India’s Stand on the Ukraine war

Context:

On February 23, 2023, on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution, calling for an end to the war. 

• The resolution was favored by 141 members and opposed by seven, while 32 states abstained including India, which has triggered sharp responses in the West. 

To understand India’s position, one has to look at how India sees the war:

Democracies versus autocracies

• For the U.S. this is a global crusade for democracy. 
• For the Atlanticists, the war is an affront to global democracy. 
• According to this narrative, anything less than a complete Russian defeat would mean “the end of the international order”. 
• India and South Africa, large democracies from Asia and Africa, have consistently abstained from votes at the UN and refused to join the sanctions because the sanctions were unilateral, imposed by specific countries or blocs, without UN approval. 
• It seems to be less about global democracy than the post-Cold War security architecture in Europe.

Morality versus National Interests:

When there was a divergence between national interests and moral concepts, the West, without qualms, embraced the first. 

Examples:

• Illegal invasion of Iraq: In 2003, the U.S. launched its illegal invasion of Iraq, violating the country’s sovereignty. 
• No-fly zone in Libya: In 2011, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) turned a UN Security Council resolution to establish a no-fly zone in Libya into a full-scale invasion. 
• Annexation of  East Jerusalem: Israel has illegally annexed East Jerusalem and Syria’s Golan Heights and keeps building illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. 
• Illegally seized Syrian territories: Turkey, a NATO member, which has illegally seized Syrian territories but faces no international ire.

India’s Past Stand: 

• In 2003, when India came under considerable pressure from the George W. Bush administration to send “peacekeeping troops” to an American-occupied Iraq, it was an emphatic no from the then government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. 
• Likewise, India, by no means should help Russia militarily in the Ukraine war.

India’s concerns & ties with Russia: 

• Fuel: Discounted fuel coming in from Russia is a relief for India, the world’s fifth largest economy, that meets over 80% of its fuel needs through imports. 
• Defense supplier: Russia has fulfilled over 46% of India’s defense needs in the last five years. 
• China role: To manage its continental interests and tackle its continental security concerns, India has to work with powers in the Eurasian landmass where the U.S. is practically absent, especially after its disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Russia plays a key role in India’s continental foreign policy.

What does New Delhi want?

• Neither the weakening of Russia nor the destruction and splintering of Ukraine is in its interests. 
• What India wants is an immediate end to the war and a new security equilibrium between great powers so that the global economy could be stabilized and the world could focus on more pressing problems — from climate change to UN reforms. 

Conclusion:

• As Jawaharlal Nehru stated in 1957 in the wake of the Soviet intervention in Hungary, “it doesn’t help calling names and condemning” any power. Instead, India should stick to its pragmatic neutrality, rooted in realism, and continue to push for a practical solution to the Ukraine crisis.

                                                                                                                                                             News Source: The Hindu