India continues to be one of the few countries that walks the fine line between maintaining cordial relationships with the Western Powers and with Russia. At first glance, India’s ties with Russia do not seem possible considering Russia’s close relationship with India’s adversary, China. However, this unlikely alliance has proven to be beneficial to both these nations as they support each other in times of crisis.
In the light of recent events, India has been criticised by the Western powers as she has chosen to abstain from condemning Russia’s actions. This is not the first time India has remained neutral towards the aggression, but as the situation becomes direr, isn’t it now more than ever that India should speak up? To answer this question, we need to explore the nature of Indo-Russian relations.
Indo-Pak War
The ending of World War II saw a large divide between the two major superpowers — U.S.A. and USSR on an ideological basis, i.e., communism versus capitalism. During this power struggle, India chose neutrality as leaders, at the time, believed that any outright stance would hinder India’s growth as a newly independent nation. Thus, began the adoption of the non-alignment movement.
Despite India’s attempts to maintain neutrality, it soon became apparent that this wasn’t possible. The United State’s determination to contain communism drove it to form relations with Pakistan just 6 days after it gained independence, inviting other western powers such as the United Kingdom and France to lend their support as well. This highlighted the need for stronger Indo-Russian relations.
By 1971, tensions between India and Pakistan were at an all-time high. Pakistan was backed by not only the Western powers, but also India’s immediate neighbour, China. War was imminent and India needed support immediately. Attempts were made with both Russia and the U.S. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited the U.S. in late 1971 in an effort to build cordial relations with President Nixon. The visit went poorly and the U.S. remained obstinate in its belief that India and Russia were allies, and that Indian occupation of Pakistan would increase Soviet influence while also placing China, a newfound ally of the U.S., in a difficult position. This left India no other choice but to turn to Russia for aid. [1]
Luckily, Russia was far more receptive and the Treaty of Peace and Friendship was signed that year, essentially stating that both parties were “to abstain from providing any assistance to any third party that engages in armed conflict with the other.” It was due to Russian military support that India was able to win the Indo-Pak war. The Russian support reaped an additional benefit — it prevented China from attacking an already vulnerable India.
Response to Indian Military
The response to the growth and development of the Indian military differed drastically between the U.S. and Russia. While the U.S. constantly hinted at its displeasure at every upgrade that was brought to the military, Russia was usually the driving force behind it.
After the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia incurred a great deal of financial burden. In an effort to overcome this, it began to refocus its efforts to build relations with the Western powers. A deal was then struck with the U.S. in which financial aid would be provided to Russia. The aid was desperately required to build up the now broken nation, but it left Russia heavily dependent on the Western power. This dependency became prominent when the U.S. voted to block aid to Russia if they went ahead and sold cryogenic engines to India on the grounds that it violated the 1987 Missile Technology Control Regime. Later, Russia managed to reach a compromise with the U.S. which allowed Russia to sell the cryogenic engines to India on the condition that the technology to operate them would not be transferred. [2]
The U.S. also tried to impose sanctions again in 1998, this time on India, for testing nuclear weapons underground in secret. The action violated the terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970 which banned countries who hadn’t built nuclear weapons at that point from doing so. On paper, this treaty may have been an ideal solution, but practically, it was not viable at all. Moreover, China had just developed its first set of nuclear weapons around 6 years prior. Knowing that an unfriendly nation so close to India had this powerful tool, the development of nuclear weapons seemed essential.
The tensions on the Indian military’s power spill over to the present day. In 2018, Russia signed a deal with India agreeing to sell five units of the advanced surface-to-air-missile defence system, the S-400 [3]. The government-imposed sanctions were only waived off due to the fear that India would be lost as an important ally against China.
Role in the Present
Today, Russia plays one of the biggest roles in India’s military and economic trade.
Military relations between both nations that began mostly on a buyer-seller basis gradually evolved into joint research, design, development, and production of military services. Between the years 2008 and 2012, Russia was responsible for supplying 79% of all imported arms in India; and, from 2012 to 2016, this stake rose to 68%, making it India’s biggest arms supplier. Russia and India have partaken in military exercises, such as the Joint Naval Exercise in April 2007 and the Joint Airborne Exercise in September 2007, which re-occurred in 2014. [4]
Bilateral trade probably stands to be one of the most significant points in the relationship between India and Russia. With the formation of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific & Cultural Cooperation, both countries cooperate in many diversified sectors such as electronics, aerospace, machinery, automobile, and pharmaceuticals. [5]
Between 2002 and 2012, the value of bilateral trade increased 7 times; and, between March 2020 and April 2021, the value of trade amounted to $8.1 billion. Russia also agreed to invest $100 billion in an infrastructure project that will turn India into a ‘smart city.’
Thus, there is no denying that the level of support given by Russia to India is unmatched by any other nation.
“Isn’t it now more than ever that India should side with Russia?”
The answer to this question, which was posed at the beginning, lies in the hard truth that Russia has, time and time again, proven to be a consistent ally of India, supporting her at every turn and across many sectors. If India turns away from Russia, it loses a major trading partner and its main source of military equipment. Moreover, the alternative to this would be to strike an alliance with the Western powers, which have historically proven to be unreliable and unwilling to provide India with the support it needs.
As of now, we can only wait for time to tell the course India takes.
Article by: Dhriti Krishnan
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