Delhi’s silence on Russian aggression will shame a generation of Indians

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Editor's note: India’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine has become a source of frustration and anger for Western leaders. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, India has emerged as a close partner of the US. In recent years, it has been courted by Washington as a democratic counterweight to China. And yet, since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, it has refused to condemn Moscow’s aggression. Along with China and Pakistan, India’s bitter rivals, Delhi has repeatedly abstained from voting on UN resolutions deploring Russia. Those who have championed India as a “global power” in the West are dismayed and say that India is not ready to step up to that role. Last month, the US state department went so far as to issue a memo accusing India of belonging in “Russia’s camp”. The memo was quickly recalled, but it hinted at a truth. When Liz Truss, Britain’s foreign secretary, arrived in India recently to press the Narendra Modi government to side with the West against Russia, she had to compete for attention against her bête noire, Russia’s foreign …