By Dr. Sawraj Singh
The 70th anniversary of Russia’s victory over Germany in the Second World War was celebrated in Moscow on May 9, 2015. This was the largest such parade in Russia’s history. Besides 16,000 Russian troops, soldiers from countries such as China and India also participated. There was a massive display of Russian weaponry. This sends a strong message to the world that not only Russia is the leading nuclear power of the world, it is also a very big conventional military power. By winning the war with Georgia in 2008 and by winning the Ukraine war in 2015, Russia has re-established its credentials as one of the most important players in world politics.
Russia also wanted to send the message that it has modernized its weaponry and army. One could clearly see the difference between Russia of 2008, when it won the war with Georgia, and Russia of 2015, when Russia won the war with Ukraine. Russian army and weaponry have been modernized. That change was apparent in the parade. There were Armata T-14 tanks, RS-24 Yar ICBM launchers, 9K720 Iskander ballistic missiles, and S-400 missiles were also there.
Russia also wanted to give the message that it has many close friends all over the world. 20 heads of state attended the parade in spite of the western boycott. Among the 20 leaders who attended were the Presidents of India, China, Egypt, Cuba, Venezuela, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Palestine, Mongolia, and Vietnam. For the first time, soldiers from China and India participated in the parade. The West got a loud and clear message that its policy of isolating and containing Russia has failed. There was a sort of admission by the West of its mistake. Angela Merkel, who, like other western leaders, stayed away from the parade, came to Moscow in a conciliatory move and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It clearly shows that Germany wants to maintain its relations with Russia. Germany worked hard to get an agreement between Ukraine and Russia. Despite its weakness the Minsk agreement is still holding. Germany is the leading economic power of Europe. It shows that Europe is on its way of having independent relations with Russia. In other words, Russia has been able to make a dent between Europe and America. In another victory for Russia, Obama sent Kerry to meet Putin after Merkel’s visit. Does that mean America’s policy of isolating and containing Russia is faltering?
India is starting to realize the importance of re-emerging Russia. President Pranab Mukherjee called Russia “a dependable partner of India.” He was in Russia for a five-day trip to participate in the 70th Victory day parade in Moscow. Mukherjee said that irrespective of Russia’s ties with other countries, its ties with India would continue to be strong. He said that Russia will remain India’s partner in defense and energy sectors regardless of Russia’s relations with other countries. It appears that by other countries, he meant Pakistan. Russia has agreed to supply arms to Pakistan. Russia has lifted its embargo on defense supplies to Pakistan. Pakistan and Russia have agreed to hold their first-ever joint military exercises. Mukherjee said that the India-Russia relationship is one of deep friendship and mutual confidence that would not be affected by transient political trends. He called Russia a pillar of strength in difficult moments in India’s history and India will always reciprocate this support. He said that his visit also reflected the importance India places on its strategic partnership with Russia and India-Russia relations have stood the test of time.
Indian leaders have repeatedly declared that India has embarked upon a “look East” policy. However, India’s actions generally do not support this assertion. It appears that Indian leaders have not been able to completely get rid of their slavish mentality towards the West. In this field they are only excelled by the Indian media, which always appears heavily tilted towards the West. The biggest cause for this attitude is the Indian educational system, whose foundation was laid down during the colonial period. After Independence, India has never been able to change that system. In reality, the Indian educational system has tilted even further to the West. The status that the English language enjoys in India is unparalleled in the non-English speaking countries, or even in the English-speaking countries. The command of the English language determines one’s socio-economic status in India more than any other country in the world. This can be compared to the Tea ceremony in Japan: the ceremony determines the upbringing and status of a girl in the society.
I feel that India has never fully realized Russia’s importance. Russia stood by India in the most difficult times when America and the other western countries tried to isolate and contain India. However, when the Soviet Union collapsed, India wasted no time in jumping to the American camp and deserted its old and reliable friend. I also feel that when Russia started making up with Pakistan, that was the time when India realized how wrong it had been in its attitude towards Russia. The spectre of a Russia-China-Pakistan axis has made India realize the bitter realities of the region. If that axis develops, America and other western countries can do very little for India because India can be completely encircled by unfriendly states. The western countries will be unable to break that encirclement. The only thing which can help India in this unfortunate and disastrous scenario is to revive its traditional friendship with Russia. Therefore, Russia is India’s only hope.
Whatever took India to realize the realities of today’s world, a good thing has happened. Finally, India is realizing that the East is really rising and the West is in a state of decline. The time has come for India to shed its slavish mentality towards the West and claim its natural status as an important member of the East. India may now really start looking towards the East. Russia is not only a time-tested and reliable friend but is India’s bridge to the East. As long as India has good relations with Russia, it does not have to fear China and Pakistan. China’s relation with Russia is so strong now that China will not make any big move without consulting Russia. Both China and Russia have realized that America used differences between them to become the only superpower of the world. Therefore, they will never make the same mistake and will try to stand together. India should also learn from their experiences. Russia, China and India are the pillars of the new, rising East. None of these countries can get its proper status in the western-dominated world order. To get the status they deserve, they have to work together for a multi-polar world.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected].
