Indo-Soviet Arms DeaI

Mohan Ram THE Soviet decision to sell India military hardware worth Rs 1,300 crores on easy long-term credit has come, ironically, in the wake of India's objections to the United States' move to provide military equipment worth $ 400 million to Pakistan to meet the Situation created by the Soviet armed intervention in Afghanistan. The contradictory justifications of the Soviet arms deal one hears in New Delhi add to the irony. Thus Defence Ministry officials refer with satisfaction to the Soviet Union's favourable attitude to India's military needs "in the context of the developments in the region"