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Probably because it makes sense to everyone why India does business with Russia, and they can’t be faulted for it. Briefly it is simply because Russia has been
by blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
Probably because it makes sense to everyone why India does business with Russia, and they can’t be faulted for it. Briefly it is simply because Russia has been a good friend to India and everyone else has not. A secondary reason is that they are able to buy things from Russia at steep discounts right now and that is very helpful to India’s economy.
As an example aspect of how India might view Western nations: the US was one of the first to recognize Pakistan after the forced partition of India by the British on their way out of South Asia. Despite a long history of harboring terrorist groups (like the Taliban or Al Qaeda) and themselves conducting terrorist attacks, Pakistan was somehow recently designated as a major non NATO ally of the US. India has strained relations with Pakistan and Bangladesh, whose territories were historically part of the Indian / Hindu world, but were taken away to form those nations as part of the partition of India. Obviously given Islamic invaders were the original colonizers of India for hundreds of years, before European colonizers arrived, anyone legitimizing those nations as the US has, will not be seen by India as a reliable friend.
Meanwhile Russia has long supported India and cooperated with them on defense, space, etc. Although Russia does have diplomatic relations that India does not support, they have been a friend to India on very important and sensitive areas like defense. That has made them a very popular ally, not just with the government of India, but also its citizens. They’re seen as being far less fickle than Western partners.
So India finds itself in the middle of all these global conflicts, and is taking a somewhat neutral route that serves its interests well. I think to them, these other conflicts aren’t “their fight” and they’re more focused on their own reality. If other countries take issue with it, we need to work to earn their trust, and give something significant in return for the long history of not treating them as friends. I am no foreign policy expert, but I feel it would be irrational for us to expect them to act against their own interests.
EDIT: I am not sure how to reply to the flagged reply under me, so adding some thoughts here. There is a long and documented history of Islamic Arabs invading India and taking over most of its territory, which is what I was referring to, and which underpins their geopolitical position today:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquests_in_the_Indian_subcontinent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquests_in_the_Indian...
These invasions involved killing huge numbers of people, settling/occupying their lands (almost the entirety of modern India), ruling over them through authoritarian power, subjugating them, extracting wealth from them, and destructively affecting local culture (for example by demolishing buildings). This is all very literally colonialism, and there are many similarities between this period and the period under European rule. I think that HAS to affect how India evaluates foreign policy today.
- faizan-ali 2y agoI personally don't think partition was a good idea but give me a fucking break with this Hindu-nationalist view that Muslims were the "original colonizers" of India. Most Islamic empires in India Indianized rapidly, adopting local customs, languages, and traditions. Does this legitimatize invasion/forced conversion? Of course not, but things were different 1300 years ago (first Islamic invasion). No Muslim empire ever ruled the entirety of the subcontinent. Colonizers? Most Muslim empires came and stayed and did not pilfer to benefit the motherland like the British Raj. India was likely the world's largest economy under the Mughals (Muslims) before the British came and did what they do best. The most well-known symbol of India, the Taj Mahal, was built under Muslims, exemplifying a blend of Indo-Islamic architecture. In the modern age of Modi, I keep seeing this garbage viewpoint. The Great Qing dynasty was not Han Chinese, but the Chinese didn't attempt to shed that vital piece of their heritage. I don't care if you're specifically Hindu or not but consider adopting a more nuanced viewpoint.
- humanlion87 2y agoTo add to that, the US tried hard to block India from getting advanced engines for use with space rockets. Initially the US wanted to sell engines to India but the cost was too high. But when India tried to make a deal with Russia, the US immediately stepped in and threatened sanctions to block the deal. This was in the 90s after the fall of the Soviet Union.
- Paradigma11 2y agoBut it goes to show how shallow all that anticolonial rhetoric is. Ukraine also has been a good friend to India but now there is no support. Who cares what the US stance and role in this is. India is a big boy and this is their stance in Ukraine's anticolonial struggle.
- blackeyeblitzar 2y ago> Ukraine also has been a good friend to India but now there is no support. I’m not familiar with their relations - can you share how they’ve been a good friend? I’ve only heard of their relations after the current conflict began, where there were reports that Africans and Indians faced racism and segregation at the Ukraine border: https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/28/europe/students-allege-racism-ukraine-cmd-intl/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/28/europe/students-allege-racism...