Revisiting India–West Asia Relations: An Analysis of Strategic Proximities

India’s concept of West Asia and the Western conception of the Middle East are not identical but they overlap, and therefore, some countries of the ‘Middle East’ like Egypt will also be included as part of India’s idea of its ‘extended neighbourhood’ in ‘West Asia’. India’s relations with this region goes back to ancient times but from available historical evidence, this was largely confined to trade relations; during medieval times, from the advent of the Turko-Afghans to the invasion of Nadir Shah of Persia and the beginning of British ascendency in India, India’s relations with the region were chaotic and spanned from alliances to invasions to cultural flows and subsequent influences in language, music, painting, architecture etc. India’s emergence as an independent state in the modern sense more or less coincided with the birth of many new states in the West Asian region from kingdoms to modern democracies or pseudo-democracies, that is, the materialization of ‘West Asia’ as we know it today. India’s foreign relations in the last 76 years have always been rational and in India’s interests, whether during Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘ideational’ period, or during Indira Gandhi’s ‘non-aligned’ tilt towards the Soviet Union or the more ‘realistic’ foreign policy of the twenty-first century. Further, India’s foreign policy cannot be viewed in isolation; world events and domestic requirements shape foreign policy and India is no exception. So, friends and enemies can never be permanent, and the need of the hour dictates foreign policy decisions and international relations. India’s diplomatic relations with West Asia need to be viewed in this context and measured at three levels: (a) from the ‘realistic’ idealism of non-alignment through the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union which made non-alignment irrelevant¸ to the current period of ‘new’ realism with India aspiring to be a global player; (b) religion, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and Pakistan as a factor in international relations and alliance building; (c) India’s economic needs (natural resources as well as labour export and the need for remittances) and relations with West Asia. While relations with the region need discussion at these levels, the natural consequence will also include an analysis of bilateral relations in conjunction with broader evaluations; religion, however, is not a focus here because of shortage of space. The present article will give a historical overview with political and economic analysis keeping in view India’s evolving foreign policy in the context of a changing and undulating international scenario of power and economic relations.