Over the last month, the political left both at home and more so abroad have made excuses for the despotic and aggressive behavior of Russia’s plutocracy backed leader, Vladimir Putin. The Russian invasion, annexation and future integration of the Crimea has been justified and excused often in a reflexively anti-American way by some liberals. Legal precedents and international agreements have been ignored by those seeking to justify Putin’s action. Exaggeration of the right-wing drift of Ukraine’s new government and ignorance of Russia’s own human rights violations, homophobia and racism have been a popular narrative.

Attacking President Obama and other western leaders over the willingness to punish the illegal behavior of Putin’s nation which threatens the global order has become a de-facto position on the left. This has been the case among fringe leftist elements throughout the west, where justification of Russia’s actions has been articulated. At the same time  many liberal writers and thinkers  in the west are voicing the same views we have regarding Putin and Russia.

In India, a nation which has failed to honor its one-time commitment to have a plebiscite in the majority Muslim region the press and the government has fallen in line with Russia’s imperialist aims. The leftist Hindu Newspaper based in Chennai has been at the forefront of this developing view. In two particular editorials, the Hindu has excused Russian behavior and blamed the west and particularly the United States for the actions of Putin.

Were the paper consistent they would editorialize in favor of a similar referendum in Kashmir. The rhetoric that western nations are imperialist and viewing Russia as a beacon of light is a relic of the cold war in former colonial possessions like India. Elections are looming in the nation, and the leftist Congress Party is likely to be unseated by the conservative BJP. It is entirely possible the Congress Party and its liberal allies in the media are simply trying to fan the flames of anti-Anglo/Americanism which still works in India to generate votes.

India’s official reaction to the Crimea referendum which is not recognized by the west or most members of the UN General Assembly was as follows:

“There are legitimate Russian and other interests involved and we hope they are discussed and resolved.” Further India has made it clear that it will not support any “unilateral measures” against Russian government. “India has never supported unilateral sanctions against any country. Therefore, we will also not support any unilateral measures by a country or a group of countries against Russia.”

So would India concede Pakistani interests in Kashmir? My letter to the Hindu is below as well as some more thoughts about President Obama’s handling of this crisis.

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As a regular reader of the Hindu, I have been very disappointed by the biased coverage this month that you  have demonstrated towards the Russian incursion into Crimea and the violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. I find your paper’s coverage of most foreign policy matters to be balanced and practical but on this foreign policy crisis your editorial page has been reflexively anti-western and anti-American.

The paper has stated repeatedly that the new Ukrainian Government is a right-wing one with neo-fascist elements. While I would concede much like most nationalist movements in Eastern Europe the Ukrainian one was a revolution of the right, the efforts to spread liberal values and principles of human dignity often not found in Eastern Europe or the former Soviet Union will be enhanced by close relations with the United States and Western Europe. Russia’s own record since 1992 on human rights and racism is among the worst for major industrialized countries. Western engagement will be positive for Ukraine’s women and minorities.

Ukrainian territorial integrity was guaranteed by the Russian Federation in the Budapest Agreement of 1994. In this agreement, a young Ukrainian state, desirous of border security gave up a large nuclear arsenal in exchange for an assurance that Russia would respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territory.

I pose a question to the editors of your newspaper. What would be your reaction if Pakistan invaded Kashmir, forcing a plebiscite among the population under the threat of force? With Russian troops sitting in Crimea, an illegal referendum took place. Yet the Hindu has through the years defended India’s right to maintain sovereignty over Kashmir without any discussion of a plebiscite. The same sort of violence this paper has decried incited by Pakistan has been stimulated by Russia in Crimea. The Crimea and Kashmir situations are very similar, in fact it could be argued that Pakistan has more of a right to Kashmir than Russia does to Crimea given the 1994 Budapest Agreement.

I would strongly urge this paper to show more objectivity when dealing with conflicts between the west and Russia and consider the positions you have taken on India’s own circumstances through the years.

Kartik Krishnaiyer

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

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In the 1940s and 1950s a large number of domestic liberals were put in an uncomfortable position by American foreign policy. Yet those liberals including many leaders of the labor movement understood the differences between the freedom and openness we enjoy in this country and the repression of our opposition. While we may sympathize with the plight of foreign governments who are at times bullied by the United States, we understand American engagement and leadership on the planet is a force for good if used properly. In President Obama we have such a leader, someone whose values of human dignity and empowerment have helped spread liberal values abroad during his Presidency.  While many liberals may have determined American engagement abroad is somehow always wrong following the military debacles of the Bush years, we cannot disengage from this crisis and allow a bully like Putin to violate international law and threaten at the end of a gun all of his neighbors.

We understand Russia aspires to be a great power once again. But this sort of reckless foreign policy will not allow them to reach great power status again. It will simply marginalize Russia as a pariah nation in the world community if we stick together.  The cost of the west not speaking with a united voice and acting decisively will be a continued development of a Russian sphere of influence across the globe. This has long been our concern and part of the reason this website has repeatedly called on President Obama to act with strength towards Russia. After a shaky start he has shown some real mettle in dealing with Putin. We hope it continues. It must continue.