Indians reluctant to denounce Russian ‘brothers’ over Ukraine

At the bustling tea stands and roadside eateries of Delhi, European politics is not a regular topic of conversation. But with wall-to-wall coverage of the war in Ukraine on television and in the newspapers, petrol prices rising and pressure growing on the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to denounce Russia, Indians are starting to grapple with the consequences of the conflict 2,800 miles away.

Ram Agarwal, a shopkeeper, does not condone the loss of civilian life but nor can he bring himself to criticise Russia. He grew up in the 1950s and 60s when India and the Soviet Union were such close allies that Nikita Khrushchev coined the slogan "Hindi Rusi bhai bhai" (Indians and Russians are brothers).

"I am 74 and my generation grew up with Hindi Rusi bhai bhai. It's like attacking a dear old friend," he said.

Arvind Maurya, an electrician, also expressed the even-handedness that has marked much of the public response. "I hear that Ukraine used to be a part of Russia, but instead of respecting that, Nato is pulling Ukraine into its own orbit. But war is never good for anyone and the Russian bombing of civilians is not the way to solve these differences. They must sit down and talk," he said.

But away from the street, feelings are stronger. Indians from the right and left have converged on the war, the former because of their antipathy towards western culture and the latter because of their anti-Americanism, particularly in relation to foreign policy.

For these two groups, the war has exposed what they see as the west's double standards and hypocrisy. Its interventions in other countries and campaigns of regime change are acceptable, but not Russia's.

In a column, Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, a senior fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, contrasted western support for sanctions against Iraq before 2003, which he said had killed "hundreds of thousands of children", with the indignation over Ukraine.