Anniversary of 1987 USSR-India Festival: 'Hindi-Rusi Bhai Bhai' Concept Lives On

On July 3, 1987, Presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and Rajiv Gandhi opened the festival of Soviet-Indian friendship under the banner 'Hindi-Rusi Bhai Bhai', or 'Indians and Russians are brothers.'

As part of the festival, shows and concerts were organized in each country. The large-scale event made it possible for thousands of people from the two nations to share cultural experiences and get to know each other better.

Sputnik spoke to Igor Ishenalievich Abylgaziev, a professor at Moscow State University, who was the coordinator of the youth program during the festival. After the event, Abyigaziev was awarded a medal for 'Labor Valour'.

Commenting on the event, Abylgaziev said: “This event holds a special significance in terms of the history of international relations, since for the first time the two great states, the Soviet Union and India, decided to exchange culture, science, all of their achievements on a large scale. Several tens of thousands of people from the Soviet Union visited India at that time and vice versa. The two countries showed each other the best they had.”

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi, India

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According to the professor, the two countries exchanged their centuries-old art forms, and all sorts of artistic groups from India visited the USSR and vice versa.

Furthermore, trips throughout the USSR were organized for Indian youth who were able to visit not only the central cities of Russia, but also Transbaikalia, Western Siberia, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine. Delhi did likewise - Soviet youth had a chance to visit Bombay, Kolkata, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and many other regions.

The professor pointed out that this festival was possible thanks to the high level of mutual trust between the two countries.

At that time, Soviet-Indian relations reached their peak. In 1986, the level of mutual understanding was so high that the Indian National Congress was invited to the 27th Party Congress of the CPSU (the Communist Party of the Soviet Union), which was, in fact, the first time a non-proletarian party was invited. It showed the level of trust between our countries at that time.

The festival's official opening ceremony at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium

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In 1986, Gorbachev and Gandhi signed the Delhi Declaration on the principles of a nuclear-weapon-free and non-violent world. This reflected the commitment of India and the USSR to a lasting and sustainable peace. The declaration has become one of the manifestos of the new time, Abylgaziev said.

Speaking about the fruits wielded by the event, the professor noted that "during the festival, the Soviet and Indian people got the opportunity to get to know each other; there was an interaction between the broad masses of the population."

We have organized an interaction between ordinary people and this is the main achievement.

Soloist of the Indian ensemble Girda Sorabjit and a weaver from Alma-Ata T. Ivanova in the Kazakh SSR

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During the meeting with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the SCO summit in Samarkand recently, Vladimir Putin proposed holding the Year of India in Russia and the Year of Russia in India in 2024.

In this respect, Professor Abylgaziev said that if this plan comes to fruition, Russia and India will once again show how close their peoples are.

Our relations with India are traditionally good and in some way unique. The Russian and Indian people are very close mentally. Our countries value this friendship and maintain this unique style of dialogue. And it is no coincidence that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin suggested repeating this experience. This will help strengthen friendship and mutual understanding between our countries, regardless of the political situation. We still believe in the 'Hindi Rusi bhai bhai' principle.