India-Russia relations: A recent survey conducted by the New Delhi-based think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF) reveals that Russia is India's most dependable partner since the country's independence in 1947. As per the survey, at least 43% of the respondents pitched for Moscow followed by 27% mentioning the United States.
A sample of 5000 urban youth was included in the nationwide survey, which was carried out across 19 cities in India. During the survey, young Indians responded to a variety of questions and gave the nation's foreign policy a favourable rating.
"The respondents named Russia as India's most reliable partner since Independence (43 per cent); the United States followed with 27 per cent," said the ORF Foreign Policy Survey 2022: India @75 and the World, authored by Harsh V Pant, Premesha Saha and others, as per ANI.
Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine earlier this year, India's bilateral relations with Russia have come under scrutiny from the West due to an increase in oil imports from Moscow that is subject to sanctions.
The ongoing ravaging war in Ukraine has also had a substantial impact on world food security and caused a sharp rise in petroleum prices.
"In February 2022 the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted, disturbing long-held norms of territorial integrity and sovereignty, and paving the way for a new form of total war: the weaponisation of everything. Ukraine's supporters in the West have leveraged their dominance in the global financial system to inflict economic costs on Russia, while Moscow has weaponised food and energy exports to protect itself," the survey noted.
According to the authors of the survey, New Delhi had to deftly manage its relationship with Moscow while fortifying its relationships with the US and Europe. This survey also sought opinions on key elements of the nation's foreign policy objectives.
"Urban Indian youth rated the country's foreign policy positively: 25 per cent graded it very good, and 52 per cent, good. This is an increase from the 2021 survey report where 32 per cent said it was very good, and 40 per cent rated it good," the survey said.
The think tank also garnered opinions on geopolitical concerns that might affect India's future as well as multilateralism, UN reforms, and India's foreign policy towards its neighbours.
"One-third of respondents (34 per cent) chose multilateralism as their preferred mode for India's engagement with other countries, over multilateralism and bilateralism," the survey revealed.
According to the survey, nearly 80% of respondents believe that India's foreign policy had effectively defined what constitutes the country's 'neighbourhood.'
"The respondents expressed trust for the country's immediate neighbours, except for Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 2021, respondents said they trusted the country's immediate neighbours except for Pakistan," the survey added.
(With ANI inputs)
