New Delhi. December 1959. It was night time. The cold of Delhi was freezing to the bone, but the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was not able to sleep. There was a deep line of worry on his face. Not much time had passed since independence and Nehru’s dream was that India should stand firmly on its feet and not lend its hand to anyone. But the truth was that the country either did not have big factories, power projects and the technology to make weapons for its army or it was very less. He was not getting any special help from western countries. “No” was being heard from every side.
At that time the world was burning in the fire of Cold War. On one side was America and on the other side was the Soviet Union. India had decided that it would not join any group. Which Nehru called the path of non-alignment. But walking on this path was not so easy. America was angry because India did not come to their side. He was giving arms to Pakistan, which was a big threat to India. In such a situation, Nehru was looking for a true friend who would support him in his dream of creating a modern India. And then his eyes fell on that powerful friend who was standing on the other side of the world. That was the Soviet Union.
Stalin’s death and a new phase of relations
Initially, Soviet Union leader Stalin also viewed Nehru’s policy of non-alignment with suspicion. He felt that India would probably lean towards America. But after Stalin’s death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev took command and the story changed. Khrushchev was an open-hearted person and praised India’s independent foreign policy.
Then that historic moment came in June 1955, when Nehru made a long visit to the Soviet Union. This was the first major visit of an Indian leader to the Soviet Union. From Moscow to Leningrad, Nehru covered a distance of more than 13,000 kilometres. He saw huge steel plants and factories there, where lakhs of people were working. Nehru received a warm welcome in Russia. Nehru saw the development of the Soviet Union with his own eyes and felt that this was the friend who would help India without any conditions, especially in basic industries.
No to the West, yes to Russia
The Soviet Union, which itself was following the path of socialism, saw India not as a ‘grandfather’ but as a true ally. Western countries said that they would help India set up steel plants, but their conditions were very strict and the technology was also old. But the Soviet Union said, “Okay, we will help you.” And then came that ‘turning point’ whose echo is still heard in the plains of Chhattisgarh. An agreement was signed in New Delhi on February 2, 1955. It was not just a piece of paper, but was the foundation of India’s industrialization. The Soviet Union promised that it would help India set up a steel plant in Bhilai. This was the biggest dream of India’s second five-year plan.
Gave not only money but also engineers
For Bhilai, the Soviet Union not only provided money but also provided its latest technology. He sent thousands of Russian engineers and experts to India. The Russian people, who did not know Hindi and English, and the workers and engineers here taught Russian. But, the passion for work was such that they taught each other through hand gestures and broken language. The meaning of Bhilai was not just to produce steel, but to teach the lesson of self-reliance. The Soviet Union helped in building huge steel plants like Bhilai, then Bokaro (Jharkhand).
Help in setting up ONGC
Not only this, in the 1960s the Soviet Union also extended its hand in the field of Oil and Natural Gas. When Western companies said that India did not have oil, then experts from the Soviet Union helped in setting up the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC). He also had a big role in creating big government companies like Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).
Russia remained neutral in the India-China war
But this friendship was not only economic, but also political and strategic, the biggest test of which began in the 1960s. India-China war took place in 1962. China was an old friend of the Soviet Union, but when China attacked India, the Soviet Union adopted a policy of neutrality, which indirectly meant supporting India. He continued to provide economic and military assistance to India. By 1960, the Soviet Union was giving more aid to India than China.
The biggest defense shield given in 1962
Then came the biggest strategic step. Cooperation of arms. Nehru wanted weapons to modernize his army, but western countries were reluctant. Then the Soviet Union came forward. In 1962, the Soviet Union decided to transfer the technology of MiG-21 Jet Fighters to India. This was a big step, because they had refused to give this technology to China. This step completely changed India’s air power. After this, India also got its first submarine and tanks from the Soviet Union.
Veto on Kashmir
Another special incident happened in the early 1960s. Pakistan raised the issue of Kashmir in the United Nations Security Council. On 22 June 1962, the Soviet Union stood firmly with India. He used Veto to drop Pakistan’s proposal and supported India’s position on Kashmir. This one decision put Pakistan and its supporting western countries on the back foot. India realized that there is someone in this world who stands shoulder to shoulder with her.
There was also a personal chemistry between Nehru and the Soviet leaders. When the Soviet Ambassador gifted a cow to Nehru on 27 March 1960, Nehru immediately started feeding it by holding a rope. It was a funny and emotional moment, which showed that this friendship is not limited to papers only, but is connected to the heart.
made Tashkent agreement
When Nehru died in 1964, the Soviet Union deepened its relations with India. After the India-Pakistan war of 1965, the Soviet Union also played a big role in concluding the Tashkent Agreement. Before the 1971 war, the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation, signed between India and the Soviet Union in August 1971, became the biggest proof of friendship of this decade, which gave a strong shield to India’s security.
Today, even though the Soviet Union has broken up and become Russia, the friendship built on the foundation of that decade is still strong. Even today, more than 80 percent of the military equipment of the Indian Army is of Russian origin. Sukhoi, MiG, tanks and missiles… all these are the results of the friendship that started in the 1960s. From ONGC to BHEL, the heartbeats of India’s economy were, somewhere, started in collaboration with a friend from that faraway country.
