Indian Munitions Diverted To Ukraine

 

India has been one of Russia's best customers for its discounted oil, helping to keep Russia's murderous attack on Ukraine funded. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi angered Ukraine and its allies when he visited war criminal Vladimir Putin a few weeks ago and embraced him, declining to denounce Russia's invasion. However, for some time, it appears that Indian-produced ammunition shipments are being diverted by European clients to Ukraine to support its defense against Russia. From Reuters:

"Artillery shells sold by Indian arms makers have been diverted by European customers to Ukraine and New Delhi has not intervened to stop the trade despite protests from Moscow, according to eleven Indian and European government and defence industry officials, as well as a Reuters analysis of commercially available customs data.

The transfer of munitions to support Ukraine's defence against Russia has occurred for more than a year, according to the sources and the customs data. Indian arms export regulations limit the use of weaponry to the declared purchaser, who risks future sales being terminated if unauthorised transfers occur. [snip]

Among the European countries sending Indian munitions to Ukraine are Italy and the Czech Republic, which is leading an initiative to supply Kyiv with artillery shells from outside the European Union, according to a Spanish and a senior Indian official, as well as a former top executive at Yantra India, a state-owned company whose munitions are being used by Ukraine.

The Indian official said that Delhi was monitoring the situation. But, along with a defence industry executive with direct knowledge of the transfers, he said India had not taken any action to throttle the supply to Europe. Like most of the 20 people interviewed by Reuters, they spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter." (our emphasis)

The amounts of munitions are minor, but let's hope that India stays out of its European clients' business, and resists pressure from the Kremlin to intervene and stop the diversions. It's the least they could do, aside from stopping oil purchases from Russia.

 

India's Not-So-Democratic Prime Minister

India's often touted as "the world's largest democracy," but under the governance of authoritarian nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it's getting harder to see that as reality. Modi, whose government has refused to condemn Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine while buying Russia's oil and armaments, is the subject of a BBC film, "India: The Modi Question,"  looking into Modi's role in deadly anti-Muslim riots in 2002. At the time, he was the leader of the state of Gujarat, and allegedly permitted, and even encouraged, rioters to attack Muslims, killing over 1,000. Modi's government banned the film, and is trying to prevent the sharing of it over social media (already succeeding with Twitter and YouTube). From the Associated Press:

"Days after India blocked a BBC documentary that examines Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role during 2002 anti-Muslim riots and banned people from sharing it online, authorities are scrambling to halt screenings of the program at colleges and universities and restrict clips of it on social media, a move that has been decried by critics as an assault on press freedom.

Tensions escalated in the capital, New Delhi, on Wednesday at Jamia Millia University, where a student group said it planned to screen the banned documentary, prompting dozens of police equipped with tear gas and riot gear to gather outside campus gates.

Police, some in plain clothes, scuffled with protesting students and detained at least half a dozen, who were taken away in a van.

'This is the time for Indian youth to put up the truth which everybody knows. We know what the prime minister is doing to the society,'said Liya Shareef, 20, a geography student and member of the student group Fraternity Movement."  (our emphasis)

One of the first steps in establishing authoritarianism is to muzzle free speech and freedom of the press. Modi's increasingly right wing "populism," akin to the right wing "populism" espoused by the America Firsters / Trumpists, is turning India into a semi-authoritarian state, where basic rights assumed under a democracy are being curtailed or eliminated. It's not surprising that he's found sympathetic leaders in Trump and Putin, and it's a worrying development in a nation that prides itself as a democracy.

(photo: Brothers-in-arms. CNN)