>Pro translator: /* Ties between Shias in Iraq and Shias in India */

2021-06-23T21:16:49Z

Ties between Shias in Iraq and Shias in India

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{{Short description|1=Diplomatic relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Iraq}}
{{Infobox Bilateral relations|India-Iraq|India|Iraq|filetype=svg}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2013}}
The '''bilateral relations''' between the [[Republic of Iraq]] and the [[Republic of India]] have traditionally been friendly and collaborative. Cultural interaction and economic trade between [[Indus Valley]] and [[Mesopotamia]] date back to 1800 BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last=McEvilley |first=Thomas |title=The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies|date=November 2001 |publisher=Allworth Communications, Inc., 2002 |isbn=9781581152036}}</ref> The 1952 Treaty of Friendship established and strengthened ties between contemporary India and Iraq.<ref>{{cite book |last=Heptulla |first=Najma |title=Indo-West Asian Relations: The Nehru Era |year=1991 |publisher=Allied Publishers, 1991 |isbn=9788170233404}}</ref> By the 1970s, Iraq was regarded as one of India's closest allies in the [[Middle East]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Mudiam |first=Prithvi Ram |title=India and the Middle East |date=31 December 1994 |publisher=British Academic Press, 1994 |isbn=9781850437031 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/indiamiddleeast00prit }}</ref>

Ties between India and Iraq were disrupted during the [[Iran–Iraq War]], the [[Gulf War|1991 Gulf War]] and the [[Iraq War|2003 Iraq War]]. However, the bilateral relations normalised after the establishment of [[Federal government of Iraq|democratic government in Iraq]].

==History==
===Ties between Shias in Iraq and Shias in India===
''Roots of North Indian Shi'ism in [[Iran]] and Iraq: Religion and State in [[Awadh]], 1722–1859'' by J.R.I. Cole.<ref name="AlamSubrahmanyam2011">{{cite book|author1=Muzaffar Alam|author2=Sanjay Subrahmanyam|title=Writing the Mughal World: Studies on Culture and Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TsirAgAAQBAJ&q=muzaffar+nawab+indian+iraq&pg=PA470|date=9 August 2011|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-15810-7|pages=470–}}</ref>

Shi'i Indians funded the [[Hindiya Barrage|Hindiyya canal]] in the Iraqi city of [[Najaf]].<ref name="Nakash2003">{{cite book|author=Yitzhak Nakash|title=The Shi'is of Iraq|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BXJqeTr6p78C&pg=PA31|date=January 2003|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-11575-3|pages=31–}}</ref> North India's Awadh (Oudh) state was Shi'i and it provided funding to the Iraqi Shi'i shrine cities of [[Karbala]] and Najaf, channeling the money towards Persian mujtahids in the cities.<ref name="Nakash2003 1 ">{{cite book|author=Yitzhak Nakash|title=The Shi'is of Iraq|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BXJqeTr6p78C&pg=PA211|date=January 2003|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-11575-3|pages=211–}}</ref> The Hindiyya canal was finished in 1803 and money was able to be channeled to the Shi'i shrines cities like Najaf from [[India]] and [[Iran]] because western colonization did not touch Shi'i areas until the end of the 19th century.<ref name="Nakash2003 2">{{cite book|author=Yitzhak Nakash|title=The Shi'is of Iraq|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BXJqeTr6p78C&pg=PA241|date=January 2003|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-11575-3|pages=241–}}</ref>

[[Mir Jafar]] was an Iraqi Shia [[Arabs|Arab]] from Najaf who moved to India and became the [[Nawab of Bengal]].

The Iraqi Shia writer and poet [[Muzaffar Al-Nawab]] is of Indian descent.<ref name="DoughertyGhareeb2013">{{cite book|author1=Beth K. Dougherty|author2=Edmund A. Ghareeb|title=Historical Dictionary of Iraq|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZmQYAgAAQBAJ&q=indian+iraq+muzaffar+nawab&pg=PA449|date=7 November 2013|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7942-3|page=449}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.alapn.com/en/news.php?cat=1&id=5269 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-09-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805052730/http://www.alapn.com/en/news.php?cat=1&id=5269 |archive-date=2018-08-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>http://www.alkitab.com/15748.html</ref><ref>https://www.amazon.co.uk/Poetic-Muzaffar-al-Nawab-Nawab-Yuqub/dp/9933402293</ref>

