Usually, when a war erupts between nations, the watching countries have a definite stand on who they support but India is deeply divided between Russia and Ukraine.
Today, India is a deeply divided nation on who they support, whether Russia or Ukraine, and inflammed opinions are triggering sharp reactions with tempers flying from all sides.
India’s Stance With Russia and Ukraine
Firstly, when the war erupted, India maintained a stoic deathly silence which was almost unnatural as India is expected as a democractic nation to respect the sovereignty of another nation. India, being a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) clearly disappointed Ukraine with its silence though India maintained its stance on peace and dialogue; however, India chose to abstain from the vote along with China, but indirectly asked Moscow to respect international law.
India did talk about the importance of “the UN Charter, international law, and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states”, adding that “all member states need to honor these principles in finding a constructive way forward”.
However, India, being the world’s largest democracy was still largely undefined as to their stand on Ukraine and Russia though a strong guess was the Indian government stood more with Russia than with Ukraine. Plus Russia is India’s powerful neighbor and is far closer in proximity than the Western nations and is a point to consider when India edges closer to Russia.
Recently, a heavy trend flooded Twitter stating “India stands with Putin”, both from Hindu right-wingers and Indian Muslims even though Indian students have been reportedly shelled by Russian forces in the largest conventional military attack since World War II. Interestingly, back in Russia, Russian civilians are rising in united protests against the war voicing “Russians are Putin’s victims too. We also suffer from Russia’s senseless war in Ukraine; we are also victims of its increasingly totalitarian regime.”
In India, sharp divisions are rising, and for all different reasons, but let us start by looking back in history as to why Russia and the USA, the two main superpowers of the world grew cold which is again causing a split in the world.
Why Russia and USA Grew Cold
Wartime Alliance Between the USA and the USSR in 1945
While Russia and USA had at one time been great friends, the warm wartime alliance between the USA and the USSR in 1945 grew cold in time as fear and insecurity arose about each others strengths and ambitions. This suspicion led to an increase in mistrust to shatter their friendly wartime alliance of 1945 freezing into frigid hostility. Post World War II, the USA emerged the more powerful nation than the USSR and this too grew bitter roots in the USSR.
USA’s Fight against Communism, Dictatorship and the Red Terror
Firstly, government-wise, the two nations’ ideologies drifted far apart where Russia was inclined towards a harsh brutal form of communism which spread in Eastern Europe and the Far East. Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin on a brutal ambitious path seemed to want to convert the rest of the world to communism. Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore suggested that Stalin was ultimately responsible for the deaths of at least 20 million people. Earlier history of Russia in the 1900s was noted to be with one of the most murderous leaders in the world, Vladimir Lenin who killed an estimated 3 million of his people during the rise of the Red Terror with his genocidal campaign aimed to eliminate opposition, political dissent, and threats to Bolshevik power. The ramifications of his regime were still rumbling in Russia.
In the USA’s fight to destroy the evils of dictatorship in Germany, Italy, and Japan, now it was prepared to fight the communist ideology of the USSR which was moving on a very violent route, massacring any voices of dissent. All this happened while America was rising on the road to freedom and democracy.
Why Is India A Strong Friend of Russia
While India and the USA are friends and considered democracies, on the other side, over the decades, friendship with India and Russia ran deep, which was a relationship that started with Russia’s parent state, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
In 1957, USSR Used Veto Power on Kashmir
The USSR first used the veto power for India in 1957 over the Kashmir issue. When Nikita Khrushchev, the then leader of the Soviet Union, visited India in 1955, he said that Moscow was just ‘across the border’ and in case of any trouble in Kashmir, Delhi should just give a shout to the USSR. Later, when Pakistan proposed the use of a temporary UN force in connection with the demilitarisation and the bilateral issue was close to becoming an international issue, USSR used the veto power in favor of India.
USSR Stood With India Over Goa in 1961
Portugal sent a letter to the UNSC concerning Goa. At that time, Goa was still under the power of Portugal and India was trying to liberate the region and make it a part of India. Portugal declined to let go of its territories in India. Nikita Khrushchev sent a telegram to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in which he said India’s actions “to do away with outposts of colonialism in its territory were absolutely lawful and justified”. Portugal tried to invoke the UN Charter and proposed a resolution that India should withdraw their forces from Goa. The proposal was supported by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. But USSR came to India’s rescue and frittered away the proposal by using the veto power. It strengthened India’s cause, and on December 19, 1961, Goa was finally liberated from the rule of Portugal. It was USSR’s 99th veto.
