India was a non-aligned member during the cold war. It means India was neither on the side of the USA nor the Soviet Union. This was for official purposes, which enabled us to avoid giving away our land or resources to the Soviets or Americans (which they could use as a military base and eventually also make India their vassal). Having said that, unofficially India fully supported the Soviet Union.
Soviet Union protected India from the onslaught of the USA, during the India Pakistan war of 1971. The indo-soviet pact during 1971 was spearheaded by PM Indira Gandhi. Further, India cooperated and collaborated greatly with the Soviet Union in the fields of defense, manufacturing industries, medicine, nuclear energy, science among others, however, India was never a direct party to the cold war standoff between the USA and the Soviet Union.
