Just as the conflict between Israel and Hamas is about to enter its third week, a court in Qatar has sentenced to death by firing squad eight former Indian Navy officers who are accused of spying for Israel. Given that the power of the ruling Al Thani family is absolute in Qatar, it is clear that the green light for such a verdict came from the higher levels of the government of that country. The intention is clearly to poison public opinion within the Arab world against India, given that the robust response of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) against the October 7 terror attack by Hamas has made the world’s only Jewish state less and less popular in what is termed the “Arab street”, or public opinion in the Arab countries. At the same time, their competence and adherence to local laws have made citizens of India a preferred group even in management positions within the countries that form the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This is apparently not to the liking of some of those close to the rulers of Qatar, nor is such a welcoming acceptance of Indian talent good news in Beijing. The CCP would like to see Indian citizens in the region, especially in senior management roles, replaced either with citizens of the PRC or individuals coming from countries that are close to Communist China, such as Pakistan, whose citizens compete with Indian nationals for jobs within the GCC. Whether it be in the matter of skill or discipline, Indian nationals have a significant edge over their Pakistani counterparts, who trot out their religious affiliation rather than talent as the reason why they should get preference over Indian nationals. Despite the steady rise in the “minority” population in India compared to the situation in Pakistan, the Sino-Pakistan lobby works incessantly (especially in West Asia and across both sides of the Atlantic) to portray Bharat i.e. India as a country where Christians and Muslims in particular are being persecuted. There will always be hotheads within any community, and stray statements coming from them from within Bharat about minorities are disseminated within the region as mainstream opinion in India, a wholly erroneous conclusion. Fortunately, most of the ruling families in the GCC refuse to succumb to such manufactured stereotypes about Bharat. Given the importance of GCC-India cooperation in various fields, it is incomprehensible why the Al Thani family, known for their education and familiarity with different cultures, has become an outlier within the region.
Some argue that the purpose of the outreach by the government in Qatar to extremists is to prevent them from harming the rulers of Qatar, but the fact is that the second extremists believe that the country is ripe for regime change, they will act ruthlessly to bring this about, including by targeting members of the ruling family. Whatever benefits have been given to them in the past under the Al Thani dispensation will be forgotten, in the way the LTTE repaid President Premadasa of Sri Lanka for the help he had given them against the IPKF. Soon afterwards, Premadasa was assassinated by the same people he had obliged by getting the IPKF out of Sri Lanka before their mission was completed. The intended effect of labelling a group of former naval officers from India as Israeli spies is to raise suspicions about Indian citizens within the GCC, thereby reducing their work opportunities, especially at the management level. The need of the times is for Indians and citizens of countries in the GCC to work together on issues such as ensuring desalination of seawater at low cost, and in promoting health care and education. Both the GCC as well as Bharat have young populations, and rather than dislike and avoid each other, they need to work together so as to ensure benefits to the people of both sides. It is time that the Al Thani family joined with mainstream opinion within the GCC and promoted better relations between Bharat and Qatar, Bharat and the Arab world, rather than seeking to worsen them by unproven charges such as those levelled against the eight former naval officers. Within the region, the expansion of the Abraham Accords would lead to the growth of the moderate Jewish community at the expense of fringe elements who do not appreciate the importance of Muslims and Jews working together to resolve common problems. In much the same way, the increasing warmth of India-GCC relations under the Narendra Modi government has helped to expand the number of influential people in India who understand why the GCC and Bharat are natural partners. The authorities in Doha needs to appreciate this reality and work towards improving rather than damaging relations between Qatar and India.
MDN