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What intrigued me when I first came across the story of Nanda Devi Device was the fluidity of India's non-alignment towards Soviet Union/USA. Sino-India war of

What intrigued me when I first came across the story of Nanda Devi Device was the fluidity of India's non-alignment towards Soviet Union/USA. Sino-India war of 1962 showcased India's non-alignment led to its isolation with great powers ignoring what's going on in the region. I presume this had a greater role to play when India decided to work with USA to spy on China. Then again situation reversed within a decade, during 1971 war to liberate East-Pakistan India had Indo-Soviet friendship treaty, USA sent carrier USS Enterprise under Task Force 74 to Bay of Bengal which was intercepted by Soviet Naval force, Nixon even sent a proposal for cooperation of Chinese army at borders; But China didn't act on it(Possibly on insistence by Soviet Union). Now India's diplomatic strategy seems to have reversed again with greater alignment towards USA with every passing year especially with the neighbor to the North flexing again.

fakedang 6y ago
It's important to note the reversal in Indian politics in that time. India in the Bangladeshi war for Independence was led by Indira Gandhi, who later assumed Emergency powers and arrested a lot of her critics and activists, mostly from the RSS. India today is led by the same people she arrested back then. That being said, Russia has always been close to India ever since the Soviet Era, even though India didn't embrace communism, largely because of the shared history of being opposed by the US at every step, and a mutual interest in curtailing China (which claims a significant part of Russian Amur as part of its Greater China project). For instance, Russia supported India during its first nuclear test, when the US imposed sanctions on it. Russia supported India's actions in Bangladesh as you mentioned, etc. The current strong ties of India with the US are only because of the shared background of Modi and Trump in right wing politics, and now a shared urgency in containing China as much as possible.
- mandeepj 6y ago
  > The current strong ties of India with the US are only because of the shared background of Modi and Trump in right wing politics Not true. The friendship between India and US started blossoming during Clinton era, and continue to flourish under Bush as well as Obama
  - notsureaboutpg 6y ago
    I don't think this is true especially considering the US banned Modi from entering the US under Bush. While there were moves aligning the countries beforehand, the fact that Trump and Modi are both right-wing populists (in a world where that kind of ruler is still pretty newly ascendant) has a very good amount to do with current ties.
  - fakedang 6y ago
    > The friendship between India and US started blossoming during Clinton era, and continue to flourish under Bush as well as Obama And yet the US sanctioned India after Pokhran II, and Bush was actively selling weaponry to the Musharraf regime during Kargil. It was only during the Obama years that relations began to thaw.

fakedang 6y ago

It's important to note the reversal in Indian politics in that time. India in the Bangladeshi war for Independence was led by Indira Gandhi, who later assumed Emergency powers and arrested a lot of her critics and activists, mostly from the RSS. India today is led by the same people she arrested back then. That being said, Russia has always been close to India ever since the Soviet Era, even though India didn't embrace communism, largely because of the shared history of being opposed by the US at every step, and a mutual interest in curtailing China (which claims a significant part of Russian Amur as part of its Greater China project). For instance, Russia supported India during its first nuclear test, when the US imposed sanctions on it. Russia supported India's actions in Bangladesh as you mentioned, etc. The current strong ties of India with the US are only because of the shared background of Modi and Trump in right wing politics, and now a shared urgency in containing China as much as possible.

mandeepj 6y ago
> The current strong ties of India with the US are only because of the shared background of Modi and Trump in right wing politics Not true. The friendship between India and US started blossoming during Clinton era, and continue to flourish under Bush as well as Obama
- notsureaboutpg 6y ago
  I don't think this is true especially considering the US banned Modi from entering the US under Bush. While there were moves aligning the countries beforehand, the fact that Trump and Modi are both right-wing populists (in a world where that kind of ruler is still pretty newly ascendant) has a very good amount to do with current ties.
- fakedang 6y ago
  > The friendship between India and US started blossoming during Clinton era, and continue to flourish under Bush as well as Obama And yet the US sanctioned India after Pokhran II, and Bush was actively selling weaponry to the Musharraf regime during Kargil. It was only during the Obama years that relations began to thaw.