It’s time to forget the bitterness caused by individuals and focus on rebuilding ties
Even as the Nupur Sharma-Naveen Kumar Jindal saga over their controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad refuses to fold up despite the BJP announcing their suspension-expulsion from the party, diplomatic backlash from mainly Islamic countries and organisations continues unabated. At last count, there were 20 countries, councils of nations and foreign religious authorities that have called out the “blasphemous comments against Prophet Mohammad” made by “an official of the ruling party in India”. In response, the BJP has issued a lukewarm statement, mentioning neither the names or position of those responsible, nor the nature of their comments. Unfortunately, the incident has given an opportunity to trouble-mongers like the Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), which has issued a chilling warning of carrying out ‘suicide bombings’ in Delhi, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to “avenge” the insult to the Prophet. To cloak its ill intentions in the garb of religious sentiment, the terror outfit has claimed that “the hearts of Muslims all over the world are bleeding” and filled with the feelings of “revenge and retribution”. In the wake of the international furore, the BJP suspended Nupur Sharma and expelled Naveen Kumar Jindal from the party.
However, the Indian establishment also moved swiftly and our High Commissions and embassies worked overtime and swiftly to assuage hurt feelings. And good tidings from the Arab world have followed quickly enough. The Indian Government has recently approved the proposal for signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Arab Emirates on cooperation in the field of industries and advanced technologies. The bilateral trade, valued at $180 million per annum in the 1970s, has increased to $60 billion, making the UAE India’s third biggest trading partner for 2019-20 after China and the United States. Earlier, in February this year, the two countries signed a ‘ Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement’, which has the potential to increase trade between the two countries to $100 billion in the next five years. Similarly, India’s exports to the Middle East are well diversified with a large basket; the major export items being petroleum products, precious metals, stones, gems and jewellery, minerals, food items (cereals, sugar, fruits and vegetables, tea, meat and seafood), textiles (garments, apparel, synthetic fibre, cotton and yarn), engineering and machinery products and chemicals. That, really, is the way to go!
