Russia’s war on Ukraine is a tale of death, devastation and betrayal — not only on the lands where it is being fought, but all the way in India. Recently, the ministry of external affairs confirmed that 126 Indians are believed to have fought for the Russian army in the war. Of them, 96 have returned home and two are still fighting. But at least 12 have died in the war and 16 are missing, according to Russian officials. Even as the Indian government insists that it is doing all it can to secure the release of citizens still fighting in the war, and to trace those who are missing, these deaths and disappearances leave a trail of troubling questions. Most Indians who have fought in the war say that they were duped by agents who offered them lucrative jobs in Russia. They were taken to the United Arab Emirates and then to Russia. Once there, though, they were moved to army recruitment facilities where they were given little choice but to sign conscription documents that sealed their fate as foot soldiers in Europe’s biggest war in 80 years.
The Indian government has said that it has cracked down on many of these agents. That is indeed an important step. But that in no way absolves the government. There is no evidence that Indian immigration authorities kept any special scrutiny on people going to Russia via the UAE or launched any mass awareness programme to alert people about the risks of falling for dubious job offers. Moreover, if a dozen Indians are still serving in President Vladimir Putin’s army months after India first raised its concerns with Russia, it means that New Delhi’s messaging to Moscow has not been effective. The lure of better paying jobs in Russia that duped more than 100 Indians is also testimony to a far deeper challenge before India. In spite of the Narendra Modi government’s bombastic claims of rocketing GDP growth, the reality that stares at millions of Indians is very different. Unemployment and under-employment haunt communities from Punjab to Kerala, leaving young people vulnerable to precisely the kind of schemes that take them to a Ukrainian battlefront. Mr Modi has previously boasted about plucking Indian nationals out of war zones to bring them back to safety. Indians stuck in the Russian army deserve that same support — and they need it now.