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While the Cold War between the US and the former Soviet Union ended in 1991, a reading of how powerful states of the time behaved continues to dictate foreign policy thinking, even in the current epoch of international relations. India and China, both newly independent states in the post-World War II era, lacking adequate economic and political standing in international politics in the 1950s and 1960s, emerged as important voices. India's non-aligned policies, which focused on neutrality between the two power blocs, gained a lot of traction and was seen as an important tool to shield national interests from Cold War dynamics.