Soft Power—India-Gulf Educational and Cultural Ties
Mr.Chairman, (Ambassador Talmiz Ahmed),
Chancellor of the University,
Fellow
Panelists,
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
I
thank the leaders of Symbiosis International University for inviting me
to this Conference. I suspect that I have been invited because I live
in Kerala, the state, which has been touched most by the Gulf, in
ancient and in modern times. Since I am in education in Kerala, I
linkages with the education scene in the Gulf. Yet another affinity I
have is that my younger brother, T.P.Seetharam, is the Indian Ambassador
to the UAE. Of course, I must add that what I say will be on my own
responsibility and should not be attributed to him.
Months after this Conference was planned, much after I accepted your invitation to make a presentation on the influence of India’s soft power in the Gulf, a game changing visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi took place to one of the leading countries in the Gulf. It transformed not only India’s relations with the UAE, but also sent waves across the Arab world. It appeared as though the Symbiosis International University had the wisdom and the foresight to anticipate those developments. That is how this Conference has become celebratory, rather than speculative. Today, we can speak with greater confidence about the potential for India-Gulf partnership. We can assert that age-old cultural ties can blossom into mutually beneficial links at critical times.
The
very fact that we characterize India-Gulf relations today as “Link West” tells
the story of the times. The word, “West” so far meant the lands farther west of
West Asia. This is not the first time that we are looking west. The problem was
that both India and the Gulf were looking west and, therefore, we hardly saw
each other. When we began to see each other, we discovered the immense
possibilities of employment for Indians in the Gulf, which transformed the
skyline of the entire region. The inclement weather and other hardships did not
deter the Indians from making flowers bloom in the desert. The Gulf, in turn,
welcomed them with open arms and the wages they earned and their remittances
transformed the Indian economy.
Indian
cultural contacts date back centuries and continue with intensity today. These
will only increase in the future, regardless of the political and economic
future of India and the Gulf. For thirty years or more, the skilled and semi
skilled Indians served the Gulf countries with devotion. They were able to mix
with the local community because of the freedom they enjoyed for cultural
exchanges and worship. Indian habits and customs were familiar in these
countries because of the interactions of the past. Many Indian workers spoke
Arabic even before they went to the Gulf and it was not long after that the
Arabs began speaking in Hindi and Malayalam, which their forefathers had brought
back from their voyages to the east. Indians in the Gulf invited their
employers and friends to India to savor the salubrious weather of the Kerala
coast and to rejuvenate them with Ayurvedic treatment.
No wonder that these complementarities made the Gulf home to
7 million Indians and remittances exceeded 35 billion dollars a year. I come
from Kerala, where no one has remained untouched by the two way Gulf wave.
The
seven Emirates that formed the UAE in 1971 have for long had close
interaction with the west coast of India with Bombay, Pune, Gujarat, Malabar
being main points of interaction. Pearls, dates and salted fish were exported
to India and almost all their needs from food items to textiles and furniture
coming from India. Sheikh Zayed's palace in Al Ain, now a museum is full of
Indian furniture and textiles. Young men would offer "the finest silks of
India" when seeking brides. Indian sword was a priced possession. Families
were sent to Bombay for holiday and shopping when the menfolk were busy at sea
during the pearl diving season. Miraj near Pune was a popular destination for
medical care. Wood and coir to make boats and boats themselves came from the
Malabar Coast. Indian food, spices and oudh (perfumes) became essential
elements of daily life in the Gulf. Indian merchants dominated trade in the
gulf, while teachers, doctors, accountants and professionals from India were
pioneering service providers as lifestyle changed from that of wandering as
Bedouins to a settled urban living.
With
television came Bollywood dubbed into Arabic with a large fan following every
gossip in the life of actors on and off screen. Urdu, Hindi and Malayalam are
spoken specially by those of the older generation. Cricket infrastructure has
come up in Sharjah, Dubai and even in Abu Dhabi to attract matches between the
teams of the subcontinent. No event attracts more people in these cities than
an India-Pakistan cricket match.
Indian
associations and community organizations flourish and compete with each other
in bringing classical, folk and cinematic events to the Gulf as corporate
sponsorship is easy to mobilize. Pandit Jasraj, Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Amjad
Ali Khan, Kathakali, Koodiyattam, Kathak, Mammooty, Mohanlal, all attract huge
audiences. Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority is currently hosting the
Indian Symphony Orchestra of Mumbai, Gulzar rendering Rabindra Sangeeth and a
reputed Kathak group for a predominantly Emirati audience at ticketed
events at the prestigious Emirates Palace. Contemporary Indian artists are
featured prominently at art exhibitions. The Abu Dhabi branch of the Louvre has
already acquired an antique Nataraja statue from a museum in Australia and
a large Indian miniature paintings collection that belonged to James Ivory of
the 'Merchant-Ivory' fame. Onam is celebrated on every Friday from August to
November in some part or other of the Gulf with more fanfare and
colour than in Kerala.
Several
Indian newspapers and journals are printed and distributed in the Gulf and
local newspapers have large sections of news from India. In some countries,
Indians outnumber the local populations, but they are not disruptive of the
political or cultural milieu of those countries. Just as Indian restaurants
flourish there, Arab food is much sought after in Kerala today.
