Why are Indians going to fight Russia’s war?

In late 2023, Russian observers were bewildered by the rush of Indians to Moscow. Normally, not more than a handful visit the country that is under the sway of extreme Tundra winter and is buried deep under snow during that time of the year. Something seemed to have changed after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, and the war had gone on, contrary to Vladimir Putin’s expectation of a swift victory, for nearly two years and seemed like it would go on for some time to come.

All attempts of the Russians to get Indian workers to their numbingly cold country in the past had failed. But suddenly, “I saw more Indians doing odd jobs, like working on the roads, than ever before”, observed an Indian businessman who travels to Russia regularly. They were not just working on the roads but doing far more. 

Who were these Indians going to Russia in that deadly winter? For decades, Indians had gone to the Soviet Union to study medicine and engineering in many universities in different parts of the sprawling country. But the Soviet Union is gone, and now there’s its successor state, Russia.

And there’s a different set of people who are filling up the Aeroflot flight to Moscow. Well-informed sources in Russia’s picturesque capital claim that email inboxes are overflowing of every official that is involved with immigration or who can help Indians or other outsiders to get a job with the defence forces. These people want to know how they can join the Russian army, what their salary would be, and how long the contract would be for. 

A majority of Indians are not martial by nature but see in the army an opportunity to improve their lives. It has been so, from the First World War to the present day. Hundreds of thousands of young men all over India work toward joining the Indian Army in the fond hope that their earnings would be enough to uplift their cash-strapped families. It worked for long years, but the Indian Army is recruiting far fewer than before. Worse, the government struck a body blow to these aspirations when it decided to introduce the concept of ‘Agniveer’ recruits, under which young men join the Army for a mere four years, after which a majority of them are let go – back to the grind of finding a job for themselves.

In one stroke, the job security that once came with joining the Army disappeared, to be replaced by the spectre of unemployment and continued misery. 

It may be disappointing for those who try to give a patriotic and nationalist spin to the narrative of young men and women keen to join the defence forces to safeguard the motherland, but many of these young have other compulsions. First, there is no employment at that level as their lives are crushed by the lack of job opportunities in the overall market, aggravated by large-scale corruption and malpractice in government recruitment exams. What exacerbates their suffering is the growing penury of their parents, who had to not just bear the burden of their education but now of also their seemingly unending unemployment.

Due to this reason and more, India’s young men are finding themselves attracted by the seemingly high salaries, and the promise of residency after the completion of the contract, in labour- and skills-scarce countries. Russia, with barely 144 million people, is one of the largest countries, by land extent, in the world. India has a population 10 times that. “We are short on people and skills, a fact that has shown up more after our special operations against Ukraine,” a Russian official in Moscow, who did not want to be named, said.

All hell broke loose after MP and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi highlighted the plight of some of those from the Telangana region who had allegedly been hoodwinked by agents into going to the Ukraine border as “army helpers” with the promise of Rs 1.9 lakh per month as salary. In media reports, some of these Indian helpers seemed nervous about dying in conflict. Contrarily, sources in the Russian government claim that these Indians joined the Russian army with their eyes open and were given all kinds of incentives, including for entering Ukrainian territory, or for operating technology. 

Those who signed the contract and completed it were also reportedly promised residency in Russia and loans to set up businesses. Their motivations and responses were similar to that of many Indians who were recruited by the Israeli government to replace Palestinian workers to do odd jobs in their country. An Indian worker, when asked why he was going to a conflict area with which he had nothing to do, was quoted as having said, “I could die in my own country (also), but (by going to Israel) at least I will make decent money.” About 100,000 Indians are said to have gone to help the Israeli government.

Some state governments in India are actively recruiting their poor to be shipped off to Israel!

The Indian government has asked the Russian army to release Indian nationals, unofficially estimated to be 100 or so. But informed sources claim that there are many more Indians that are working in Moscow’s war effort. Some retired Indian Army personnel are also rumoured to have gone and joined the revived Wagner Group, a mercenary force that works for the Russian government in conflict zones from Ukraine to Africa.

Can the Indian government really stop Indians from going over to Russia when they face unemployment in their own country and are lured by the incentives offered by a desperate nation at war? 

(The writer is Editor, Hardnews magazine)