India’s Two-Faced Policy: A Dangerous Breach of International Law and Human Rights

In today’s interconnected world, states are expected not only to advance their strategic interests but also to act as responsible moral actors. Upholding international law, non-proliferation norms, and human rights is no longer optional; it is essential for global stability. Yet India, a self-proclaimed rising power with global aspirations, increasingly exposes a stark contradiction between rhetoric and action. While New Delhi presents itself as a neutral and principled actor on the global stage, its recent behavior in the context of the Russia–Ukraine war reveals a dangerous duality. Behind the veil of “strategic autonomy,” India is supplying materials that directly empower a state widely accused of committing war crimes, undermining international norms, and threatening civilian safety.

Flouting Sanctions: Exporting HMX to Russia

The hypocrisy is perhaps most visible in the December 2024 shipment by Ideal Detonators Private Limited, which exported approximately US$ 1.4 million worth of HMX (octogen) to Russian buyers. HMX is a high-performance explosive with clear military applications, including missiles, torpedoes, rocket motors, and advanced munitions. The U.S. government explicitly warned India that such shipments could constitute support for Russia’s war machine, which is actively engaged in a conflict causing mass civilian casualties. Despite these warnings, the export went ahead, a decision that signals India’s willingness to prioritize economic and strategic gains over compliance with international norms.

The Lie of “Civilian Use”

Ideal Detonators and Indian officials have repeatedly claimed that the HMX was intended for “civilian industrial” purposes, such as mining or demolition. But this defense is transparently misleading. HMX is widely recognized as a dual-use material with immediate military applications, making India’s civilian-use claim little more than a semantic shield. Compounding the ethical breach, one of the Russian recipients, Promsintez, is allegedly linked to the Russian military, with Ukrainian reports confirming that a Promsintez facility was targeted by drone attacks. This connection highlights that India’s exports are not merely passive economic transactions but potentially direct contributions to a war machine engaged in violations of international humanitarian law.

Regulatory Farce: Compliance or Complicity?

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has dismissed reports of wrongdoing as “speculative and misleading.” The MEA emphasizes that India maintains a “robust legal and regulatory framework” for defense exports, including mandatory end-user certifications. Yet Ideal Detonators itself confirms that it adhered only to Indian law, which, evidently, does not prevent highly sensitive explosives from reaching a military power engaged in active conflict. This exposes a regulatory gap that India seems unwilling to address, allowing strategic considerations to outweigh both legal obligations and ethical responsibility.

Diversion of Ammunition to Ukraine

India’s moral incoherence is further illustrated by the diversion of Indian-made ammunition to Ukraine. According to Reuters, artillery shells originally manufactured in India were exported to European buyers and then redirected to Ukraine, with Moscow raising the issue diplomatically multiple times. India has consistently denied wrongdoing, claiming that the share of diverted ammunition is “under 1%” of Ukraine’s total imports. Even if small in proportion, this diversion demonstrates India’s tacit acceptance of its arms being used in multiple theatres of conflict, further undermining its claim of neutrality.

Ethical and Legal Complicity

By supplying materials that feed Russia’s war machine, India risks indirect complicity in potential war crimes. International humanitarian law obliges states to avoid contributing to attacks that harm civilians. India’s actions, coupled with tolerance of diverted ammunition, reveal a pattern of strategic opportunism where ethical and legal obligations are subordinated to political and economic interests. India is not a neutral mediator but a transactional enabler of conflict, undermining human rights while cloaking itself in diplomatic rhetoric.

Undermining Global Norms

India’s behavior has systemic consequences. If a major democracy can bypass sanctions, understate the military utility of dual-use materials, and tolerate end-user deception, it signals that international norms are negotiable. Other states could emulate this precedent, weakening global non-proliferation regimes and increasing the risk that advanced weapons flow unchecked into conflict zones. India is setting a dangerous example, demonstrating that strategic gains can take precedence over law, ethics, and global security.

Strategic Opportunism Over Principle

India’s claims of neutrality, strategic autonomy, and principled diplomacy collapse under scrutiny. Its actions reveal a nation willing to profit from and facilitate one of the most destructive conflicts of the 21st century. By exporting dual-use explosives to Russia and tolerating diversion of munitions to Ukraine, India demonstrates blatant hypocrisy, legal evasion, and moral indifference. If it seeks genuine global credibility, New Delhi must realign its arms-export policies with its stated commitments to international law and human rights. Until then, India remains less a responsible power and more an opportunistic enabler of war, undermining global norms and jeopardizing civilian safety.