| India and Turkey share common interests from Central Asia to West Asia and Africa. (File photo: PTI) |
Dr. Asif Nawaz
draasifnawaz@gmail.com
On February 6, people across the world were rattled by the sad news of devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. The devastation had mostly caused damage to Turkey, where hundreds of thousands of buildings and some entire villages and towns became piles of rubble in the blink of an eye. At the time of drafting this article, official statistics estimate the number of fatalities in Turkey alone stands at roughly 43,556 and 108,068 injuries. Moreover, 4.4 million buildings are said to have been impacted, affecting at least 11.35 million people, and around 345,000 apartments have been completely ruined. There was an instant international response to the earthquake in terms of rescue and relief efforts from all corners of the globe and various organisations. According to a CNN report, at least 105 nations and sixteen international organisations came forward to provide assistance to those who were affected by the earthquakes. More than eleven countries dispatched rescue teams to Turkey, some of which were equipped with search and rescue dogs to look for those who may be buried beneath the wreckage. In those hours of the tragedy, what all the Eastern and Western countries did for the relief of the earthquake victims in Turkey and what they are still doing on humanitarian grounds is not only satisfactory but also highly commendable.
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| Sixth Indian plane leaves for Turkey with relief materials for earthquake victims. (Photo: MEA, Twitter) |
The promptness with which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Government acted to assist Turkey in this situation is highly praiseworthy; it validates his foreign policy and ensures India's good image in the Arab and Islamic worlds.The first powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.8 rocked Turkey on February 6 at 7:00 am IST. Reports suggest that since the morning of the incident, Prime Minister Modi had been keeping a close eye on the unfortunate catastrophe in Turkey. First, the Prime Minister expressed his grief and sorrow over the devastating catastrophe in a Twitter message at 11:00 am in response to Turkish President Erdogan's tweet announcing the tragic happening in Turkey. After that, at twelve in the afternoon, he opened his talk at the India Energy Week function in Bangalore by expressing his sadness and condolences to the victims of the earthquake that had occurred in Turkey. But as soon as the details of the earthquake started coming from authentic sources about the enormity and magnanimity of the tragedy, the Prime Minister once again voiced his profound and sincere concern about the unfolding sorry stories coming from Turkey at approximately 3:30 pm and instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to mobilise its personnel to get ready and make arrangements for search and rescue operations, along with relief work in the affected areas. Even before the sun sat down that day, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs V Muralidharan proceeded to the Turkish Embassy in Delhi and met with the Turkish Ambassador, conveying his deep-felt condolences over the devastation caused by the earthquake in Turkey, in addition to passing along a message from the Prime Minister of India expressing his sympathies towards Turkish people and India's readiness for relief and humanitarian work in Turkey. During his interaction with the Turkish Ambassador, the Minister of State for the Ministry of External Affairs also highlighted India's commitment and preparedness to assist Turkey by sending the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), medical teams, and relief supplies. Expressing gratitude to the Indian government for this friendly gesture, the Turkish Ambassador to India, Firat Sunel, in a tweet sent out on the evening of February 6, noted that the word "dost" (meaning friend) is common in both Turkish and Hindi languages ...... and there is a proverb in Turkish tradition: "Dost Kara Gunde Belly Olor" (A friend in need is a friend indeed). Accordingly, the India's relief work in Turkey also named "Operation Dost" which was launched on the directives of Prime Minister Modi to provide all possible assistance to the affected people, by participating in search & rescue (SAR) and medical assistance work in Turkey.
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| The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, V. Muralidharan, pays a visit to the Turkish Embassy in New Delhi and met with the Turkish Ambassador to offer his condolences and convey his sadness over the earthquake calamity. (PC: MEA, Twitter) |
With reference to Turkish Ambassador Firat Sunel, The Hindustan Times has reported that India was one of the first countries to reach Turkey with relief work and that too on the evening of February 6 itself, the NDRF had been dispatched to the earthquake affected areas of Turkey. The next day, on February 7th, the Indian Air Force sent two additional C-17 aircraft to Turkey with relief supplies, a mobile hospital, and more specialised search and rescue staffers. Along with these NDRF personnels, the Army Field Hospital in Agra also deployed 89 medical personnels with them. In sum, India's contribution to the relief effort in Turkey comprised of delivering various kind of relief materials and personnels on board of seven C-17 aircraft as of the 12th of February 2023. After completing their missions in Turkey as part of Operation Dost, all of the servicemen from the NDRF and the Indian Army physicians who had been sent there returned to India on 20th February.
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| Upon their return, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with members of the disaster response and humanitarian aid teams that had participated in Operation 'Dost.' (PC: MEA, Twitter account) |
All of the teams that were dispatched under "Operation Dost" not only succeeded in garnering the gratitude and admiration of the Turkish people as a result of their tireless effort and compassionate attitude that they displayed while being on the Turkish soil, but their selfless contributions also marked a new beginning in India's diplomatic relations with Turkey. On India's governmental level, while these flights brought relief and respite to Turkish people, on the national level, the people of India tried their best to send various forms of help to Turkey through the Turkish embassy in India.
India and Turkey have had a long history of cultural exchange, trade, and political cooperation spanning many centuries. The monument of Qutb Minar, which was built by Qutbuddin Aybak in accordance with the architectural style prevalent in Turkey at that time, is an excellent illustration of the close historical relationship that existed between Turkey and India. On the other side, the effort to establish a caliphate got its start in India at the beginning of the 20th century, when the caliphate in Turkey came to an end. Around this time, India was engaged in a struggle for its complete independence against British colonial rule. It is referred to as the "Khilafat Movement" throughout the historical record. The movement was also presided over by Mahatma Gandhi, who is known as the "India's father of the nation." In spite of all these, India and Turkey are not considered to be "close friends" in terms of the contemporary political and diplomatic context.
