Oral+History

The first roots of the Cold War can be traced back to the Yalta Conference when the big three met. There it was decided that election would be set up in Easter Europe and they would be controlled by the Soviet Union, with lead to those countries becoming communistic. The cold war only truly ended when the Soviet Union fell in 1991.
 * __Growing up in India during the Cold War __**
 * __Research __**

During the Cold War there were very high tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. People in the United States did not like Soviets or communists. In school children were taught not to like Soviets and of the imminent danger of bombing from the Soviet Union. The common belief was that all Soviets were bad. If people needed a bad guy in a movie he/she was always Russian.

The cold war was long and spanned 46 years and had a lasting impact on people all over the world. The main aspect of the war was the arms race between the Soviet Union and the United. The two most well known incidents of the Cold War are the Korean and Vietnam Wars, both of which are proxy wars. Out of the conflict came great tensions between the two nations and the loss of 90,000 American lives and about 5.5 trillion dollars (accounting for inflation).


 * __Interview __**

Were any of the major events in the Cold War big news stories?

Yes, I remember the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties (SALT Talks) which led to the beginning of nuclear disarmament. Lech Walesa’s Solidarity movement made big news in India. Gorbachev’s perestroika and glasnost and the eventual fall of the Iron Curtain constantly made headlines.

How was the US viewed in India? Did they side with the US or the Soviet Union?

India tried to remain non-aligned (ie. Not allied with either the Soviet Union or the U.S). However being a poor large country and having some important leaders who believed is socialist principles, India was closer to the USSR than to the U.S. This was also strengthened by the fact that the Pakistan, India’s neighbor and arch-rival was a close ally of the U.S. Many Indians didn’t agree with our close friendship with the USSR we believed and still believe that India would have been better served by a closer relationship with the U.S.

How did people react to cold war?

Like people everywhere else, people in India wanted the Cold War to end.

Were you taught that Soviets or Americans were bad in school?

No we were not taught that either side was bad.

Was it generally accepted to not like Soviets?

To the common man in India it really didn’t matter.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Was there any imminent danger of attack or bombing?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The closest invasion was that of Afghanistan by the USSR in the 1970’s, this however did not truly threaten India in any way.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">Was there fear of communism in India?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">India has a proportion of people that subscribe to socialist principles. Despite being the world’s largest democracy, India has had a couple of state governments where the Communist party has been elected to power in free and fair elections. There was no major fear of communism in India.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14.5pt;">How do you think life would be different if the cold war didn’t happen?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Cold War and the eventual demise of the Iron Curtain led the world to understand that communism was and is a losing proposition. If it had not happened this understanding would not be there.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">I was very surprised by many of the things that I learned from my father. The reaction of people in India was very different to the reaction of people in the U.S, in India there was no imminent danger while in the us people were very afraid of communism or attack. What I expected the least was that India, being a democratic nation was in favor of the Soviet Union over the United States. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sources: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Cost of War <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">: [] Timeline of Cold War: [] My Unit 8 Notebook: http://unit8arvindg12.wikispaces.com/Title+Page
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16pt;">Reflection __**