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By:

Dr. V.L. Dharurkar

12 February 2025 at 2:53:17 pm

The Unlikeliest Constant

Why India’s bond with Russia survives sanctions, summits and shifting global power. In an era defined by broken alliances and transactional diplomacy, the India-Russia relationship has proved oddly resilient. While the West seeks to isolate Vladimir Putin over Ukraine and China tests the limits of American power in Asia, India and Russia continue to conduct business with an ease that defies geopolitical fashion. Their partnership, rooted in Cold War history but adapted to a fiercely...

The Unlikeliest Constant

Why India’s bond with Russia survives sanctions, summits and shifting global power. In an era defined by broken alliances and transactional diplomacy, the India-Russia relationship has proved oddly resilient. While the West seeks to isolate Vladimir Putin over Ukraine and China tests the limits of American power in Asia, India and Russia continue to conduct business with an ease that defies geopolitical fashion. Their partnership, rooted in Cold War history but adapted to a fiercely multipolar present, has become one of the quiet constants of global politics. India’s ties with Moscow stretch back to the aftermath of the second world war, deepening during the Soviet era and reaching their emotional peak under Indira Gandhi in 1971. Those were years when ideology and necessity aligned. The Soviet Union is long gone, and today’s India is scarcely the Congress-led, state-heavy economy of old. Yet the relationship did not fade with the red flag. It was rebooted in 2000 when Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Putin forged what they called a “special and privileged strategic partnership.” Narendra Modi has since made it more pragmatic, more commercial and no less durable. Common Interests The glue holding the relationship together is not nostalgia but interest. Russia offers what India needs at scale: defence hardware, energy, fertilisers and strategic depth. India, for its part, offers Russia a massive market, diplomatic breathing room and the legitimacy of engagement at a time when Europe and America keep their distance. The war in Ukraine has only sharpened that logic. As western buyers recoiled from Russian crude, India stepped in with enthusiasm, becoming one of Moscow’s largest oil customers. Discounts eased India’s inflationary pressures while keeping Russia’s export revenues flowing. Washington protested. Delhi ignored it. Strategic autonomy, long a slogan of Indian diplomacy, suddenly acquired a very visible balance-sheet. Behind the oil tankers lies a deeper strategic symmetry. Russia has pivoted from west to east, not out of philosophical conviction but because isolation has given it little choice. It now sees Asia, above all China and India, as its economic rear-guard. India, meanwhile, sees Russia as both hedge and partner: a hedge against American overreach, and a partner in weapons systems that Western suppliers are often reluctant to share on easy terms. Defence Ties Defence remains the hard core of the relationship. From fighter aircraft to missile systems and submarines, Russian technology still underpins large sections of India’s military machine. Even as India diversifies suppliers to include France, Israel and America, Russia remains the single most embedded defence partner. This explains why sanctions have dented, but not broken, military cooperation. Economics, too, is being retooled. Bilateral trade has surged since 2022, heavily tilted in Russia’s favour because of energy imports. Both sides speak of pushing it towards $100 billion in the coming years. That will require India to sell far more than pharmaceuticals, tea and engineering goods. It will require Indian firms to understand Russian consumers, logistics snarls and payment systems insulated from the dollar. There is also a demographic logic emerging. Russia, ageing and labour-starved, needs skilled workers. India, youthful and credential-rich, is keen to export labour. Agreements to place tens of thousands of Indian workers in Russian industry point to a new phase of engagement. Modi has also sought to clothe realpolitik in culture. Visa relaxations, tourism drives and talk of reviving old cinematic and artistic exchanges evoke the 1970s, when Raj Kapoor was as beloved in Moscow as in Mumbai. Yet this relationship is not without its cracks. Russia’s growing closeness to China unsettles Indian strategists who remain locked in an unresolved standoff along their Himalayan frontier. Moscow insists it can manage both friendships even as New Delhi quietly doubts it. Meanwhile, India’s parallel courtship of the West through the Quad, defence deals with America and trade talks with Europe, creates an inevitable tension with its Russian alignment. India insists it can walk multiple paths at once. So far, it has managed to do so with surprising agility. The India–Russia partnership is neither sentimental nor revolutionary. It is conservative in the oldest sense: it preserves arrangements that continue to deliver power, profit and protection. In a world tilting towards blocs and binaries, India is betting that strategic ambiguity is still viable.   (The writer is a researcher and expert in foreign affairs. Views personal.)

