India faces a unique dilemma. With its increasing youth population comes the need for well-paying jobs – not to be found inside the country – prompting them to seek employment abroad, even in conflict zones.

They are willing to risk their lives for more money, regardless of the dangerous location, to take care of their families and themselves.

It’s a trend that is getting worse and more worrisome, of late. If the long queues of people wanting to work as plumbers and electricians in Israel a few months ago shocked many, the death count coming out of the Ukraine-Russia war is a bigger shock. Reports have emerged that many young men from India are lured to Russia to work in non-combat military jobs in the Russian army. But once there, the middlemen take away their passports and they are given little choice but to fight in the Russian Army.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladmir Putin last month where this issue was raised. “The Russian side promised early discharge of all Indian nationals from the service of the Russian army,” said India’s foreign secretary then at a briefing on Modi’s Russia visit. But more than a month after this assurance, not much has happened in real, practical terms. Indians continue to fight and die in Russia’s war.

Lt Col JS Sodhi (Retd), who is a Defence & Strategic Affairs Analyst explained the reasons behind the trend. “There are two reasons for Indians seeking job opportunities even in conflict zones abroad. One, the lack of job opportunities which has Indians fighting in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As per the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy report, the unemployment rate in India is 9.2% as of June 2024. Two, low salaries in India when compared to many foreign nations. As per the World Inequality Database Report 2021, 90% Indians earn less than ?25,000 per month. Whereas, when an Indian fights for Russia in its war with Ukraine, the pay is ?1.43 lakhs a month,” says Sodhi.

“There are only three geopolitical powers in the world – the US, China and Russia. Only these three countries can stop any war in the world. Countries like India, France, Germany and the UK are geopolitical pivots who are used by the three geopolitical powers for furtherance of their strategic and military aims. Hence, the Russia-Ukraine war can only end the day the US, Russia or China decide to end the war. No fourth country can end this war,” he adds.

That is a sobering thought for many in India, especially with Modi visiting Ukraine recently and many talking of the possibility of India playing the role of a peacemaker in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

For India and its policymakers, perhaps it’s time to turn attention inwards. While globally India has asserted itself as the voice of the Global South and an emerging, rising power, it is also important to understand that a nation cannot become a great power without addressing its domestic issues first.

While replying to questions in Parliament on August 1, Minister of State for External Affairs (MEA) Kirti Vardhan Singh said that eight Indian nationals have died while serving in the Russian military. (It had previously confirmed only four of these deaths). The minister also said that the MEA does not have the exact number of Indians fighting in the Russian army.

Anil Trigunayat, a former Indian diplomat says, “Yes, unemployment in India, more lucrative opportunities abroad, better career prospects and lure for foreign countries are the key drivers for migration of the workforce. Very often unscrupulous manpower agents dupe people and that is why most of the Indians landed up on the Russia-Ukraine front and the other conflict zones. They are also exploited, despite the government’s strict mechanisms in place. As for Russia, the cases were taken up by PM Modi with President Putin and assurance was given to discharge them, so they could return to India. We can’t discount the fact, however, that some don’t even want to leave. But procedure is on by the embassy, and hopefully those wanting to return will come back soon.”

At the end of the day, it’s a test for India’s policymakers if they can work on their ‘time-tested’ Russia relationship and assure that more young Indians do not die fighting in a war they never chose. Meanwhile, India has to get back to its basics of employment generation and income equality. The rest can wait. – Simran Sodhi is Executive Editor of nrifocus.com