MV Kamath
THERE is one thing that formulators of foreign policy must never forget and that is, in the past the Soviet Union was our best friend and that friendship must not only be maintained, but must be raised to greater heights with the Union’s successor, Russia.
When the Cold War was at its worst, the United States had no compunction in giving its fullest support to subaltern Pakistan, to the extent of looking the other way when Islamabad used American financial and military assistance to wage war against India. When, in 1956, the western powers in the UN Security Council tried to browbeat India over the Kashmir issue, it was the Soviet Union which stood firmly by us. It was with the Soviet Union that India signed a Treaty of Friendship on August 9, 1971 which provided for bilateral consultations in the event of crises. That served as a warning to the U.S. that sending a warship to make its presence in the Bay of Bengal maybe counter-productive.
In recent years Russo-Indian relations have been on the silent mode but is was Vladimir Putin who helped restore warmth when he succeeded Boris Yeltsin 12 years ago. That warmth should be maintained.
Indeed, in a special contribution to The Hindu (December 24) Putin made the point that “deepening of friendship and cooperation with India is among the top priorities of our foreign policy”. He reminded his readers that the Declaration on Strategic Partnership between India and Russia signed in October 2000 has become “a truly historic step”. His visit to India was originally scheduled for October-end but it was suddenly postponed with analysts in both countries attributing the delay to “unresolved problems”. There have been in recent times a number of minor irritations that have created a measure of suspicion.
Thus, in April 2011, a flotilla of five Indian warships from its eastern fleet that went for joint naval exercises to Vladivostok in the Russian far east was turned back without any manoeuvre. The last Joint Naval Exercise took place in April 2007 in the Sea of Japan. Again, the Joint Army Exercise scheduled to be held in Russia in June 2011 was also cancelled shortly afterwards. The last military exercises between the Russian and Indian Army units were held in Uttarakhand in October 2010.
India, in turn, has not been happy with the repeated delay in delivering the Soviet-built warship INS Vikramaditya and the frequent pricing changes, Moscow has indulged in. Putin’s visit – it hardly lasted 18 hours – is now being considered a major effort in improving Russo-Indian relations. The two countries have now signed deals worth over $ 4 billion (Rs 22,000 crore), including the procurement of 42 Su-30 MKI front-line fighter aircraft and 71 MI-17 V5 (Viper) medium lift helicopters. Also a Russian financial organisation has inked a pact with the State Bank of India for setting up a $ 2 billion investment consortium aimed at actively promoting investment between the two economics.
Additionally, Tata Consultancy Services and Russian Navigation Information Systems have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to establish and strengthen technology partner relations in software development, etc. And, strictly on the business side, a Mumbai based pharmaceutical company has inked an MoU with a Russian firm (Pharma Eco) for a joint venture agreement.
One understands that in fact the Putin visit has resulted in signing ten pacts, which is a happy development. One of the irritants that remains to be removed is in regard to the Kudankulam Atomic Power plant under construction in Tamil Nadu. There is no dispute over the fact that Russia has been a major supplier of high-end technology, but, after what happened in Bhopal, India wants all foreign-built nuclear power plants to come under the provision of the Civil Nuclear Liability Law. It is applicable to all technology providers, including France and the United States. Russia cannot ask to be excused.
Two facts need to be remembered in this connection. Russia has accounted for over three fourths of India’s Defence hardware imports during the past decade. Russia and India have close cooperation whether in the production of the BrahMos missile system, development of a fifth generation stealth jet fighter, manufacture of Sukhoi Su 30 MKI fighter aircraft and T-30 tanks. But what is intriguing is that bilateral trade between the two countries at a low $6.5 billion in 2011-2012 is nothing to boast about. The biggest item of Indian export to Russia is pharmaceuticals ($700 million) and the biggest import from Russia is potash (about $1 billion).
Surely there is immense scope for trade and commerce between the two countries, apart from potash and pharmaceuticals? Development of SARAS Duet aircraft, semi-conductor products, super computers, poly-vaccines, laser science and technology, high-purity materials and even Ayur Veda have been some of the priority areas of cooperation under the Integrated Long-Term Programme of Cooperation (ILTP). The question may be legitimately asked: Why is there so little social interaction between India and Russia? One answer is: Language. India may have been very unhappy with the United States in the past for supporting Pakistan in many ways, at its cost.
But language-wise, English binds the two countries in an invisible bond. Language is a very powerful force that cannot be ignored. It is not that there are no cultural relations between India and Russia. Five Chairs relating to Indology exist in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaza and Vladivostok. There is a Hindi Department in the University of Moscow. In 2010 at the second BRIC summit held in Brazilia, India and Russia agreed to jointly study a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Belarus-Kazakhistan with the aim of boosting trade ties and achieving the ambitious trade traget of $20 billion by 2015. Significantly, the Russian company Gazprom and Gas Authority of India Ltd have collaborated in joint development of a block in the Bay of Bengal. But all said, there is still a need for increased social and intellectual contact between the two countries.
Shouldn’t there be a huge interchange of students between Russia and India? Surely, that is not a difficult task to attain? Development in such areas as Science, Technology, Trade and Commerce is all very well, but the interaction between the two countries must go beyond to – people. What are music, dance, drama, etc. for except to bring people together? Eh?
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