India and BRICS: An Analysis of Challenges Faced by India Amid

Russia-Ukraine War

Ram Sunder Kumar

, Garima Rai

, Utkarsh Mishra

, Sanjay Pandey

, Prabhat Dixit

and Hemant Kumar Pandey

Mandsaur University, Madhya Pradesh, India

Vivekananda Global University, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Department of Media & Mass Communication, Graphic Era Hill University, India

Journalism, and Mass Communication, Manipal University Jaipur, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Rajasthan Patrika, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Keywords: BRICS, QUAD, Russia, India, China.

Abstract: One of the founding members of BRICS, the acronym coined to denote Brazil, Russia, India, China and South

Africa, India finds itself in a quandary of sorts not only because it also is a member of QUAD (Quadrilateral

Security Dialogue) along with Australia, USA and Japan, formed primarily to contain China or because it also

attends meetings of US and western economic associations but owing to the Russia’s invasion, which Russia

calls special military operation, of Ukraine as a result o which the US and the European nations have slapped

sweeping sanctions on Russia. India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said that India did not have to

join either US axis or China axis. India may find it difficult if not impossible to wean itself away from Russia

fearing that it may result in losing its leverage with China. At the same time too much proximity with Russia

may not be liked by the western powers. This research paper will try to analyse the challenges faced by India

in its balancing act and its sustainability.

1 INTRODUCTION

India is among the founding members of BRICS, an

acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South

Africa. BRICS is essentially an economic

organisation created mainly to encourage and foster

trade among the member nations. Investment banking

company Goldman Sachs has predicted that the

BRICS economies would dominate the global

economy by 2050. Incidentally the members of the

BRICS were ranked at one time or the other the fastest

growing and emerging market economies for the

years to come. The experts are unanimous in their

opinion that BRICS was primarily a powerful

economic block and that it was not likely to be a

political block. BRICS nations have 41 percent of

world’s population, 24 percent of the world GDP and

16 percent share in the global trade. In a report

entitled “Dreaming with BRIC (South Africa was not

a member then, it joined the group in 2010): The Path

to 2050’’, the Goldman Sachs said that by 2050 the

BRIC would become more powerful than the G7

(2003).

Russia, which had initiated the formation of

BRIC, had hosted the first BRIC summit in 2009 in

Russia. In this summit the goals of the BRIC were

declared. These goals included resolution of conflicts,

using and developing technologies in information and

communication and creating favourable conditions

for barrier free trade among the member nations. The

BRICS also agreed upon a set of principles that

included solidarity, openness, pragmatism, neutrality

(regarding third parties) and non-block nature.

India’s position vis-à-vis BRICS is a unique one

as India is also member of Quad (Quadrilateral

Security Dialogue)along with Australia, Japan and

the USA, which China considers as a security risk.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Russia calls

“Special Military Operation’’ to ‘de-nazify’ Ukraine,

has put India in a very difficult situation especially

after the USA and the European Union slapped

unprecedented economic and other sanctions on

Russia.

Kumar, R., Rai, G., Mishra, U., Pandey, S., Dixit, P. and Pandey, H.

India and BRICS: An Analysis of Challenges Faced by India Amid Russia-Ukraine War.

DOI: 10.5220/0012786400003882

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR-2 2023), pages 233-237

ISBN: 978-989-758-723-8

233

The USA and the EU seek to choke the Russian

economy to force it to withdraw troops from Ukraine

and imposed a ban on import of coal, fossil fuel from

it. They also seek to reduce and later completely stop

buying Russian natural gas, which is the biggest

source of revenue for it. India, which has very close

ties with Russia dating back to the cold war era, finds

it impossible to support the sanctions. A good

relationship with Russia provides India the kind of

leverage it wants while dealing China.

India has come under pressure from the western

countries and the USA to curtail its relations with

Russia but it has so far resisted the pressure and made

it clear that it wanted to stick to its policy of

neutrality. India has been engaging with the Quaid

nations, European countries as well as Russia

(Upadhyay 2022). Many political experts have opined

that India may not be able to sustain its neutrality

policy for long and that it will have to decide whether

it wants to work with the democratic world led by the

USA. India’s foreign policy certainly faces a litmus

test as it has been swinging between diverse bunch of

power blocks (Banerjee 2022).

1.1 Objective

1. To analyse the challenges before India amid

the Russia-Ukraine war

2. To analyse position of India in BRICS

3. To analyse India’s position in Quad

4. To understand if India can keep both the

Russia and USA, EU in good humour.

1.2 Research Methodology

The Research Methodology consists of Descriptive

Research in qualitative analysis of the news and other

articles related to India’s position vis-à-vis Russia

published in various national and international news

sites, including the Russia Today, News 18, The

Hindu, Economic Times, Business Standard, CNN,

DW etc.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Cable News Network (CNN) wondered in a report as

how India could buy Russian Oil and still be friends

with the USA. “What a difference a few weeks make.

