India's position in the Russian-Ukrainian War

[Yeagerist]

Despite having a democratic system of government and close relations with the United States, India has an equally close partnership with Russia despite the latter country having warm relations with India's rival China. This otherwise paradoxical situation is but a reality of the complexity of geopolitics in the 21st Century, because, as any astute student of history will observe, that major powers are ultimately driven by their own self-interests and alliances were more often than not driven by economic or political incentives alongside ideological motivations.

In the context of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government of Modi has not outright opposed or condemned Putin's decision to wage war, instead relying on plausible deniability and going on a general wish for peace and cessation of conflict.

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While some countries, such as Germany, have completely shifted their defence and energy policies to reprimand Russia and secure the European borders, others like India continue to maintain a relatively restrictive stance towards old friend Russia.

But after the Russian invasion hit India closer to home, with the killing of an Indian student in Ukraine’s Kharkiv city, and hundreds of Indian students still awaiting evacuation, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under pressure to condemn Russia’s actions.

Last week, P Chidambaram, an Indian parliamentarian from the opposition Congress party, tweeted: “The Government of India should stop its verbal balancing act and sternly demand that Russia stop immediately the bombing of key cities in Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, Modi has held talks with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and called for an immediate cessation of violence.

Yet, on the global stage, India has abstained five times so far from condemning Russia’s actions at the United Nations and only reiterated a “commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, to international law and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states”.

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The India–Russia relationship is officially characterised as a ‘special and privileged strategic partnership’. The entente between Moscow and Delhi dates back decades. Though the bond is no longer the de facto alliance it once was in the 1970s and 1980s, Moscow remains Delhi’s an important strategic partner, on par with the United States. The two nations don’t have any significant areas of disagreement and both share a fundamental interest in a multipolar balance of power in Eurasia.

India relies on Russia for the majority of its imported military equipment, nuclear submarine technology and some vital space faring technology. A highlight of India–Russian defence cooperation has been the US$5.43 billion deal for the S-400 air defence system, which Russia began delivering in December 2021. Russian-made weapons are critical to India’s ability to counter its main external threat — China.

.......

Western powers portray the conflict as a struggle between an imperialistic autocracy and a young democracy, but Delhi may not buy this narrative. India has always been somewhat sceptical about the US-led discourse on liberal democracy. This remains the case despite the Westernisation of Indian elites. Under Modi, India has been evolving in an illiberal and ethno-nationalistic direction. It is an open secret that India wants to maintain its sphere of influence in parts of South Asia.

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India abstained from a succession of United Nations votes – in the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council – condemning the Russian invasion. In its initial “explanation of vote”, India did not even mention Russia or deplore the invasion.

Instead, India merely urged a de-escalation of the conflict by those involved, as if both countries were belligerents, when in fact there is an obvious aggressor and a clear victim. India did not even object to Russia’s earlier recognition of the independence of the separatist Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

In subsequent statements, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has at least reiterated India’s longstanding principles, while calling for “concerted efforts from all sides to return to the path of diplomatic negotiations and dialogue”.

In the face of mounting casualties – including an Indian student killed by Russian fire while queuing for food in Kharkiv – Modi’s government continues to call in vain for peace, while ensuring that no criticism, let alone condemnation, of Russia passes its official lips.

 

[Eusebius Erasmus]

There is also the fact of culture.

Western culture has become so alienated from anything good and normal, that Russian culture is closer to Indian culture now. This is particularly true with the Hindu-dominated BJP in power in India.

However, as I've mentioned elsewhere on this forum, globohomo is trying hard to destroy India. It is already common among upper-class and middle-class Indians to hear of LGBT and abortion nonsense. Many city kids cohabit before marriage, which would have caused your family to disown you before. This is all due to Western influence.

My prayerful hope is that the recent conflict pushes India towards Russia, and hence towards Orthodox Christianity. Thus the Indians will have hope of salvation through Christ.

 

[cyborg1337]

There is also the fact of culture.

