A popular axiom says, ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed.’ Well, India did not help Iran when it needed India the most. What did India do when Iranian civilian areas were targeted, when Iran’s Supreme Leader was assassinated, when the bombs fell on a girls’ school, killing 165 girls and when an Iranian ship was attacked by an American torpedo in our backwaters, killing scores of Iranian naval officers. Instead of immediate condemnation by our top political leadership, all we got was deafening silence. Does India’s silence signal a shift in our West Asia policy? India only talked about ‘dialogue and restraint’, although Iran’s sovereignty was being attacked. Yes, we do have relations with Israel. But our relations with Iran are centuries-old. However, the current government seems inclined to throw this legacy to the wind.
Some say, this is the new India that believes in ‘nation first’. So, what does it do? It sides with the United States and Israel. One is a superpower drunk in arrogance, while the other is a 20th-century project of the West’s Settler Colonialism in the heart of the Muslim world. India’s foreign policy has historically followed the principle of non-alignment and strategic autonomy. However, our stand during the initial days of the war on Iran seems to have completely dented our image as a reliable and neutral power. Let us explore the cost our nation will have to pay for this ‘New India’ policy and how it can impact our economy, our relations with other nations, and our place when history is written about these times.
India’s Strategic Stakes in the Iran Conflict
Even a cursory study of the possible effects of the US-Israel war on Iran would indicate that this conflict would threaten India’s energy security, diaspora safety, and trade routes. It means it would directly impact the people of India and our national interests. Any ‘nation-first-government’ would therefore look at who helped us when we, as a nation, were in trouble. The Gulf region has more than 10 million Indians working as expatriates in various capacities. Their remittances help India’s economy by boosting its foreign exchange reserves and also domestic consumption. Any regional instability will damage this flow of foreign funds to India.
Energy security is another huge concern for India. India imports 80-90% of its crude oil requirements from foreign countries. GCC countries contribute almost 35% of India’s oil imports and 70% of its gas imports. Also, nearly half of India’s oil supply and nearly all of India’s gas supply pass through the strategic Iranian-controlled Strait of Hormuz.
At the time of writing, there is news that our external affairs minister S Jaishankar spoke to his Iranian counterpart, who assured him of safe passage for India-flagged oil tankers. Nonetheless, there are reports that the people of India are already suffering and feeling the heat of the war on Iran with huge queues in many cities in front of domestic LPG gas supply shops. Similarly, our maritime trade routes pass through the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf, which are important for trade and commerce. These, too, are negatively impacted, severely damaging our economy, jobs, and business reputation.
Iran and India: A History of Friendship
India and Iran share centuries of civilizational and diplomatic ties. The Persian language, its culture, and intellectual traditions have influenced many aspects of our administration and civilization. Urdu, which some call Hindustani, is a blend of Persian and a few other languages into the local ‘khadi-boli’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself acknowledged this shared heritage during his visit to Iran in 2016. On that occasion he remarked that ‘India and Iran are not new friends. Our friendship is as old as history.’
Former Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru wrote in The Discovery of India:“Among the many peoples and races who have come in contact with and influenced India’s life and culture, the oldest and most persistent have been the Iranians. After Alexander’s conquest, Iran was for many centuries under Greek rule. Contacts with India continued, and Ashoka’s buildings, it is said, were influenced by the architecture of Persepolis. The Graeco-Buddhist art that developed in north-west India and Afghanistan also has the touch of Iran. During the Gupta period in India, in the fourth and fifth centuries A.C., which is noted for its artistic and cultural activities, contacts with Iran continued.”
Iran has been a pillar of diplomatic support for India in critical moments. In 1994, Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) were trying to pass a resolution against India on the Kashmir issue at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Iran played a pivotal role in preventing the adoption of that resolution. This helped India on the Kashmir issue, as India does not want the Kashmir issue to be discussed in international forums, as it considers it to be a purely internal issue.
Strategic Interests at Risk
In terms of strategic importance, our relationship and goodwill with Iran is critical for India. If you look at the map of the world, you will see Iran connecting South Asia with Central Asia and parts of Eurasia. Thus, Iran is an important gateway for trade and connectivity for India. This is the reason, India invested hundreds of billions of dollars to develop the Chabahar port in Iran. The Chabahar port allows India to access a trade corridor connecting Afghanistan and Central Asia while bypassing Pakistan.
Similarly, of strategic importance is the broader International North South Transport Corridor. This links India with Russia and European markets through Central Asia. Iran is the 7th largest producer of crude oil in the world. It is one of our major oil suppliers. It was indeed a great strategic blunder for India to stop importing Iranian oil under American pressure. This tilt away from Iran by India will likely push Iran more towards China which will negatively impact India diplomatically and our economic cooperation with Iran.
The Unresolved Puzzle
Given such strong reasons for maintaining excellent relations with Iran and being a friend ‘indeed’ of Iran, it is indeed puzzling for foreign policy analysts as to why India tilted towards Israel and America. If the broad thinking behind this tilt is to do the opposite of what the previous (Congress) governments did, it is narcissism at its worst and screams ‘nation-second’ and totally against national interests. It is said that ignorance and arrogance are the two biggest enemies of our destiny; when they walk together, wisdom falls silent and nations begin to lose the very future they seek to build.