The RSS’s Role in Our Freedom Struggle

Updated: Oct 21, 2024



The RSS’s Role in Our Freedom Struggle

The Indian independence struggle, often narrated through the lives of a few prominent leaders, is only a partial story. But emerging documents now reveal a more complete picture. Kalyan Kumar De's book ‘Netaji’ reveals British archive information linking public outrage over INA trials and the naval rebellion to the British's decision to leave.

Few are aware that the first revolt for independence was led by the Maruthu Pandiyar brothers at Tamil Nadi in 1801. Similarly, the contributions of figures like Subramanya Bharathi, VO Chidambaram Pillai, Kumarswamy Mudaliar, Birsa Munda are rarely mentioned in favour of more widely recognised leaders like Gandhi and Nehru.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has received little recognition. Founded in 1925, the RSS focused on spiritual patriotism rooted in India’s Hindu culture, inspired by Bankimchandra, Lokmanya Tilak, and Savarkar. Dr. Hedgewar advocated for nationalism based on Bharat’s cultural and geographical identity.

He initially revolted against the British during his school days. While studying medicine in Kolkata, he joined the Anusheelan Samiti and led against the British-imposed restrictions on Indian doctors. As a Congress joint secretary, his advocacy for ‘complete freedom’ was rejected in favour of limited self-rule.  His support for the non-cooperation movement led to a nine-month prison term.

Realising that India’s divisions-caste, orthodoxy, parochial conflicts, and language, hindered the unity required to overthrow the British.  After conferring with leaders of Hindu Mahasabha and Congress, he established a new organisation apart from politics, the RSS.

The original RSS pledged to work with complete commitment for the freedom of the Hindu Rashtra, that is, Bharat. Dr. Hedgewar envisioned an all-India organisation prepared to fight for freedom after WWII. Before his passing, he regretted not completing this task by 1940 to seize this historic moment. His vision became clearer when we see that the Quit India movement was launched in 1942 and the INA was formed.

The second RSS sarsanghchaalak, Shri Guruji, worked to make the RSS a strong all-India organisation. At this time, the Quit India came to the fore, and RSS swayamsevaks participated in the movement.

Since RSS's biggest and most powerful participation was in Vidarbha, two towns, Chimur and Ashti, saw a takeover of government with ‘Patri Sarkar.’ Multiple Swayamsevak were either shot, hanged, or imprisoned. The RSS further supported the Quit India movement by providing shelter and legal assistance in fighting cases of satyagrahis and these leaders.

When independence was declared, RSS volunteers protected the people of Punjab and Sindh and assisted many of them in escaping from the newly formed Pakistan. Hundreds of swayamsevaks sacrificed their lives, families, and businesses. 

Even before the Indian army marched into Jammu and Kashmir after the signing of the treaty of accession, it was the RSS that stood with the Dogra army and later the Indian army to provide support. They aided in the construction of roads, bridges, and runways; and picked up ammunition dropped by air force planes.

As unbelievable as it may sound, there were small colonies in India even after independence. Pondicherry was liberated with a treaty with the French in 1954. Dadra Nagar Haveli was liberated by RSS swayamsevaks led by Vinyakrao Apte, Sanghchaalak of Pune, in 1954.  Thousands of swayamsevaks liberated Goa under the leadership of Jagannathrao Joshi. Rajbhau Mahkal from Indore was shot through the eye and lost his life, holding the Tricolour aloft.

In my book “Sangh & Swaraj”, I have included the names of 33 swayamsevaks who lost their lives defending Hindus in the Amritsar riots. Other books like “Now it Can be Told”, “Jammu Kashmir ki Ankahi Kahani”, and “Jyoti Jala Nij Pran ki” must be read to understand the contribution of the RSS, before and after Independence.    

Post World War II, the British Raj decided to give up on Bharat as they realised the rising anger against INA trials and the Naval rebellion. I do not negate the sacrifices of Indians under the non-violent path of freedom struggle, but request historians and others to take a balanced view and give credit where it is due. We all pay our respects to all the freedom fighters, whether sants, patriotic sadhus, janajaati leaders, revolutionaries, Congress, or others like the RSS. To truly understand our struggle for independence, we must revisit it with the depth and nuance it deserves, as the venerable historian R.C. Majumdar began, and finally give voice to the silenced narratives that shaped our nation.

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