✍ Raja Muneeb – India
Of many conundrums and predicaments that have emanated from the current India-Pakistan brief military stand-off, the strain in India-Türkiye relations is the most significant. Even though not best of pals, both countries are joined by a civilisational placenta, links of Sufism and huge potential for bilateral partnership.
To be honest, there is an avalanche of anti-Türkiye sentiments in India right now. The social media is awash with stilettos taking aim at anything associated with Türkiye. Indian universities have cancelled Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with Turkish universities. Some Turkish companies awarded projects like developing an airport in Mumbai have been put on notice. In a latest move, Air India, the flag carrier of India, has announced to lobby against the tie-up between IndiGo, an Indian private airliner, and Turkish Airways. In addition, there is said to be a 60% drop in air bookings to Türkiye from India within a week.
The embers of this rage simmered as Türkiye has been perceived to have been helping Pakistan ever since the current India-Pakistan tension built up. Matters were complicated by the Indian military’s revelation that Turkish made drones were used by Pakistan to overwhelm Indian air defences. Some experts say that Türkiye’s consistent stance on the Kashmir issue has made Ankara a disesteemed diplomatic destination for New Delhi. Türkiye is in fact in a diplomatic understanding with Pakistan to back the latter’s stance on Kashmir in international fora.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan too has voiced a clear stance on Kashmir and a line that is deemed tilting towards Pakistan. Kashmir is the jugular vein of both neighbouring countries’ sentiments and national consciousness. It makes India ultra sensitive on this issue.
Foreign policy, however, refuses to recognise sentimentalism. Its core principle is realism. The reality of our time is that both Türkiye and India have to – and they are – expanding the stratosphere of their influence in territories where they never sauntered into before. Both are polestars of what is now called the Global South. Both are embroiled in regional conflicts that often turn bloody, with terror attacks incurring devastating human cost. Unmindful of who traded in weaponry with their adversaries, both have to chart a route for future course in light of what Diplomacy of late Henry Kissinger taught. Kissinger deemed sentimentalism an ace enemy of national interests and modern age diplomacy.
This is the bedrock that must form the new premise of India-Türkiye relations. Both the countries are members of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that binds them with several cooperative initiatives. They also developed a bilateral mechanism called “India-Türkiye Policy Planning Dialogue” that is a foreign ministry-level platform to iron out differences between both the countries and take their relations into vistas of 21st century framework.
Drones and Defence
On May 8 and 9, Pakistani armed forces, according to India’s defence ministry, sent around 300-400 attack drones that targeted 36 locations in India, ranging from Ladakh region to desert state of Rajasthan. These attacks reportedly killed 18 civilians. All of these UAVs were Türkiye-made Asisguard Songar, Bayraktar TB2, or YIHA drones. It pained India as New Delhi had rushed multiple C-17 Globemasters for humanitarian aid within 12 hours of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake under Operation Dost. Dost means friend and thus India felt backstabbed. But, there is no confirmed report that, at least in credible media, that Ankara supplied these drones from its arsenal for use against India. They are in all likelihood part of a defence purchase by Pakistan. Hopefully, as the prevailing backlash against Turkey will wither, officials of both the countries can sit to strike a deal for supply of these drones to India. A market opens to all.
Most importantly, Türkiye has been supporting India’s aspiration for permanent membership of the UNSC. Hopefully this stance is maintained and if it happens so, it will help salvage relations between the two countries after present hostility.
Trade: A Necessity
Both Türkiye and India are yet to catch up with post-Covid recovery. Economies in both the countries are still reeling under aftershocks. Trade with various countries, mostly Asians, are their lifelines. Turkey accounts for around 1.5% of India’s exports and 0.5% of its imports. In the year 2023-24, India sold goods worth $6,650.00 million and the Türkiye $3,780.00 million from India in the same year. India exported 3,885 commodities to Turkey in FY24. Major exported items from India to Turkey include Engineering Goods ($ 2.75 billion), petroleum products ($ 954 million), Electronic Goods (US$ 532 million), Organic and Inorganic Chemicals ($ 528 million), Man-Made Yarn ($ 378 million), Others ($319 million), Drugs and Pharmaceuticals ($291 million) etc. in FY24.
Major items imported by India from Turkey include Mineral fuels and oils ($ 1.8 billion), Nuclear Reactors and parts ($311 million), Salt and Plastering materials ($235 million), Inorganic chemicals ($188 million), Natural and precious pearls ($132 million), Animal products ($149 million), etc. in 2023-24.
Indian companies like Tata, Mahindra, Reliance Industries and Wipro have shown interest in the Turkish market, while Turkish construction giants have historically secured major contracts in India’s infrastructure sector. Indian companies have invested about US$ 126 million in Türkiye (as per Central Bank of Türkiye data) and Turkish investment in India is approximately US$ 210.47 million (as per Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, India).
Most robust facet of India-Türkiye economic ties is tourism. Türkiye is a favourite honeymoon destination of newlywed couples from India. In 2023-24 alone, around 2.7 lakh Indian tourists visited Türkiye. There are roughly 13,000 seats between India and Turkey each way on a weekly basis. An Indian traveller spends an average of $12,00 to $2,000. After China, India is one of the biggest travel markets. The footfall from Türkiye to India is meagre in comparison, but a number of Türkiye tour and travel companies operate from all major Indian cities.
Such a scenario presents a case for upgrade of ties and further construction on already laid foundations. Both countries can ill-afford such a huge economic washout.
Culture Connect
Türkiye is the only country in the world with a TV channel – Kanal TV – devoted entirely to Indian TV dramas. This is the most potent channel to help understand each other’s culture and people. It should not be a casualty of war.
It might sound repetitive and clichéd but one language that reverberates most among all foreign languages, barring English, India is Turkish. Over 9,000 words are shared between Hindustani and Turkish, heralding that India and Türkiye are linked with kinship ties. Sufis from India are buried in different Turkish cities and vice versa. A shelf full of books has been written on this connection. Very recently, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a heartfelt tribute to Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi – an all-time guide to souls seeking way through bloodstained dilemmas.
Diplomacy overcomes such dilemmas, only if, as the dervish said, “Embrace a wider perspective.”
