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It took the tragic and a globally disruptive war to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kyiv, the first such visit since Ukraine re-established itself as an independent nation amid the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.
But by showing up in Ukraine and lending a shoulder to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is leading a badly battered nation to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty, Modi has initiated three important processes: insert India into Europe’s quest for peace; expand Delhi’s room for manoeuvre in the global geopolitical churn triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine; and reclaim Delhi’s lost bonds with Kyiv in the post-Soviet era.
First, on the question of ending the war in Ukraine, Modi had no spectacular peace plan to unveil. That Modi took a long train ride from Warsaw to Ukraine to engage Zelenskyy in a long and intense conversation on war and peace was an important moment in itself.
What Kyiv needed was not yet another peace plan but Modi’s understanding of Ukraine’s concerns about survival as a nation that did not get sufficient resonance in India and the so-called Global South.
Zelenskyy hopes that Modi’s willingness to hear Ukraine’s case and contribute to the peace efforts will help turn the political tide in the Global South that has stood apart from the war, despite its massive economic consequences.
Second, as the geopolitical consequences of the war in Ukraine unfold, Modi’s visit to Kyiv is a signal that Delhi will no longer be a passive by-stander in a conflict that is reshaping the world. For five centuries, India was an adjunct to European wars. Modi’s visit to Ukraine underlines India’s determination to actively shape the major European and global war of the times.
India is not the only Asian power trying to alter the European balance of power. That the Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang was winding up his visit in Moscow when Modi was travelling from Warsaw to Kyiv is a reminder of China’s growing role in shaping the contours of the war in Ukraine. Ukraine is not only about renewed contest between Russia and the West but also about the role of Delhi and Beijing in Europe.
As Modi arrived in Kyiv, Kamala Harris, in a thundering speech accepting the nomination of the Democratic Party to be the next President of the United States, declared her deep commitment to defend Ukraine and strengthen NATO.
The enthusiastic reception to Harris’s candidacy and her strong stance on Ukraine will test the widespread assessment that the US is a “weary titan” waiting to retreat from Europe. The Republican idea of pivoting away from Europe is now being challenged by Democrats. The outcome of that debate will have major consequences for India’s security policy.
If the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Washington this week underlines India’s expanding strategic ties with the US, Modi’s engagement with President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy in quick succession underline India’s determination to protect its interests amidst the tremors from the reordering of great power relations.
Finally, Modi’s visit is also about re-establishing the lost bonds between India and Ukraine. Although India had privileged access to Ukraine in the Soviet era, Kyiv did not inherit its share of India’s political affections for the USSR.
The extraordinary goodwill for India in Ukraine was reflected in the warm welcome extended to Modi in Kyiv. The commitment by Modi and Zelensky to elevate their relationship into a “strategic partnership”, reboot their economic and defence ties, and revitalise their cultural ties marks the end of the prolonged neglect of India’s ties with Ukraine.
Above all, Modi's visit should help bring greater nuance and sophistication to India's debate on the war in Ukraine that has been subject too long to political prejudice and ignorance about Central European history.
(C. Raja Mohan is a visiting research professor at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore and a contributing editor on international affairs for The Indian Express)
