August seems to be a significant month in Indo-Russian relations. The immediate significance may be the visit of the external affairs minister to Moscow and the firming up of Indo-Russian relations, especially with regards to trade. August has been significant too as India faces headwinds from the USA regarding tariffs and its purchase of Russian crude, which the US administration says has bankrolled Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Russia has stepped in with the Russian Roman Babushkin saying the country would welcome Indian goods which face difficulty entering the US market because of the tariffs that kick in from August 27.

August has been a significant month in Indo-Russian relations historically. Fifty-four years ago, India and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics signed a Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation on August 5. The treaty went on to play a pivotal role not only in bilateral relations but also in the history of the subcontinent itself.

The treaty was indispensable for the success of India’s 1971 war with Pakistan and in the liberation of its eastern wing, which was facing a genocide and ethnic cleansing of Bengalis at the hands of the Pakistani army allied with Islamist forces spearheaded by the Jamaat-e-Islami. (Interestingly, at the time of writing, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, in his first official visit to Dhaka, was meeting with representatives of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh.)

As then Russian........

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