. Its been 60 years since the formation of NAM. 

What is Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)?

• During the Cold War, the Non-Aligned Movement was created as a group of countries that did not want to openly identify themselves with either the US or the Soviet Union, preferring to stay independent or neutral.
• The core concept for the organization was conceived in 1955 during discussions at the Asia-Africa Bandung Conference in Indonesia.
• As of April 2022, it had 120 members, with 53 from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and two from Europe (Belarus, Azerbaijan). Observers at NAM include 17 countries and 10 international organizations.
• Under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Sukarno of Indonesia, the Non-Aligned Movement was founded and held its first conference (the Belgrade Conference) in 1961.
• The Havana Declaration of 1979 said that the organization’s goal was to protect “national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of non-aligned countries” in their fight against imperialism, colonialism, neocolonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign enslavement.