Who is the true ally of India? ~ Group Discussion Ideas

Table of Contents

What do you mean by an ally?

An all-weather friend who can be relied on for support through thick and thin.

Prospective Allies of India :-

India has numerous alliances with nations all across the globe. But to keep it simple, only alliances which have far-reaching consequences in the international arena should be taken into consideration.
Keeping that in mind, 2 prospective allies emerge:- 1. USA 2. Russia.

Indo-Russia relations :-

India and Russia(erstwhile USSR) have had cordial and deep relations since India’s independence.
The Indo-Russia relations are built on 5 key pillars: politics, defence, civil nuclear energy, anti-terrorism co-operation, and space.
Historically, Russia(or USSR) has helped India on numerous key occasions. In 1965, the Soviet Union served successfully as a peace broker between India and Pakistan after the Indian-Pakistan border war. Soviet support to India prevented China from intervening in the East Pakistan liberation war etc.
India has robust defence co-operation with Russia. 68% of Indian military hardware comes from Russia. Brahmos, SU-30MKI, S-400 Triumf procurement, Akula II nuclear submarine, etc are some examples of the defense co-operation between the 2 countries.
Russia has helped India in developing its space programme to its current. India’s first satellite(Aryabhatta) was launched by Russia. And many such collaborations have been initiated and realized.
Russia has also supported India on several occasions on its stand against terrorism. It has publicly stated that it supports India receiving a permanent seat in UNSC.

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Indo-US relations :-

India and US relations have been inconsistent since independence with the USA aligning itself with Pakistan at times.
The USA had supported Pakistan in 1971 war. Also, the USA has had strong defence ties with Pakistan over the years.
It was only in the Bush and Obama administration that Indo-US ties have improved tremendously.
Addition of India in MTCR, Wassenaar arrangement, supporting India’s bid for a seat at NSG, signing of defence agreements, to name a few, have been key milestones in the improvement of Indo-US relations.
The USA also shares India’s stand on terrorism. The most recent example being: the USA(and others) moving a resolution in The UN to declare Masood Azhar as a terrorist.

Conclusion :-

In light of the above information, it can be logically said that Russia has remained a true ally of India. Indo-USA relations have definitely improved, but it is yet too early to call it a time-tested relationship. Russia, on the other hand, has been an all-weather ally of India despite knowing its consequence on Sino-Russia relations.