Relations between India and Russia are rooted in history, mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation. This is a strategic partnership that has withstood the test of time, and it enjoys the support of the people of both countries.
History
Diplomatic relations between India and Russia began even before India achieved independence, on 13 April 1947. In the period immediately following independence the goal for India was to attain economic self-sufficiency through investment in heavy industry. The Soviet Union invested in several new enterprises in the areas of heavy machine-building, mining, energy production and steel plants. During India’s second Five Year Plan, of the sixteen heavy industry projects set up, eight were initiated with the help of the Soviet Union. This included the establishment of the world famous IIT Bombay.
A watershed moment in relations between India and the Soviet Union was the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in August 1971. The Treaty was the manifestation of shared goals of the two nations as well as a blueprint for the strengthening of regional and global peace and security. As I would tell you later this treaty turned out to be a game changer in the war for the liberation of Bangladesh!
The nineties were a tumultuous period for both countries. In 1990, India extended loans to the USSR in the form of technical credit and in 1991, India extended food credit and gift of 20,000 tonnes of rice. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, India and Russia entered into a new Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in January 1993 and a bilateral Military-Technical Cooperation agreement in 1994. This association still continues and our Prime Minister and their President meet once a year alternately in each other’s countries not only to reaffirm our world view but to remain committed as strategic partners in progress. The two sides also signed the ‘Strategic Vision for Strengthening Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy’ in 2014 and agreed on the ‘Partnership for Global Peace and Stability’ in 2016.
The China factor
The China factor however is an undeniably difficult one in current Indo-Russian relations. While Russia is relying more and more on China economically and strategically after the Ukrainian crisis and annexation of Crimea and the western sanctions that followed, the Chinese military intrusions in our northern and eastern borders make them our No. 1 adversary today. From a pseudo-non-aligned India, which was clearly pro-Soviet, India today has a strategic civil nuclear deal with the U.S and with the latter and Japan and Australia forms a QUAD group designed against Chinese expansionist posturing. But way back in 1971 the situation was quite different.
A nugget from history
Mr. Vippin Nair is a historian who has extensively documented the course of events which led to the liberation of Bangladesh. During the ‘71 war USA tried to coerce China into attacking India to create multiple fronts as India was fighting Pakistan in both Eastern and Western sectors, but China didn’t oblige. What can be the reasons? U.S. President Nixon had an idea that India was wounded lion and it would be easy to take it out of the equation.
Whereas in reality the lion was just tired, US forces specifically the 7th fleet at that time was deployed in Gulf of Tolkien. Controlling the largest fleet, US wanted to swiftly move in to the Bay of Bengal and liberate the Pakistan forces from East Pakistan.
When the intelligence relayed the message that a large fleet is moving in, to India’s Eastern Fleet which was in command of Vice Admiral N Krishnan he said “Just give us the orders” but what he did not know was UK was moving in from the other direction to attack India at the Arabian Sea. The plan was to sandwich India from both direction and the beloved Chinese were in on this plan to attack from above.
A three way deadlock would have completely crushed India if the plan was successfully executed. The only thing President Nixon and his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger forgot was India had a big brother at that time. India asked Soviet for help as per the Indo-Soviet security treaty. Soviet intelligence knew that UK’s Navy is led by its aircraft carrier Eagle.
To counter this two-pronged British-American threat, Russia dispatched a nuclear-armed flotilla from Vladivostok on December 13 under the overall command of Admiral Vladimir Kruglyakov, the Commander of the 10th Operative Battle Group (Pacific Fleet). Though the Russian fleet comprised a good number of nuclear-armed ships and atomic submarines, their missiles were of limited range (less than 300 km). Hence to effectively counter the British and American fleets the Russian commanders had to undertake the risk of encircling them to bring them within their target. This they did with military precision.
In an interview after his retirement, Admiral Kruglyakov, who commanded the Pacific Fleet from 1970 to 1975, recalled that Moscow ordered the Russian ships to prevent the Americans and British from getting closer to “Indian military objects”. The genial Kruglyakov added: “The Chief Commander’s order was that our submarines should surface when the Americans appear. It was done to demonstrate to them that we had nuclear submarines in the Indian Ocean. So when our subs surfaced, they recognised us. In the way of the American Navy stood the Soviet cruisers, destroyers and atomic submarines equipped with anti-ship missiles. We encircled them and trained our missiles at the Enterprise. We blocked them and did not allow them to close in on Karachi, Chittagong or Dhaka."
At this point, the Russians intercepted a communication from the commander of the British carrier battle group, Admiral Dimon Gordon, to the Seventh Fleet commander: “Sir, we are too late. There are the Russian atomic submarines here, and a big collection of battleships.” The British ships fled towards Madagascar while the larger US task force stopped before entering the Bay of Bengal.
The Russian manoeuvres clearly helped prevent a direct clash between India and the U.S-U.K combine. Newly declassified documents reveal that the Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi went ahead with her plan to liberate Bangladesh despite inputs that the Americans had kept three battalions of Marines on standby to deter India, and that the American aircraft carrier USS Enterprise had orders to target the Indian Army, which had broken through the Pakistani Army’s defenses and was thundering down the highway to the gates of Lahore, West Pakistan’s second largest city.
According to note prepared by India's foreign ministry, "The bomber force aboard the Enterprise had the US President's authority to undertake bombing of the Indian Army's communications, if necessary."
Despite Kissinger’s goading and desperate Pakistani calls for help, the Chinese did nothing. US diplomatic documents reveal that Mrs. Indira Gandhi knew the Soviets had factored in the possibility of Chinese intervention. Referring to an Indian cabinet meeting held on December 10, “If the Chinese were to become directly involved in the conflict, Mrs. Gandhi said, the Chinese know that the Soviet Union would act in the Sinkiang region. Soviet air support may be made available to India at that time.” So naturally China couldn't do anything because USSR was sitting on top of it flexing its muscles daring China to make a move.
Have you ever wondered how much the world has changed geo-politically!
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