The prime minister of the supposedly largest “democratic” country in the world, India, will visit Ukraine on Friday. This is good in itself and a little embarrassing for India’s close friend Russia. What will it bring?
India is a fence-sitter. When it comes to the Russia-Ukraine war, it is closer to Russia for pragmatic, i.e. opportunistic, reasons: cheap oil and arms supplies from Moscow and the outdated ideological need to distance itself from the Western world, whose democratic values it ironically still claims to share, rather than Russia’s despotic and imperialist ones.
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India wants to be seen as a neutral party in the tradition of the once so-called non-aligned states. Yet it pretends not to see Russia’s predatory imperialism for what it is and instead tends to blame the West for the international disorder.
One wonders how India would react if Pakistani or Chinese missiles rained down on its cities, its territory was seized and occupied, its very identity rejected, and its people forced to flee by ruthless foreign invaders.
However, given India’s importance, it is also understandable that Ukraine would want at least the tacit support of the world’s most populous country in its efforts to force Russia to the negotiating table in order to achieve a peace settlement based on the international norms that India claims to respect.
It is true that in the past Ukraine may not have paid due attention to cultivating relations with India. Fortunately, that seems to be changing. And it is in India’s interest that peace and prosperity prevail in a secure, European Ukraine that offers ample opportunities for trade and investment.
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India’s head of government needs to be reminded of what the legendary Mahatma Gandhi said decades ago: “As long as imperialism exists in the world, lasting peace is impossible.” Unfortunately, if Modi ignores this, he and those he represents will remain just another brick in the pro-Russian BRICS wall, a hindrance and not a facilitator.
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