Iraq was one of the few countries in the [[Middle East]] with which India established diplomatic relations at the [[embassy]] level immediately after its [[Independence of India|independence]] in 1947.<ref name="US">[http://www.issi.org.pk/journal/2003_files/no_2/article/7a.htm US-Iraq War: India's Middle East policy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216135457/http://www.issi.org.pk/journal/2003_files/no_2/article/7a.htm |date=2008-12-16 }}</ref> Both nations signed the "Treaty of Perpetual Peace and Friendship" in 1952 and an agreement of co-operation on cultural affairs in 1954.<ref name="US" /> India was amongst the first to recognise the [[Ba'athist Iraq|Baath Party-led government]], and Iraq remained neutral during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965]]. However, Iraq sided alongside other [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf|Gulf States]] in supporting [[Pakistan]] against India during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], which saw the creation of [[Bangladesh]].<ref name="US" /> Nonetheless, Iraq and India continued to maintain strong economic and military ties. During the early 1980s, the [[Indian Air Force]] was training more than 120 Iraqi [[MiG-21]] pilots.<ref name=Coggins>{{cite book|last=Cooper |first=Tom |title=Arab MiG-19 and MiG-21 units in combat |date=25 March 2004 |publisher=Osprey Publishing, 2004 |isbn=978-1-84176-655-3}}</ref> The security relationship was expanded in 1975, when the [[Indian Army]] sent training teams and the [[Indian Navy]] established a naval academy in [[Basra]]. India continued to provide considerable military assistance to Iraq through the [[Iran–Iraq War]]. In addition to training, India provided technical assistance to the [[Iraqi Air Force]] through a complicated tripartite arrangement involving [[France]].<ref>{{cite web|author=David Brewster|url=https://www.academia.edu/7992850/Extract_from_Indias_Ocean_Indias_defence_relations_with_Iraq_under_Saddam_Hussein|title=Extract from India's Ocean - India's defence relations with Iraq under Saddam Hussein Retrieved 13 August 2014}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=CEYsAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA108&lpg=PA108&dq=%22One+of+India%27s+key+strategic+objectives+in+the+northeast+Indian+Ocean+over+the+last+60+years%22&source=bl&ots=0eaQPmP1YJ&sig=ACfU3U270QFbW7zDZCw3nvnlIXlqyYrPkA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjfyKGE1q7xAhXVQeUKHd-wCvEQ6AEwAHoECAIQAw#v=onepage&q=%22One%20of%20India's%20key%20strategic%20objectives%20in%20the%20northeast%20Indian%20Ocean%20over%20the%20last%2060%20years%22&f=false David Brewster, India's Ocean: The Story of India's Bid for Regional Leadership, pp. 109]</ref>

The eight-year-long [[Iran–Iraq War]] caused a steep decline in trade and commerce between the two nations.<ref name="US" /> During the 1991 [[Gulf War|Persian Gulf War]], India was opposed to the use of force against Iraq. India stopped the refueling of military planes after the second week of war in 1991. Iraq had been one of India's largest export markets before the 1991 gulf war.<ref name="US" /> It opposed [[Iraq sanctions|UN sanctions on Iraq]], but the period of war and Iraq's isolation further diminished India's commercial and diplomatic ties.<ref name="US" /> Iraq had supported India's right to conduct [[India and weapons of mass destruction|nuclear tests]] following its [[Pokhran-II|tests of five nuclear weapons]] on May 11 and May 13, 1998.<ref name="US" /> In 2000, the then-[[Vice President of Iraq]] [[Taha Yassin Ramadan]] visited India, and on August 6, 2002 [[President of Iraq|President]] [[Saddam Hussein]] conveyed Iraq's "unwavering support" to India over the [[Kashmir dispute]] with Pakistan.<ref name="US" /><ref name="X">[http://english.people.com.cn/english/200011/30/eng20001130_56499.html India, Iraq Agree on Co-operation]</ref> India and Iraq established joint ministerial committees and trade delegations to promote extensive bilateral co-operation.<ref name="IS">[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/15459739.cms Iraq prizes ties with India: Saddam]</ref><ref name="FICCI">[http://www.ficci.com/international/countries/iraq/iraqcommercialrelation.htm Iraq Economic and Commercial Relations] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081227224506/http://www.ficci.com/international/countries/iraq/iraqcommercialrelation.htm |date=December 27, 2008 }}</ref>