In contrast, the political and diplomatic ties between Pakistan and Turkey, both of which are nations that adhere to the Muslim faith, have been exceptionally robust and comprehensive. moreover, Turkey is one of the nations on Pakistan's list of those whose citizens are permitted to visit the country without first obtaining a visa, and nationals of both Turkey and Pakistan are permitted to possess dual citizenship and passports from both countries. After the partition of India and the foundation of Pakistan in 1947, Turkey was the first country to recognise Pakistan on a diplomatic level and endorsed Pakistan's membership in the United Nations. Just a few months after the creation of Pakistan, in December 1947, Pakistan's Father of Nation, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, during his visit to Turkey, lauded Turkey's "glorious" past and vowed to make Pakistan a Turkish model, laying the foundation for fourthcoming deep political, cultural and trade ties. This diplomatic connection blossomed and crystalised well during Pervez Musharraf's tenure as Martial Law administrator of Pakistan. The primary reason for this was that Pervez Musharraf spent a significant portion of his childhood in Turkey, where his father served for a long period of time as a Pakistani diplomat. As a result of this, Musharraf was able to speak Turkish language very well, and moreover, during his tenure as army chief, he worked hard to keep strong relations with Turkey and subsequently, robust defence relations were developed between the two nations.
It is believed that Turkey's close affiliation with the Pakistani camp and standing in support of Pakistan on different issues have been the primary factors that prevented India and Turkey from being able to create good relations with one another. Moreover, Turkey is currently Pakistan's second largest supplier of arms, and over the course of the past several years, Turkey has also provided training to approximately 1500 members of the Pakistan Army. In a similar vein, Turkey has been giving support to Pakistan with regard to the Kashmir issue since the day one of the emergence of Indo-Pak conflict. In the recent past, Turkey had reacted strongly against India and made numerous disturbing statements on various platform including in UN General Assembly in support of Pakistan on the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A of the Constitution of India that deal with the special provision for the State of Jammu and Kashmir. During the year of 2016, Turkey also made an offer to act as a mediator between the two nations over the Kashmir dispute. This proposal, however, was categorically rejected by the Indian side.
Given India's public and official gestures of empathy, solidarity, and support for Turkish people at this tiring period, there is a significant possibility that a new era of cordial relations between the two countries will soon commence. Strengthening ties between the two countries across the board is likely to raise the prospect that they will grow closer to one another and foster an environment conducive to mutual understanding and collaboration on a wide range of diplomatic, political, and cultural engagements. Undoubtedly, the proactive diplomacy of Modi Government has, on the one hand, carried out the dharma of humanitarianism by reaching out to Türkiye, a close ally of Pakistan, and, on the other hand, this strategy of Indian government is likely to wear-down the edge of hostility of its enemy (Pakistan).
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| Under Operation Dost, the Indian Army set up a field hospital in an earthquake-hit area of Turkey. A Turkish woman hugs an Indian Army officer in the field hospital. (Photo: Indian Army/Twitter) |
As a direct result of the manner in which the Turkish government and, more importantly, the Turkish people have expressed their thanks and gratitude to India, there is no doubt that an atmosphere of trust and peace will emerge between Turkey and India in coming days. The love that the people of Turkey have shown to the Indian Rescue Mission, as shown in a picture of Turkish women kissing the head of Indian Rescue Mission woman, is a testament to the love and trust that have developed recently between the two countries. It also demonstrates that India now holds a special place in the hearts of the people of Turkey. The groundwork has been laid for the blossoming of love, which will take place at some point in the future.
Here, it's worth noting that experts in international relations have seen a shift in Turkey's foreign policy strategy and structure during the past few years. Moreover, Turkey's foreign policy makers have shown a practical and pragmatic approach in recent past while dealing with countries in the West Asian region and beyond, with whom Turkey's relation was marked by mistrust, conflict, and antagonism. Whether it iis relation between Turkey and Israel, as well as Turkey and Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, all have worsened dramatically in the previous decade, especially in the wake of the Arab Spring. It is the Erdogan government which has spent the last couple of years trying to repair these ties. This shift in Turkey's attitude in its foreign policy towards these countries has been attributed to a number of different factors; nevertheless, the country's struggling economy and the declining value of the lira are generally regarded as the most significant of these factors.
It is believed that for today's modern nation-states, the protection of their own national interests and the continuation of their own nation's existence are the top priority and of the utmost significance. It took the leadership of Turkey a long time, but eventually they came to the conclusion that the various countries and groups in the region with which it had been working in the past had actually damaged Turkey's reputation and it relations with the major players in the region, particularly Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Israel, and that those various countries and groups were unable to solve the problems that Turkey has been facing on various fronts. In addition to this, these countries have become an increasingly serious threat and burden to Turkey and its national interests. As a result, Turkey reorganised its relations with these countries by taking concrete action and adopting an approach that was grounded in realism. They reconstructed their regional foreign policy with just their country's best interests in mind, putting religious sensitivities and emotional considerations on the backburner. As a direct consequence of this, Turkey's economy started to recover, and the country's currency began to acquire strength. It is possible that in the coming days, Turkey is likely to proceed with the same realistic thinking in defining its relations vis a vis India and Pakistan. And in contrast to Pakistan, which is struggling economically and is frequently obliged to ask for assistance from other countries, Turkey will give priority to India, which is not only the fifth largest economy in the world but also it will be the fastest growing economy in the world in the year 2022-2023 according to IMF and World Bank estimates.
Dr. Asif Nawaz
draasifnawaz@gmail.com
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