India Narrative

  Two recent developments have brought the strategic importance of Iran into India’s foreign policy calculus. As per reports, Iran and India are close to finalizing the long-term arrangements for operating the Chabahar port. Secondly, Iran became a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) whose Summit was held at Samarkand in Uzbekistan last week. The likely conclusion of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers will only underscore the growing significance of Iran to the geopolitics of Eurasia, Persian Gulf region and of India. Iran’s pivotal geographical location and the probable connectivity links that it can offer is one of the most important assets. Iranian ports like Bandar Abbas and Chabahar are key transit points for the trade corridors connecting India and the Indian Ocean with the Inner Asia. The International North South Transit Corridor (INSTC) which has been in the strategic discourse for almost two decades, without much progress, has suddenly come ali

After nearly three weeks of hate incidents and violence that rocked Leicester, community leaders from the Muslim and Hindu groups issued a joint statement appealing for harmony. Reading out the statement, one of the leaders said: “We, the family of Leicester, stand in front of you not only as Hindus and Muslims but as brothers and sisters” focusing on the fact that there is no space for extremist ideologies. He added that the two faiths have lived harmoniously in Leicester for over half a century. #Watch : After attacking a Hindu temple in Leicester, radical mobs are now trying to attack the Durga Bhawan Hindu temple in Birmingham, climbing temple walls and raising slogans pic.twitter.com/Vs6S2b4LYx — INDIA NARRATIVE (@india_narrative) September 21, 2022   Even as action by the Leicestershire Police brought the situation under control in Leicester with 47 arrests, mobs began surrounding a Hindu temple in Smethwick. Videos on social media showed a group of Muslim youth marching towards

Indian Naval Ship (INS) Tarkash’s joint maritime exercise with the patrol ships of the Nigerian Navy in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) earlier this week marked a new level of strategic convergence between both the nations on the crucial west coast of Africa. The first joint operational deployment by India and Nigeria in support of anti-piracy operations in the GoG witnessed INS Tarkash, currently on operational deployment in the region, carry out exercises with Nigerian Navy’s NNS Kano, Osun, Sokoto and Nguru. INS Tarkash’s third visit to Lagos since 2017 not only strengthens bilateral naval ties but also furthers the Indian Navy’s operational philosophy of Mission Based Deployments under which ships are regularly deployed in maritime areas of interest to India to ensure that the national interests are protected. Nigeria remains a country of immense significance for India with both countries having enjoyed robust ties. India is also the largest importer of Nigerian petroleum products. India,