Just last month India was taking flak from the West

for its relationship with Russia. Not only was the

South Asian country refusing to condemn Moscow's

brutal assault on Ukraine, but its purchases of

discounted Russian oil -- said critics -- were flying in

the face of sanctions aimed at crippling the Kremlin's

finances. And the White House was making its

displeasure clear, calling New Delhi "somewhat

shaky" and speaking of its disappointment." (CNN,

2022). The Economic Times, in an article explained

why India had ramped up oil imports from Russia.

The article stated that Russia was a better friend in

energy cooperation. It also attributed economic

factors behind India’s position vis-à-vis Russia in the

wake of its invasion of Ukraine. Russia also offered

huge discounts to Indian refiners. (ET, 2022). India’s

foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar even

went on to suggest that India was smart enough to

keep both the western world and the Russia in good

humour. He also criticised the USA for not allowing

the Iranian and Venezuelan crude to come into the

market and suggested that India’s purchase of

Russian oil had in fact helped keep the oil prices in

check in the world market. The ET article also stated

that Russia has also helped India in the setting up

nuclear reactors. Furthermore, India has pursued an

assertive foreign policy since the BJP was swept to

power after the 2014 Parliamentary elections in the

country and Narendra Modi became the prime

minister. Traditionally also India has pursued a policy

of non-alignment. Besides, Russia has also been a

trusted defence partner with India. Similarly, India's

coal import rose 10% on-month to 2.03 million tonnes

(mint) in July from Russia, which toppled United

States and others to become the third-largest coal

supplier to India, as per vessel line-up data compiled

by CoalMint. India was the top importer of Chinese

met coke in the first half of 2022, fetching China an

average income of $553 per tonne. No matter some

sanctions by the West on Russia following its

invasion of Ukraine and India's strained relationship

with China, Asia's third largest economy is growing

increasingly dependent on these foreign countries for

supply of coal and met coke.

The Reserve Bank of India’s nod to allow

invoicing and payments for international trade in the

Indian rupees also facilitated greater bilateral

business with Russia, which is also virtually cut off

from standard cross-border payment platforms.

Besides there are also reports indicating that

India-Russia could allow rupee-ruble trade in the very

near future. The arrangement will allow India and

Russia to carry out financial operations bypassing the

US dollar as Russia is effectively blocked from using

US dollar due to sanctions. (CNBC, 2022).

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A report said that the Indian government is

working on a proposal to allow up to five nationalized

Indian banks to be engaged in the rupee-ruble trade

mechanism, and discussions between the central bank

governor, the finance minister, and the banks on the

matter have already been held. (RT, 2022). The

arrangement would let Indian exporters continue

doing business with Russia despite sanctions

banning, among other things, international payment

mechanisms in the country, such as SWIFT.

It would also let India continue buying Russian

energy exports and other goods. Merchandise trade

between India and Russia stood at $10.75 billion in

the first 10 months of FY22, with India exporting

goods worth about $2.8 billion and importing goods

worth $7.9 billion.

It is worth mentioning that India had also

abstained five times in the UN Security Council on

voting on resolutions denouncing Russian invasion of

Ukraine as well as on the issue of humanitarian crisis

in Ukraine. Despite strong objections from the US

and the threat of sanctions from the Biden

administration, India had also refused to make any

changes in its decision to purchase of the missile

defence system S-400 from Russia. India pursues an

independent foreign policy and its defence

acquisitions are guided by its national security

interests, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said

in November last year.

Despite boosting trade ties with Russia and refusal

to condemn the invasion of Ukraine, India has

extended humanitarian help to the war torn nation.

India sent the first tranche of humanitarian assistance

to Ukraine on March 1. As per MEA sources, the

consignment comprised two tonnes of humanitarian

aid including tents, blankets, surgical gloves,

protective eye gear, water storage tanks, sleeping

mats, tarpaulin and medicines and other relief

material. Later, on March 9, India's second tranche of

humanitarian aid to Ukraine was sent to Romania by

an IAF flight. It was handed over to Romanian

authorities or onward transmission to Ukraine.

3 CONTENT ANALYSIS

It is quite clear from the above that Indian has been

walking a diplomatic tightrope over the Russian

invasion of Ukraine. On the one hand India has been

trying to balance its decades old ties with Russia,

which has stood by it in times of crisis, and on the

other it also making efforts to ensure that its relations

with the USA and the European Union does not come

under strain. While many political experts have

termed India’s stance vis-à-vis Russia-Ukraine

conflict as indicative of maturity some others have

expressed apprehensions that it may hurt the

country’s ties with the West. Interestingly India,

which has not so far condemned the Russian invasion,

has called for resolving the crisis through diplomatic

means and dialogue.

