Sunday, February 3, 2002		Books

WRITE VIEW
India and Russia in search of post-cold war equation
Review by Randeep Wadehra

India and Russia Towards Strategic Partnership
edited by Shams-ud-din. Lancer’s Books, New Delhi. Pages xi+273. Rs 495.

THE post-cold war world has become, to borrow Samuel Huntington’s phrase, "a multi-polar and multi-civilisational" entity. Russia, shrunk from its Soviet Union size, is trying to carve out a new role for itself. Right from the time of the Czars it has been craving for a substantial niche in the European scene. However it remained more or less cut off from the West and gradually came to be seen as an "Eastern" power. India’s strategic contact with Russia began only after independence. Though the British colonial rulers did periodically raise the bogey of Russia’s southward expansion towards the Indian Ocean, it remained more or less in realms of conjecture.

The Soviet Union not only became our strategic ally – albeit an informal one – vis-a-vis the West-supported Pakistan, but also an inspiration for our planned economic development. The trade ties too became very strong.

Shams-ud-din points out that the post-Soviet era Russian worldview became Euro-centric. This, combined with the economic chaos within the country, resulted in jeopardising its commercial ties with developing countries and in placing the Indo-Russian relations on the backburner. However, the Russians were soon disillusioned with the West and hastened to mend fences with India and other Asian neighbours. He observes, "The Russian-Chinese and Russian-Indian dialogues on strategic partnership are directed to strengthen the international forces to work for the establishment of a multi-polar world." He and Bhaswati Sarkar conclude that Russia is still geo-strategically too important to be ignored. Yet the recent developments, wherein India and the USA are coming closer while Pakistan’s ties with Russia are warming up, are bound to have far- reaching implications.

Nirmala Joshi says that Central Asia impinges on the security concerns of both Russia and India. She adds, "Since both the countries are facing the challenge of militancy and the scourge of international terrorism, it is in their interest to see that this danger does not spread to Central Asia." Shashikant Jha avers that even though Russia gives more importance to China and Japan, India remains a potentially crucial partner for Russia, which the latter appears now to be trying to rediscover. There is an enormous legacy of multifaceted relationship and vast reservoir of goodwill between the two countries, which can help promote mutually beneficial commercial and strategic ties.

Prof. Sergei Lounev points out that Soviet-Indian relations had asymmetric character. The changes were mainly linked with the cardinal shifts in (a) the global system of international relations and (b) the internal development of the Soviet Union that impacted upon the external dimension of Soviet "para-strategy". In the 1990s while India’s role in international status was "significantly" strengthened, Russia witnessed a nosedive in its status. Yet the two countries need each other for mutual benefit in the field of military cooperation, trade and international power politics.

O.N. Mehrotra states that though Moscow would have preferred a Russia-China-India strategic partnership, China and India prefer bilateral ties. China has emerged a strong partner of Russia and it is felt that their relationship might culminate in an alliance. This might adversely affect Indo-Russian equation especially if Sino-Indian relations deteriorate. Here one would like to add that China has been the backbone of Pakistan’s military build-up – something that New Delhi is unlikely to forget in a hurry. Sooner or later this issue will become a bone of contention between the two Asian giants, now that India is fast shedding its reticence about the mischief that is being played on its borders.

R.R. Subramaniam gives details of various atomic energy projects launched in India with Russian cooperation. The post-cold war period has faced many roadblocks in this field, but things are not very gloomy. Again China looms large on the Indo-Russian radar screen. On the one hand, China is developing strategic ties with Russia and, on the other hand, it has supported Pakistan’s efforts to develop a nuclear arsenal. This affects India’s strategic concerns. Can Russia afford to ignore these?

Zafar Imam points out that Russia felt "let down" by the May, 1998, nuclear explosions. Though Russia’s opposition to India going nuclear was emphatic, it was muted when compared to the Anglo-American reaction. This however made the resolution of Indo-Pak disputes all the more urgent in the calculations of Russian as well as western countries.

Anita Sengupta ponders over Russia’s Central Asian policy. She feels that the debate about Russia’s relations with the Asian "heartlands" began in the 19th century. The Soviet Union’s demise led to a soul searching reminding one of the 19th century deliberations. The Eurasianist school of thought emphasises that Russia could perform exceptional functions both for Europe and for Asia, including Central Asia, as an intermediary in economic, political, military and other affairs. Vijay Kapur dwells upon the dynamics of Islam in Central and South Asia that pose a challenge both to India and Russia.

Riyaz Punjabi enumerates Russia’s foreign policy – with specific reference to Kashmir. Kalim Bahadur reveals Pakistani concerns on India-Russia relations, while Valentina Chernovskaya introduces us to Muslim revival in Central Asia. T.A. Kazakova gives a glimpse of the Russian leadership on the eve of the third millennium.

Sanjay Pandey gives a comparative perspective of federalism in India and Russia. Anuradha Chenoy takes us through the various phases of Indo-Russian relations, and Gulshan Sachdeva mulls over the present realities and future possibilities of trade and economic ties between the two countries, while R.G. Gidadhubli throws light on challenges and opportunities in the same field. Tahir Asghar gives an overview of trade between India and Russia, and Jyotsna Bakshi highlights cooperation between the two countries in the fields of economy, science and technology.

Even though some chapters might sound repetitive as they deal with identical themes, the perspectives provided by the contributors are absorbingly kaleidoscopic. A good buy for reference and research.