On his second state visit to Soviet Russia as PM, the Soviet government symbolically gifted him a cow, according to the website of The Russian Embassy in India.
The timely Russian move effectively deterred the American and British forces from intervening further in the war between India and Pakistan.
Almost five decades after the USSR assisted a vulnerable India against American efforts to isolate it in 1971, the alignments have changed.
India is now closer to the US than to Russia, which has inched closer to China.
However, India has been shrugging off western pressure and buying crude from Russia, giving it an economic lifeline.
As the great tales celebrating the special and time-tested bond between India and Russia emerge alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Russia, a lesser-known anecdote involving former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and a cow might not be familiar to many.
This interesting incident from March 1960, pales in comparison to the crucial and well-known military assistance provided by the USSR (Russia's predecessor state) during the 1971 war, in the face of American and Pakistani aggression towards vulnerable India, at the height of the Cold War.
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Although the timely help of Russia is common knowledge, some of its intricate details might not be known to many.
To reinforce India's bonds with Russia, which began during the era of the Communist USSR (Russia's predecessor state), PM Narendra Modi is visiting Russia for the first time in five years. This is also crucial because this is Modi's first big bilateral trip after securing a third term in office.
NEHRU'S VISIT TO THE USSR AND A SYMBOLIC GIFT
Though toasts are raised to good relations, milk formed part of PM Nehru's visit to the USSR in March 1960.
On his second state visit to Soviet Russia as PM, the Soviet government symbolically gifted him a cow, according to the website of The Russian Embassy in India.
Nehru is seen standing next to the then Soviet Ambassador Ivan Benediktov and his wife in an archive photo. Nehru is seen feeding the cow, from a record milk-producing stock, some straws.
The symbolic gesture from the Soviet government came against the backdrop of India, ravaged by famines and food insecurity, staring at a food and milk crisis.
Here, it is noteworthy that the then Soviet Ambassador, Ivan Benediktov, before being posted to India, had been the People's Commissar for Agriculture during World War II and served as the Minister of Agriculture of the USSR for 19 years.
The shortage of milk in India was such that it had to import 55,000 tonnes of milk powder every year during the early 1950s, say government records.
It was long before a milk-deficient India would become the world's largest milk producer, surpassing the US in 1998, and go on to produce a whooping 22% of the global milk output in 2018. It was Verghese Kurien and his Operation Flood that translated into the White Revolution, that brought about the transformation. Operation Flood was launched in 1970.
INDIA'S 1971 WAR WITH PAKISTAN AND SOVIET SUPPORT
Just a year later, in 1971, India would get into a war with Pakistan over the military's murder and rape in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). India, under PM Indira Gandhi, was compelled to intervene as it saw large-scale migration of refugees from across the border.
The friendship treaty that Indira Gandhi concluded with Russia and its timely help would go on to cement the friendship between the two countries.
On August 9, 1971, India and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Co-operation, a landmark agreement that would significantly impact the course of the war and the relationship between the two countries. The treaty ensured that the Soviet Union would provide military and political support to India, which would prove effective in countering the United States, which was then backing Pakistan.
As Pakistan, led by its military dictator Yahya Khan, was on a fanatic rampage in East Pakistan, slaughtering, raping and burning Bengalis, India had moved its troops into the neighbouring eastern enclave after lakhs of refugees crossed over to India.
As the war in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) escalated, the United States, a backer of the Islamic Republic under the Nixon administration, dispatched a naval task force, known as Task Force 74, from the Seventh Fleet to the Bay of Bengal.
This move, seen as an attempt to deter and isolate India, was a clear show of its support for Pakistan engaged in a tough war.
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The United States was deeply involved in the atrocities, says geostrategic scholar and commentator Brahma Chellaney.
"Far from pushing back against Pakistan's military dictator, General Yahya Khan, US President Richard Nixon's administration maintained friendly relations with him in order to advance US interests in Asia," Chellaney writes in Project Syndicate.
SOVIET INTERVENTION: A TURNING POINT
In a bid to thwart Bangladesh's quest for independence, US President Richard Nixon urged China to launch a military campaign against India. Henry Kissinger, Nixon's National Security Advisor, was tasked with poking the Chinese to initiate troop movements toward the Indian border, say declassified White House tapes and documents.
"Nixon went so far as to tell Kissinger that India needed a 'mass famine'," adds Chellaney in his commentary in Project Syndicate.
The 7th fleet of the US Navy, led by the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, the world's largest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, entered the Bay of Bengal in December 1971.
The UK Navy, led by the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, started to move too. India was facing a well-coordinated threat racing towards its eastern shores.
Quickly responding to India's request for assistance, the Soviet Union deployed a nuclear-armed flotilla (a small fleet) from Vladivostok in Russia's far-east at a breakneck pace, led by Admiral Vladimir Kruglyakov, to counter the American and British naval presence in the Bay of Bengal.
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The Russian fleet comprised two task groups, comprising nuclear-armed ships, atomic submarines, cruisers and destroyers.
"Sir, we are too late. There are Russian atomic submarines here, and a big collection of battleships," the British Commander told his American counterpart.
The timely Russian move effectively deterred the American and British forces from intervening further in the war between India and Pakistan. The security provisions of the India-USSR pact, Chellaney says, helped to deter China from opening a front against India.
Almost five decades after the USSR assisted a vulnerable India against American efforts to isolate it in 1971, the alignments have changed. India is now closer to the US than to Russia, which has inched closer to China. However, India has been shrugging off western pressure and buying crude from Russia, giving it an economic lifeline. Russia still remains one of the biggest weapons suppliers to India. Prime Minister Modi's crucial visit to Moscow clearly shows how India considers Russia a significant partner and is reaching out to it amid western attempts to isolate it.
Published By: Sushim Mukul Published On: Jul 9, 2024
