Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - X. The potentialities of Russo-Indian trade relations
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
102 PROBLEMS CONFRONTING RUSSIA
situated on the same continent, at no great distance apart,
must necessarily come into close economic contact with each
other.
Among the adverse circumstances which in the past have
hampered the expansion of Indo-Russian trade relations, the
political factor played a very considerable part. India
mistrusted Russia, always fearing a possible invasion from
the North. Not only the Anglo-Russian agreement with
regard to Central Asia, but more especially the Russian
Revolution, has brought about an entire change in this
respect. Russia has no tendency of aggression and
aggrandisement at the expense of her neighbours. Her new political
creed is to live and let live. She desires all nations to
determine their own fate, and declines the application of
force in welding their destinies.
One condition which was against the development of
Russo-Indian trade relations was the lack of means of
communication between the two countries. There is a line of
steamships from Vladivostock to Calcutta which must be
developed in the future. Again, Odessa should be linked up
with Bombay and the Persian Gulf by another steamship
line ; and the most beneficial results may be expected by
connecting the Russian railway system with that of India
through Persia, via Quetta. Negotiations on this scheme
have already reached a very advanced stage, and it is only
the war that has brought this very important enterprise to
a standstill, which is bound to be renewed as soon as peace
has been re-established, when Persian affairs will also be
satisfactorily settled. This railway project is bound to be a
potent factor for the development of Russo-Indian
intercourse. It was the late Foreign Secretary to the Government
of India, Sir Alfred Lyall, who very rightly said, " The
overland route between Europe and India is manifestly destined
to be one of the chief highways of the world "... and, he
added, " nowhere in the civilised world, even among jealous
and hostile States, have strategical reasons been held to be so
imperative as to prevent the junction of the main railway
lines between two continental countries."
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