As
the people to people contacts grew, so did trade relations. GCC is the biggest
trading partner of India today and it provides half of India’s oil
requirements. For India, Gulf is a bigger market for its goods than the
European Union today.
India’s
principled support for Palestine was an anchor of India’s relations with the
Arab world right from the time of India’s independence. Yasser Arafat was
received in India several times as the head of state of Palestine, not just as
a freedom fighter. The sentiments of the OIC on Kashmir and the Muslim
community in India were tempered by the fact that India stood for justice for
the Palestinians throughout. India recognized Palestine as a state far ahead of
many others.
Even
with all these ingredients, India-Gulf relations did not become a strategic
partnership. It had to wait for the right moment when global power shifted from
the west to the east, the United States began disengaging from the region
because of its rapidly reducing dependence on Gulf oil, the menace of terrorism
and piracy demanded cooperation between India and the region and India’s
economic growth and keenness to seek investments impressed the Gulf community.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi struck gold in the Gulf during his recent visit to the
UAE because of the firm foundations of traditional links and the imperatives of
cooperation, which emerged in recent times. He received a warm welcome by the
Crown Prince and his brothers at the Abu Dhabi airport, held cordial discussions
with them, visited the grand mosque, met Indian workers in a labor camp,
received the gift of a plot of land for a Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi and issued
a historic Joint Statement with the Crown Prince. In Dubai, a 50,000 strong
audience heard an electrifying speech about his accomplishments and future
plans. Basking in the glory of a highly successful visit, Prime Minister Modi
wondered why no Indian Prime Minister had visited the UAE for 34 years, even
though there were 700 flights a week from India to the Gulf. He was implying
that the Governments were far behind the people in forging ties in the Gulf.
Modi
spoke at length at his Dubai oration on the implications of the new
understanding on terrorism, making it clear that the UAE had clearly sided with
the Indian view on terrorism as the two had decided to “coordinate efforts to
counter radicalization and misuse of religion by groups and countries for
inciting hatred, perpetrating and justifying terrorism or pursuing political
aims.” Though he did not mention Pakistan by name, he said that terrorism
as an instrument of policy stood condemned. The support to India’s proposed
Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism was also significant, he
said. The main reason why the Convention ran into rough weather was the
argument by some Islamic countries that freedom fighters should not be deemed
terrorists by definition. With the new understanding of terrorism, there would
no more be “good Taliban and bad Taliban.” The establishment of a dialogue mechanism
between National Security Advisers and security agencies took anti-terrorism to
the level of defence cooperation, including regular exercises and training of
naval, air, land and Special Forces and in coastal defence. The UAE also
announced support for India’s quest for a permanent seat on the UN Security
Council.
A
‘Dawn’ editorial remarked that the visit should be nothing less than a wake-up
call for Pakistan. Even more significantly, it said, "Lingering
territorial disputes are no longer the driving force behind foreign policy.
Instead, the foreign interests of states are now, more than ever before, viewed
through an economic lens. States can be rivals in one sphere and partners in
another.” The Indian initiative was noted with admiration as part of the
contemporary trend of playing on different chessboards at the same time.
The
editorial called for maturity in Pakistan`s foreign policy and said that
"as a thaw with Iran opens up opportunities to the west, and the
possibility of building an economic partnership with India to the east --
however remote it might seem at the moment -- remains a viable foreign policy
goal. It`s time to emerge from the old world, and recognize the changes
happening in our region before it`s too late". The speculation was that
India had stepped into the UAE-Pakistan breach caused by Pakistan’s refusal to
send troops to the Yemen war. Some observers even complained that the UAE had
given a platform in Dubai for anti-Pakistan rhetoric.
Securing
a commitment of increased UAE investment in India was a greater challenge. But
Prime Minister Modi convinced them that India was emerging as the new frontier
of investment opportunities, especially with the new initiatives by the
Government to facilitate trade and investment. The UAE readily agreed to make
an immediate investment of USD 75 billion and to increase trade by 60%.
Prime
minister Modi’s Arab Odyssey was both a culmination of age-old ties and a
beginning of a new era. The ease with which an Islamic country related to a
person of Modi’s background and reputation was striking. The UAE rulers seemed
to care more about India’s future than about Modi’s past. The success of his
visit to the UAE was an instance of brand India having greater appeal than
brand Modi.
I
dwelt at length on the visit of our Prime Minister to show how the soft power
of India played itself out in forging a strategic partnership in the Gulf. The
cultural and educational cooperation will also grow in the new dispensation.
India already has cultural and educational exchange programmes between India
and the Gulf. India is synonymous with education and a large number of Indian
schools have multiplied educational opportunities. Indian universities of
repute have campuses in the Gulf. Indian cultural centres attract not only the
Indian community, but also the local population. The Gulf has discovered the
vast technology and knowledge resources of India. Joint research projects have
already been launched in several Gulf countries. India’s experience of
pluralism despite its diversity and economic problems should provide
inspiration to the Gulf, which is struggling with sectarian divisions.
India
and the Gulf have rediscovered each other in the new global context. But what
gives strength to the new partnership are the civilizational links and cultural
affinities. Soft power is at work between India and the Gulf.
Thank
you.