Western culture has become so alienated from anything good and normal, that Russian culture is closer to Indian culture now. This is particularly true with the Hindu-dominated BJP in power in India.

However, as I've mentioned elsewhere on this forum, globohomo is trying hard to destroy India. It is already common among upper-class and middle-class Indians to hear of LGBT and abortion nonsense. Many city kids cohabit before marriage, which would have caused your family to disown you before. This is all due to Western influence.

My prayerful hope is that the recent conflict pushes India towards Russia, and hence towards Orthodox Christianity. Thus the Indians will have hope of salvation through Christ.

Globohomo has been pushing the LGBT/abortion/degeneracy filth hard via the Bollywood industry. The upper class millenials/gen-z generation are very cucked at this point.

Last week I saw an Indian film about a transgender woman (born man) and how he/she falls in love with a straight man, and how he eventually accepts her and fights with his family to be with her.

 

[Yeagerist]

Bump.

This is a big win for India (and basically anyone who questions the Western media's narrative on the Ukrainian war). They didn't do anything wrong just because they don't follow through with the demonization of Russia.

 

[Max Roscoe]

Indian TV media has been strongly pro-Russia and critical of America.











How does the US react to this? Denial and calls for censorship.

 

[Stoyan]

India's position on this conflict is not in small part due to the treatment of Indian expats by Ukraine regime. Apparently Neo-Nazi paramilitary groups have prevented Indian students from leaving war zones, and even beat at least some of them.

Spoiler

 

[The_Observer]

As someone who is Indian, it has been very amusing to watch someone like Joe Biden trying to force India to adopt a tougher stance against Russia and also the upper class liberals in the big cities (Mumbai / Delhi) writing op-eds about how India's response has been very weak.

To be honest, India has nothing to gain from a Russian loss of face or even defeat, which cannot be ruled out if Putin has miscalculated.

If that happens, the only beneficiary will be China and NATO, and that is not a good outcome for us.

Neither the European Union nor the US has ever backed Indian interests at any time, especially when it comes to helping us politically against a Pakistan-China axis of evil.

The West can argue that Putin is dreaming of recreating the old Soviet Union and a new kind of Warsaw Pact on its western borders, but some form of buffer zone of neutral countries on Russia’s borders is vital to the latter’s security, too.

For the West to believe that only its security matters and not that of Russia is hypocritical.

The west needs to stop being an eternal critic of Putin and his autocracy.

Russian democracy will start flowering only when Russians see their economic situation improving, and that is not going to happen if the West is going to endlessly see Russia as an enemy and threaten harder and harder sanctions.

Sanctions will seal the autocratic alliance between Putin and Xi Jinping, which means Taiwan and India will be the next targets.

Targeting Russia sets the stage for a rise in China’s hegemonic power in Asia, and this is not in the West’s interest.

 

[Max Roscoe]

This guy is simply awesome. Imagine if we had this kind of media in our own country, actually speaking truth to power and criticizing our policies when they are evil.

This is making its way around the net, known as the "Allow Me To Complete" clip.



Totally owned this Jewish American professor.

"We are not your satellite state. You lecture me as an American to an Indian about values and say we are using political expediency. You kill thousands with your drone strikes. You killed Khasim Soleimani in a drone strike. You carpet bomb, You organize coups. You invaded Iraq. You run Guantanamo Bay. Where were your values in the first two months of the war in Iraq, when 7,186 civilians were direct casualties of the war? Was that your expediency or your expression of your values, professor?"

Mic drop.

 

[Lucas Simon]

I once worked at the American Embassy in New Delhi for the State Department in the mid 2000's. Ironically, Geoff Pyatt the guy who was in the phone call with Victoria Nuland trying to pick the next Ukrainian President was my bosses boss. The U.S. stance was always that we are building a bridge for a partnership with India but India viewed us as the bully who would dictate rules and conditions on them. It's been like this for decades but I can see India reaching it's boiling point with their economy improving and the U.S. in a state of decline.