The Ukraine war, India and a stand of non-alignment

News: World is criticizing Russia over its actions on Ukraine.

What are the concerns of Russia?

It is clear that NATO expansion to Russian borders is a legitimate security threat for Russia. President of Ukraine should have been more careful in devising a formula to lean towards the west and ease Russian concerns at the same time.

But none of these justifies Russian invasion of Ukraine. It has been condemned by west and United Nations.

How it is difficult for India to choose a particular side?

India US relationships are continuously growing especially in the defense sector. Both are also the members of the Quad grouping which will help India to contain China in the future if needed

Russia is India’s principal source of military hardware and is willing to share the technology also. Russia has also helped India in the United Nations on many occasions. For example, Russia stalled action in the UN for several days at the time of the 1971 Bangladesh war to enable India to ‘finish the job’. India may also need Russian support in the future if Pakistan brings up the Kashmir issue in the world organization.

India’s Policy in Russia-Ukraine Issue

At present, the Indian government policy of maintaining a kind of neutral position is the continuation of  Nehruvian policy of non-alignment. 

Jawaharlal Nehru even called it a selfish policy because it is motivated by the principle of national interest.

Source: This post is based on the article “The Ukraine war, India and a stand of non-alignment” published in the TheHindu on 2nd March 2022.