Feb 21, 2025 06:55 IST
First revealed on: Feb 21, 2025 at 06:55 IST
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As the US and Russia have interaction in high-level negotiations over Ukraine’s future — with out Ukraine on the desk — India can’t assist however see a painful parallel to its personal historical past. The exclusion of Ukraine from its destiny is a stark reminder of how nice powers have, again and again, determined the destinies of countries with out regard for the individuals whose lives are at stake. The way by which Ukraine is being sidelined in these discussions mirrors the colonial vanity that outlined the Partition of India in 1947, when Britain, in its hurried and careless retreat, drew arbitrary borders with little understanding of the human and geopolitical penalties. For India, the exclusion of Ukraine from these talks is greater than only a diplomatic misstep — it’s an act of profound historic injustice. The message is obvious: Huge powers dictate the futures of smaller nations, no matter their sovereignty or self-determination.
If historical past provides any classes, India is aware of that peace offers brokered with out justice don’t create lasting stability — they merely reward aggression. In his first administration, US President Donald Trump’s so-called “peace deal” in Afghanistan was nothing however a withdrawal settlement that handed the nation again to the Taliban. The outcome? The erasure of 20 years of progress, the collapse of Afghan democracy, and the return of a brutal, extremist regime that has taken away the freedoms of Afghan ladies, minorities, and dissidents. Reasonably than guaranteeing optimistic peace — one which secures justice, stability, and prosperity — Trump’s deal deserted the Afghan individuals to an unsure and regressive future.
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Now, we see historical past repeat itself in Ukraine. Trump’s strategy to Russia-Ukraine negotiations just isn’t about peace — it’s capitulation. His administration is reportedly providing pre-emptive concessions to Russia, excluding Ukraine from its personal future, and rewarding an aggressor for violating worldwide legislation. This isn’t a peace deal — it’s a geopolitical give up that can go away Ukraine weak and Europe weakened.
India understands what it means to struggle for dignity and territorial integrity. India’s independence wrestle was a struggle to reclaim its sovereignty from imperial powers who noticed it as a pawn of their strategic video games. Ukraine is in that very same battle immediately — preventing for its proper to exist as a sovereign state, for its individuals to reside with out concern, and for its territorial integrity to be revered. Simply as Britain drew haphazard borders in India with out understanding the communities they divided, the Trump administration is getting ready to redraw Ukraine’s future with out regard for the individuals who really reside there.
In sensible phrases, India can push for 4 strategic factors by means of a mix of diplomatic channels, worldwide boards, and bilateral engagements. First, India ought to use BRICS, IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa), and SCO to push for a collective demand that Ukraine have to be a part of the negotiations. It ought to quietly stress Moscow by warning {that a} flawed peace will result in long-term instability, affecting Russia’s future standing.
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Second, India can use its rising relationship with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, each of whom have engaged in peace efforts, to insist that Ukraine be current in all negotiations. As a serious power importer, India can work with Gulf states to sign {that a} secure Ukraine is essential for international financial safety. Third, as a key voice within the UN Basic Meeting, Safety Council debates, and G20 summits, India can publicly oppose any settlement that doesn’t respect Ukraine’s sovereignty. Lastly, India ought to use its main arms purchases from Russia and commerce ties with the West as leverage to make sure a good settlement.
A peace that doesn’t embrace justice, accountability and strategic safety just isn’t peace — it’s merely a pause earlier than one other conflict. By conceding Ukrainian territory to Russia, Trump is laying the muse for an additional long-term battle, simply as Britain’s arbitrary partitioning of India laid the groundwork for many years of Indo-Pakistani tensions. India, with its deep historical past of preventing colonial injustice, can’t help a peace deal that’s primarily based on big-power negotiations on the expense of smaller nations. A simply decision have to be primarily based on Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the dignity of its individuals, and its proper to a safe and impartial future.
Something lower than this could not be peace — it could be a return to an period of imperialism, the place highly effective nations determine the destiny of weaker ones with out consequence. Simply as India nonetheless lives with the injuries of Partition, Europe could discover itself trapped in one other century of battle and instability if Ukraine’s voice just isn’t included in figuring out its personal future. The world, and India, should not let historical past repeat itself.
The author serves as the worldwide goodwill ambassador for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s workplace. He has labored for the UN and allied organisations