It has also expressed regrets that not enough

efforts were made to resolve the crisis diplomatically

and through negotiations. Incidentally both Russia

and Ukraine had appealed to India to take a clear

stand on the matter. Some political pundits sought to

point out, on the basis of India’s statement at the UN,

that India had, albeit in a veiled manner, criticized

Russian invasion when it asked Russia to respect the

UN Charter, international law and sovereignty and

territorial integrity of the nations. India’s third

abstention at the UN over Ukraine was followed by

calls from senior officials in Washington to India to

"take a clear position".India's strategy has raised

questions, particularly in the West, over whether the

world's largest democracy should have taken a clearer

stand.

Former Indian diplomat JN Misra says India "has

bad and worse options to pick from"."One can't tilt

both ways at the same time. India has not named any

country, which shows it won't go against Moscow.

India had to be subtle in picking a side and it has done

that," he said. There are several reasons for India's

quest to find a diplomatic balance over Ukraine. The

most important are India's time-tested defence and

diplomatic ties with Moscow. Washington had not

promised any waiver even before Russia invaded

Ukraine, and experts believe that the issue could

become a bargaining chip between India and the US.

Meanwhile, Moscow could use its own pressure

points which include strengthening ties with India's

arch-rival Pakistan if it sees a change in Delhi's

strategy. Russia has accepted India's growing ties

with the US in the past two decades but Ukraine is a

red line that it wouldn't want Delhi to cross. A senior

US diplomat said that such tipping points will only

come if the conflict in Ukraine becomes prolonged

and ends up creating a bipolar world."Let's just hope

it doesn't happen.

But if it does, India's foreign policy will be

severely tested," he says. An expert in international

politics and deputy director of Asia program at

Wilson Center Michael Kugleman says that "One of

the goals was to get India on board in condemning

Russia. As I've been saying in recent days, the Quad

is not about Russia, but it's going to become

increasingly difficult to avoid the Russia issue within

the Quad.

India and BRICS: An Analysis of Challenges Faced by India Amid Russia-Ukraine War

235

Political analyst Sumit Ganguly wonders if there

will be a shift in India’s stance if Russia’s attack on

Ukraine results in mass civilian casualties and also if

its stand on the situation will isolate the country

diplomatically. It is however clear that India’s stand

on the Russia-Ukraine war has evoked mixed

responses in the international community. The

Western world and the USA have expressed

disappointment, but India is not alone in maintaining

neutrality on this issue. There are many other

countries as well.

That India continued to be friendly with Russia

was also reflected when Narendra Modi called Putin

to congratulate him on his re-election even the USA

and the EU termed the Russian presidential elections

as farce.

It's likely that New Delhi will for now stick to a

path of strategic ambivalence on the Ukraine crisis."I

think India's position has been spelt out clearly in our

explanation of vote after the first UNSC resolution

where we abstained," former diplomat Deepa

Wadhwa told DW. (dw.com 2022).

New Delhi's position is shaped by its concerns

over territorial integrity and sovereignty, its

unresolved borders and the difficult relationship with

its two northern neighbors."There are understandable

reasons for India's subtle pro-Russia position. An

aggressive Russia is a problem for the US and the

West, not for India. NATO's expansion is Russia's

problem, not India's. India's problem is China,"

foreign policy and international relations expert

Happymon Jacob told DW.

Jacob maintained that the weakening of the US-

led global order and the rise of China as a counter-

pole throws up a unique and unprecedented challenge

for India. Against this backdrop, having Russia on

New Delhi's side is crucial, the expert said. (dw.com).

Ever since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, India

has adopted a neutral policy and abstained during

voting at the UN.

It is not that India’s stand vis-à-vis Russia

following the Ukraine was not criticized only by the

West and the USA. Inside the country also, the

opposition Congress party criticized the Narendra

Modi government with a senior leader of the party

and former minister P.Chidambaram demanding clear

cut condemnation of Russia.

There were attempts by the EU to persuade India

to vote against Russia in the UN General Assembly.

French President Emmanuel Macron also spoke to

Modi in this regard but India abstained at the voting

at the UN.

India is also cautious over the issue of expansion

of the BRICS and include some new members. India

apprehends that it may result in increased Chinese

influence in the group.

4 CONCLUSIONS

That India is in a difficult position owing to the

Russian invasion of Ukraine is a foregone conclusion.

Although the EU and the USA have criticized India

over its position, albeit in a veiled manner, it can also

be safely concluded that they will refrain from taking

any tough action against the country as it will leave

India with no option but to openly come out in

support of Russia. It appears that the West has

understood India’s dilemma and does not want to

alienate it. Any secondary sanction against India by

the West is also highly unlikely as it will only hurt the

EU economy, which has already been battling

skyrocketing gas and fuel prices with short supply of

energy.

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