USSR Supported India in the 1971 India-Pakistan War
The USSR had played a critical role in supporting India over Pakistan during the 1971 India-Pakistan war.
2019 Russia Supported India in the Abrogation of Article 370
In August 2019, Russia became the first P-5 country to describe India’s move on Kashmir (scrapping Article 370 and bifurcation of the State) as purely an internal matter and called for resolution under the Shimla Agreement of 1972 and Lahore Declaration of 1999. Ever since this position has been reiterated by the Russian foreign minister and senior officials.
Russian’s Noninterference In India’s Humanitarian Issues May Have Made India Edge Closer to Russia
The USA has often raised concerns about humanitarian issues in Kashmir, as well as spoken about concerns regarding brutality to the Muslim and Christian minorities in India, often through the USCIRF, however, Russia has kept out of India’s humanitarian issues and this perhaps may have made India edge closer to Russia preferring Russian silence.
Russia is the Largest Supplier of Military Equipment to India
Countries considered India’s closest allies include the Russian Federation, Israel, Afghanistan, France, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and the United States. Russia is the largest supplier of military equipment to India, followed by Israel and France.
India’s Stance with NATO, QUAD
The Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprises of India, the US, Japan and Australia. During the Melbourne summit, Foreign Ministers of the countries had discussed the destabilising role of China in the Indo-Pacific region and Russian aggression in Ukraine. It is a contradictary that India and China were the two nations who obtained from voting against Russia in this war, yet they silent “enemies” due to Quad.
Regarding India with NATO, India is not in the North Atlantic or anywhere close to the Atlantic whereas NATO stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Earlier, India could have joined the CENTO (Baghdad pact) or the SEATO (Manila pact) – NATO’s equivalents for central and southeast Asia. However, India’s historic stand was always to avoid the formation of allied groups to gang up against other nations.
India is also not a part of any military alliance group and domestic political opinion is unlikely to allow any such alliances. In the past, when India was a closer partner of the USSR, it avoided joining the Warsaw pact and other rival groups of NATO.
India for the eighth time, has entered the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)as a non-permanent member recently. The UNSC has a primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and thus, India has to voice its inference on the same.
Right-Wing’s Vision of Akhand Bharat Connects with Putin’s “Soviet Union”
The right-wing Hindus of India envision an Akhand Bharat, also known as Akhand Hindustan where they want an undivided India. It posits that modern-day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar are one nation and thus, it is their goal to get India to that place, like a Soviet Union dream of an Indian version, which is why they stand with Putin.
Indian Muslim Anger Over NATO Policies
Why are a lot of Indian Muslims pro Putin and against USA? A large majority of Indian Muslims are angry with USA. One of the main reasons regarding this is the American inteference in the Middle East due to self interests, which has cost millions of lives where they stepped into countries like Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and have favored Palestine over Israel, which triggered the 09/11 attack. Indian Muslims prefer the Soviet Union Cold War days where they felt there was more peace and American policies of control in certain nations have weakened them.
They say America and NATO destroyed 9 Muslims nations and killed “11 million people” some say. It is a section of Indian Muslims’ fervent wish that the “big bully NATO” along with the USA fall down during Russia’s attack on Ukraine. It seems Putin is presently provoking NATO to attack Russia so that he can bring about their downfall.
The West, especially America is accusing of sellling their arms and ammunitions, main source of their economy, to the East and Middle East, disrupting peace and harmony in their nations, and then pretending to talk about peace, so in the end of the story, America, and certain nations do not want Asia and the Middle East to live in harmony but to constantly fight, to supply America’s huge source of income.
