Session- III: India-Russia Relations: Prospects and Challenges

Chair: Shri Ajay Bisaria, Joint Secretary, Eurasia, MEA, India

Speakers:

• Prof. Anuradha Chenoy, Professor, Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Irina Kolosova, Research Fellow, Institute for Contemporary International Studies, Diplomatic Academy
• Olga Puzanova, Research Fellow, Center for East Asian Research, Moscow Sate Institute for International Relations (MGIMO University), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian Federation
• Boris Utekhin, Creative Director of Krestianskaya Rus (Peasant Russia) Publishing House (Russian Media and Politics)

In his remarks the Chair mentioned that it has been two decades since 1991 when India re-established Relations with Russia and a decade since 2000 when strategic partnership was signed between India and Russia. Both countries have had twelve summits and preparations are on for the next decade. It is a good idea to have a look at the prospects of this relationship for the new decade. Shri Bisaria noted that there is no peace between countries without peace between religions. With regard to public television in Russia, he pointed out that this development indicates the way Russian society is moving. Shri Bisaria noted that social media is quite independent and harder to control and probably provides the way for the future for Russia.

Prof. Anuradha Chenoy highlighted India Russia ties in two contexts. One, the current debate in India which is quite polarised and it comes out through various ways primarily between two groups of policy makers and public intellectuals. And the second is in the context of polarisation of politics in most of the major emerging countries and in Europe and United States which is having an impact on a very fast changing international political system. As far as local debate in concerned and how Russia is placed within that in India, there are two lots; those who call themselves Nationalist or Nehruvians as opposed to those who call themselves pragmatists or neo-realists. Nationalist or Nehruvians argue that non-alignment is still relevant. However, neo-realists argue for alignment with United States as a way to propel India into great power status. This debate is unresolved and contested. However, arguments of both sides are flawed; as positions of both sides are mainly realist and they are not looking at all the domestic factors etc. Indian foreign policy is going to move in a centrist way and the swing factor which determines this is primarily the India Russia relations and that is why it is important. There is a consensus that Russia is a great partner of India. However, because of this fact, policy makers and analysts have taken this relationship for granted which should not be the case. On the other hand, both India and Russia are engaging with the United States but they should also recognise the conflicts within that and should not get overwhelmed by it. India and Russia should collaborate on new areas such as democratisation and social policy diffusion, religious dialogues, secularism, tolerance, multi-ethnicity, developments, internal economic management and planning etc. which are very significant for the both India and Russia and must be addressed.

Irina Kolosova was of the opinion that Inter-Religion Dialogue is a huge subject. It is well known that diversity of cultures and religions is an obligatory condition for sustainable development. In this context, debates on security and development should be related with culture and religious diversity of the world. The basic causes of modern conflicts is not clash of civilizations but rather false views and stereotypes about them which has resulted into extremist mentality. There will be no peace among the nations without the dialogue and peace among the religions. There are several problems this dialogue process is facing at many levels, national, regional, international. Although efforts are being made for dialogue, it remains the dialogue of protocols but not the dialogue coming from the heart. There are two dialogues in this context. One is territory of religion where other religions are seen with suspicion. Second, these religions sometimes fear loosing their spiritual identity while having dialogue with others. This dialogue is possible if it happens in a holistic manner encompassing experiences of each spiritual practice. This requires very deep understanding and respect for each other. UNESCO could be a great platform for the dialogue for inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue. Role of religion is increasing in the international discourse. Today, the world is more and more interdependent so inter-faith need to have important attention. It is important to go deep to do research into this matter. This will help developing right conditions for security and sustainable development. There is a need to look at other’s values and search for common values.

Olga Puzanova said that many argue that it is high time for Russia to adopt the idea of public television. Russia might have been late to take this initiative when compared to international practises. However, some experts in Russia suggest that this is not the right moment for Russia to do so because there is a lack of demand for public television in the market. There is also a concern that opinions which are critical to government could be prevented by the government. However, government claims that it would free from its interference. Meanwhile, Russian government is preparing to launch a public television from January 1, 2013. The members and head of this public television will be directly appointed by the President. The first stages of development of this television will be financed by the government and later will be financed by special endowment. However, it may be vulnerable to government interference.

Speaking on the Russian Media and Society, Boris Utekhin said that correspondents of newspapers in Russia are quite independent and they can give impartial information to the subscribers which are mainly based in Moscow and Central Russia. There are also a lot of internet activities in this field. In Russia, most of the internet users are in Moscow. In recent years, government in Russia has been attempting to influence events through media. The main tool through which this influence is exercised is television which basically belongs to the state. During Perestroika, Russian media changed dramatically. Nowadays, internet is the biggest source for getting independent information in Russia. The role of social media is also rising in Russia.

The following points were raised during discussion:

• Russian Orthodox Church plays a very important role in Russian society. Russia is a multi-religious country. Now, the question is how Russia should teach about religion in the schools.
• The collaboration between Indian and Russian media can be done primarily through internet. Potential areas of cooperation with regards to media should be identified by both. Interest towards Indian culture and traditions has dramatic increased in Russia.
• India has signed strategic partnership with many countries. India-Russia defence relationship continues to be very strong. However, India-Russia people to people contact is very low. We need to really work on perceptions also. In Russia, people are not much aware about India-Russia strategic partnership. There is a need to tell them about our political and strategic partnership. People in Russia should think about India like a big partner.
• Lack of inter-religious dialogue is not the problem between India and Russia but it is a problem in many other parts of the world. That is why we start through international platforms such as UNESCO etc.

Report is prepared by Sanjeev Kumar Shrivastav.