This has been a notable problem for Western countries dealing with the Islamic State (ISIS). The unease about the Internet from many governments is not unreasonable: it allows the direct transfer of information from, and communications with, people half a world away, including radicals. New Delhi has also begun strengthening its ties with Cyprus, Armenia, and Greece, three states that neighbor Turkey and have deep rivalries with the country related to historical grievances and contested contemporary political ambitions. India had officially asked Turkey to refrain from commenting on its internal matters at the UNGA, and, when this was defied, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cancelled a two-day official visit to Turkey. India has begun to take some steps to curb this Turkish behavior towards it. Turkey’s anti-India stance incorporates, then, both an external dimension, the alliance with Pakistan and support for Islamabad’s agenda, and a dimension within India’s boundaries, where Islamism is being promoted. The CAA fast-tracked the process of giving citizenship to non-Muslim minorities that were persecuted on account of their religion in India’s three neighbouring theocratic countries, namely, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. In some cross-country chatter picked up Indian intelligence agencies, it was found that Pakistani operatives with the help of Turkey, had pumped in money to prolong the demonstrations against the humanitarian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that was passed by the Indian Parliament in December 2019. In his United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) speech, Erdogan was critical of the Indian Parliament’s decision to abrogate Article 370 of its Constitution that gave special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The case of Australia, where governmental and societal institutions fell under serious Chinese influence until recent efforts were made to reverse this, is notable, and Chinese espionage in India is a major factor, too.Įrdogan has on many occasions alluded to imperial ambitions that give him the right to interfere with Muslim minorities around the world. Here it might be noted that just as Turkey tries to reach inside countries to sway their populations, so does China-and arguably on a vaster scale. This is of a part with Erdogan’s gradual undoing of the secular system left in place by the Turkish republic’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. This generation has been caught in the undertow as Erdogan has shifted his political stance since about 2012 to emphasize a brand of nationalism that has ventured into the “civilizational”, highlighting Turkey’s imperial Ottoman past and the great competition with the Christian West. In Turkey, an entire generation has not known any other political leader except Erdogan half the country’s population is under-32. While Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been looking to curb the Islamist trend region-wide, not only suppress the terrorist movements but fight it ideologically to prevent it recruiting the young and impressionable, Turkey and Pakistan have instrumentalized Islamists in their state policies.Įrdogan’s policies, domestically in Turkey and across Europe and Asia, with a little help from Pakistan, have targeted young audiences to further his political agenda. Pakistan is one of the legs that Erdogan needs for his non-Arab “Islamic” platform, along with Malaysia and Iran, and for Pakistan anyone that can empower it against India is a friend. In the last six years, since India’s ties with the Arab world-especially with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates-have improved by leaps and bounds, Pakistan and Turkey have moved closer together in counter-reaction. The article quoted an Indian government source expressing concern that these efforts could radicalise Indian Muslims and said Turkey was becoming “the hub of anti-India activities”, second only to Pakistan. A recent report published in India’s Hindustan Times has highlighted one of these political instruments: in parts of India, including Kerala and Kashmir, radical Islamists are receiving funds from outfits connected to the Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The tightening alliance between Pakistan, China, and now Turkey is hell-bent on weakening India, mobilizing tools of political and economic warfare, tactics also used in Europe. A new kind of unholy trinity appears to be forming across the globe that threatens one country in particular, the whole continent around it, and has implications for the entire world.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |