India’s Mideast role provokes debate

While diplomats fret over oil, youth see democracy as touchstone of future relations

THE small conference room, lit by a row of fluorescent lights, is part of Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University’s appeal. It’s Western, well endowed and full of spunk. Here they talk of fighting corruption, what are perceived as the ill effects of globalization and increasingly the problems of the Middle East. “We must look to our close neighbors and show we are willing to be friendly, despite our relationship with Pakistan in the past,” says Idris, an Indian Muslim student at the university and one of the young students taking part in a student-organized discussion on the role of India in the Middle East.

Geographically close but politically far away, the Middle East has traditionally factored little in India’s diplomatic calculations. But its growing economy has made the country increasingly reliant on the region’s oil and, with that, its involvement in the Middle East’s complicated politics has grown, too

The dust-up over India’s defiance of Western-led sanctions on Iran points to India’s new clout as well as the risks that entails.

India’s political class — its politicians, diplomats, pundits and leading business people — have focused on the high diplomacy of ensuring a ready and reliable supply of oil by refusing to join Western-led sanctions against Iran. But at Jawaharlal Nehru University, students look at a bigger picture, one painted with India’s long history and experience with democracy and human rights, and more recently economic development.

“We are a nation that boasts the largest democracy in the world,” says Yeshwaran Rajneev, a final year student at the university and a political science major, “and even with our problems, we can give support and assistance to the countries in transition.”

For Rajneev, the future of India’s relationship with the Middle East should be based on mutual understanding of how India’s transition to democracy a half-century ago was developed and nurtured.

Sashank Joshi, India’s leading political and international affairs analyst casts India’s dilemma more in term of state-to-state diplomacy.

“Gulf- Iranian rivalry has ebbed and flowed for decades, but two developments — the acceleration of Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the Arab Spring — have sharpened the antagonism. In the coming years, that will likely push the Gulf closer to Pakistan and exacerbate threats to India,” according to Joshi.

That relationship has grown fraught over the Iran sanctions, which the Gulf backs.

Joshi contends that India needs to use its political clout, especially with Iran becoming increasingly estranged from the international community. New Delhi should actively mediate between the US and Iran’s nuclear ambitions, he contends, admitting that this won’t be easy as India itself has never signed on to the nuclear nonproliferation treaty (NPT).

“Since Iran and Turkey are clashing over Syria, this is a perfect opportunity for India to pursue its own interests and demonstrate international leadership,” he argues.

Sashank also raises concerns about India’s oil security in the evolving geopolitical context. “India imports over half its oil from Arab countries, dwarfing the roughly 15 percent it gets from Iran. But Saudi oil dominates those flows. It’s in India’s interest to strengthen its energy and security relationship with the smaller Arab states,” he said.

The youth, however, have a wider perspective, one that lies with the Arab uprisings of 2011 and the continuing struggles against the oppressive regime in Syria. At the Jawaharlal Nehru University, they argue fervently for a new approach that puts India’s proven democratic experience at the forefront of any dealings with the Middle East, including oil politics.

“Over the past year, we have come into contact and begun to understand the young generation (in the Middle East and North Africa) has the similar demands for the future as we do in India. We want freedom, an end to corruption and a better relationship that ties development to better governance,” says Rajneev, the final-year student.

“There are many people who want change, especially in how our government is run, but we cannot speak out like they did in Tunisia and Egypt right now because of the fear of being jailed, which is why we come to India, where it is more open,” he said.

Like the Middle East, Aziz feels that the future of India’s relationship with the Middle East can be buttressed by dialogue between the next generation of upcoming leaders. Both in India and the Middle East, demography is skewed in favor of the young and their voices have the potential to influence events, especially in democratic systems.

“Young people are the future of both India and the Middle East, so starting these discussions at the university is an important step,” he argues.

Nevertheless, both Aziz and Rajneev understand the realpolitik taking place now, particularly the multifaceted conflict over oil and nuclear policy that pits the interests of India against those of the West, with Iran as the object of contention. Democracy and human rights barely factor at all.

“Certainly this is a major difficulty in the struggle for better understanding and relationships,” Rajneev holds out hopefully. “But we, as Indian and Arab students, want to create a new way of thinking and are pushing our government here in New Delhi to change its policy of avoiding a discussion on human rights when we are dealing with the Gulf.”

It may be quixotic, but some politicians seem willing to listen. One leading member of India’s Parliament, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Media Line that the future of India’s relationship with the Middle East, and Iran “should accept the notion that receiving oil from these countries must also have another aspect to it.”

The lawmaker argues that his office has been inundated by letters from students across the country, asking for human rights and democracy to play an important role in the future of any dealing with Tehran and Riyadh.

“We must listen to these people, because they are the ones who will be running India in a few years and their voices are strong in the digital age where people are communicating across borders. Youth are the future, and if we don’t listen, they could be on the streets,” he argues.

Although India is only now beginning to understand its renewed push for a greater role in the Middle East, these students, are already beginning the dialogue that could make the future India foreign policy more attractive to youth movements across the Middle East.

And for Aziz, this is vitally important for the legitimacy of any attempt by New Delhi to create a stronger presence, politically and economically, in the region. “We are now, more than ever, looking for countries to become a part of the new Middle East and to support the youth. India can be that country, but it has to listen to its young people, like the great students I have met at the university here in India.”