#IStandWithPutin#istandwithrussia America and nato destroyed 9 muslims country's and killed 11 millions peoples no buddy called them terrorist if you killed 11 million people and you are not terrorist than i asked you who is terrorist 🤔 ? pic.twitter.com/fnBadAhf7f — Mohammad Haroon (@Md_Haroon_001) March 2, 2022
Why the hypocrisy?🤔#IStandWithPutin#RussianUkrainianWar #Russians #RussiaUkraine #Russia #RussiaUkraineWar pic.twitter.com/TuUYLeKnKg — Kashif Waheed (@DrKWA1) March 2, 2022
Centrist Indian National Congress Stands with Ukraine For These Reasons
The Indian National Congress party supports democracy and freedom and thus is not be able to endorse Putin’s imperialism even though the Indian Congress has a strong historical ties with Soviet Union in the past. They staunchly believe that the war should stop, and Putin should stop his intrusive war instantly respecting the sovereignty of Ukraine.
It is the Indian National Congress view that President Vladimir Putin wants to capture back that old Russia and bind it together again in dictatorship which is unacceptable, not in the age where democracy is upheld in the anals of United Nations Security Council charged with ensuring international peace and security, of which India is a member of.
Why Does Putin Want Ukraine?
Russia started from Ukraine and Ukraine. was part of Russia for centuries.
Also, Putin is capturing Ukrainian for financial gain. The freezing weather of Russia in the Northern hemisphere does not enable a warm port incuring a withering trade and commerce and Putin, with an eye on the warm water seaport in Ukraine that allows trade all year round with strong connections to the south therefore struck Ukraine for this reason as Ukraine has a coast along the Black sea which connects to the Mediterranean which opens up to the entire world.
Russia is also against Ukraine joining the EU or NATO , one for fear of losing this port. In 2013, when it looked like Ukraine was going for EU membership, Putin stepped in to take measures to annex Crimea and took the port for himself. Number two, Putin doesn’t favour his neighbour Ukraine being a strong ally of USA and would be member of NATO which would weaken him. He is protecting himself, however; negotiations would have been a better way.
Russia may be anticipating that the US can plan to cut off Russia from its trade by using Ukraine, Romania, and Turkey and thus countering this by fighting a war in advance to assert its authority over NATO. NATO, at present, is holding back to avoid a full-fledged war.
In all this, the Indian Congress party does not uphold the present Russian policies of imperialism as it does not with China’s imperialism.
India right now seems to be leaning to Russia because last but not the least, the brutality of the Ukrainian forces towards the Indian and African students, where they were stopping them from entering trains, prefering other races over Indians and Africans, beating them, not giving them hot water, etc., evoked feelings that Ukrainians were racial and this sparked anti-Ukrainian sentiments in India.
Conclusion
Thus, Russia seems to be fighting a three-pronged war, one to get the sea port of Ukraine, and secondly, to bring down the empire of NATO, which Indian Muslims support, and thirdly, to bring in a new “Soviet Union” which Hindu right-wingers support because this fires their dream of an Akhand Bharat in the similarities of a Soviet Union.
Is this a story of power-hungry dictators standing together or it is just India wanted to stand with an old friend, Russia, ditching America even though there are 4 million Indian Americans in the USA, and a large number of the Indian diaspora are pro-Modi fans and actually worked hard to help Prime Minister Narendra Modi win the 2014 and 2019 elections, as well as India linked with strong trade, business, work with Americans along with a massive crowd of Indian workers and students in the USA?
Ashok Swain, academic and professor of peace and conflict research at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University. tweeted, “In India, #IStandWithPutin trends on the Twitter. Now you know why that country has elected a megalomaniac dictator not only once but twice?”
Did Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goverment considers all pros, cons, odds and evens when they are leaning more favorably towards Russia?
One must remember that Putin has threatened destruction the world has not seen before if any nation dares to interfere with his plans and his whole goal is imperialism. If he goes forward, he is capable of triggering a nuclear World War 3 because Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that if a third world war were to occur, it would be nuclear.
A beautiful end to this is the song of a Ukrainian girl asking for peace. This war is not only going to break nations, take lives, destroy economies but also gives false fallacies that peace will come once NATO falls, because it will not, as the reign of greed is always hungry and never fulfilled and a new power will emerge in the form of a crueler dictator, so it is better to stop the war now.
A Ukrainian girl sings for peace #UkraineRussianWar pic.twitter.com/Lp09iVE1kI — Rita (@MukandRita) March 2, 2022
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