Amitav Acharya

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But the next stage of economic development, combination of industrial, high technology services, India had to find that niche and still move off from exporting raw materials or textiles and the like.

Very close.

The people, especially in the United States, don't understand it.

But it goes back to, certainly I would say the 70s, when the United States and India, after having a fairly good start, actually went to different camps.

So US supported Pakistan, and India had to look to Russia for help.

The 1971 India-Pakistan war over Bangladesh was a turning point, where Nixon and Kissinger deployed the Seventh Fleet in the Bay of Bengal, and India had to conclude a defense treaty with the Soviet Union.

So that memory remains.

And the Soviet Union, now of course Russia, became the largest supplier of defense equipment to India.

So the Russians have been fairly reliable and fairly friendly partners with India for a very long time.

So there is a historical memory.

Actually, in some ways, sentimental, I would say.

I grew up in India during the Soviet Union, and I have seen, felt that view, Indian view of the Soviet Union was nothing like the Western view.

It was seen as friendly, much more benign than many of the former colonial powers of the United States.

So that remains.

Okay, the Putin era, India has continued because it's dependent on Russia for weapons.

But then the new element of energy dependence, because India did not actually import a lot of oil from Russia until the Ukraine war.

Most of the Indian supply of oil came from the Middle East.

But then when the Ukraine war and Russia started selling discounted oil, so India became heavily reliant on Russian oil.

But that's not permanent.