===Economic ties and Oil-for-Food Programme===
[[File:K Natwar Singh.jpg|thumb|150px|Former Minister for External Affairs [[K. Natwar Singh]] possibly received illegal [[political corruption|kickbacks]] from [[Iraq]] over the [[Oil-for-Food Programme]].]]
India's ties with Iraq suffered due to the [[Iraq sanctions|UN sanctions on Iraq]], but India soon developed trade within the [[Oil-for-Food]] programme, which permitted Iraq to export oil for essential goods.<ref name="FICCI"/> However, a 2005 investigation of the programme revealed that the then-[[Indian Foreign Minister|Indian minister of external affairs]] [[Natwar Singh]] and the [[Indian National Congress|Congress party]] had possibly received kickbacks from the Baathist regime, leading to his resignation and at the request of [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Manmohan Singh]].<ref name="OF">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/07/AR2005110700781.html India's Foreign Minister Fired]</ref>

==Post-2003==
[[India]] had preserved its neutrality over the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq]], criticising the lack of [[United Nations|UN]] approval, but also hinted that it would consider sending troops to post-war Iraq to help maintain security and peace after a unanimous vote in the [[UN Security Council]] over the Coalition's presence and mission in [[Iraq]].<ref name="NS">[http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=32407 India will consider sending troops]</ref> However this was ruled out after protests from public and political parties which have been opposing [[United States|USA]]. It normalised its ties with the new democratically elected [[Al Maliki I Government|government of Iraq in 2005]], seeking to restart trade and co-operation. Indian businesses applied for contracts for reconstruction projects to the [[Iraqi government]], and more recently the activities of Iraqi businesses in India have been growing rapidly.<ref name="FICCI" />

Iraq is one of the major suppliers of crude oil to India, exporting 220,000 barrels of oil per day to [[Indian Oil Corporation]].<ref>[http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-02-10/india-offers-iraq-oil-storage-at-tanks-to-be-built-in-two-years.html]</ref> In 2013 June, [[Minister of External Affairs (India)|Foreign Minister of India]], Mr. [[Salman Khurshid]] visited Iraq regarding security and business issues, the first to do so since 1990.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=801170 |title=Khurshid Arrives in Iraq on Two-Day Visit to Revive Ties |access-date=2013-06-29 |archive-url=https://archive.is/20130629190340/http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=801170 |archive-date=2013-06-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Iraqi Kurdistan===
[[File:Gandhi Statue, Erbil Iraqi Kurdistan.jpg|thumb|Gandhi statue in [[Erbil]], [[Iraqi Kurdistan]]|196x196px]]
There has been limited diplomatic relations between [[India]] and [[Kurdistan Region|Iraqi Kurdistan]]. India purchases Kurdish crude oil sold through Turkish companies. Several Indian citizens work in Iraqi Kurdistan. Many [[Kurds]] travel to India for educational or medical purposes. In July 2014, [[Hemin Hawrami|Hemin Hawrani]], head of the [[Kurdistan Democratic Party]]'s international relations wing, told ''[[The Hindu]]'' that he hoped for deeper political and economic ties with India, describing the country as "an important partner". Hawrani also expressed his desire to see the [[Government of India|Indian government]] open a consulate in [[Erbil]], and invited Indian companies to invest in Kurdistan.<ref>http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/kurdish-leadership-calls-for-better-india-ties/article6170941.ece</ref> In November 2014, the Indian government sent special envoy Ambassador Suresh K. Reddy to visit Kurdistan and meet Kurdish government officials. Reddy stated that India "fully supports the Kurdistan Region during this difficult time", and expressed confidence in the Kurdish government and the [[Peshmerga]] forces to preserve the stability and security of the region. The Ambassador also praised the role of Peshmerga forces in fighting [[ISIL]], and announced that the Indian government would open a consulate in Kurdistan.<ref>http://dfr.gov.krd/a/d.aspx?l=12&a=44267</ref>

==See also==
* [[Saddam Beach]], a village in [[Kerala]], [[India]] named after former [[President of Iraq|Iraqi President]] [[Saddam Hussein|Saddam Hussain]]
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Foreign relations of India}}
{{Foreign relations of Iraq}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:India-Iraq Relations}}
[[Category:India–Iraq relations| ]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of Iraq]]
[[Category:Bilateral relations of India|Iraq]]

India–Iraq relations - Revision history

>Pro translator: /* Ties between Shias in Iraq and Shias in India */