The presence of Armenians in the Indian sub-continent dates back centuries when the Mughal emperor Akbar (1556-1605) invited a large number of Armenians to settle in Agra. The emperor granted Armenians several religious and financial privileges and opportunities to work in his empire. Thus Armenian merchants were exempted from paying taxes and were allowed to move freely around the empire, unlike other foreigners. In 1562, Armenians built a church in Agra and started to expand their influence on the port of Surat which was one of the important trade ports in India. Later Armenian colonies were established in Calcutta and the cities around. Armenians were influential in gun-making and printing.
During Soviet times, Indian President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Soviet Armenia in 1964 and 1976, respectively. In August 1992, India became one of the first countries that established a diplomatic relationship with Armenia. Presidents Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Robert Kocharyan also visited India in 1995 and 2003, respectively. However, this relationship didn’t exceed the limit of cultural and scientific cooperation. Indian nationals living in Armenia were almost exclusively students and often stayed only as long as their studies demanded. Today, after Armenia liberalized the visa regime to Indian citizens in 2017, new business opportunities in the IT and medical sector have led to a new wave of Indian immigration. Around 2,200 Indians are legally working and living in Armenia. It is also worth mentioning that India is considered one of the emerging superpowers in the world. In 2015, it became the world’s fastest-growing economy with a 7.5 percent estimated GDP. Still, Armenian-Indian relations didn’t move beyond cultural and scientific cooperation. Due to geopolitical reasons and security threats, these relations must develop in the near future.
Why should India be concerned about the ongoing war on Artsakh?
When Turkish-backed Azerbaijan launched a full-scale invasion on Artsakh, Indians on social media quickly took sides and expressed their solidarity with Armenia. Indian newspapers, despite being cautious and categorizing the Republic of Artsakh as a “separatist entity,” were aware of the dangers of the presence of Syrian mercenaries, Pakistan’s logistical support and Turkey’s ambitions in Central Asia and beyond. For the Indians, “Turkey has been assisting Pakistan when it comes to Kashmir, and Islamabad returns the favor by pledging support to Turkey in its aggressive policies in South Caucasus and Western Asia.”
Even before the Artsakh War, there was a “war of words” between India and Turkey over Kashmir. During his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Kashmir “conflict” must be mentioned and it is a “burning issue” that threatens the stability in the region. In response, India’s permanent representative to the UN condemned Erdogan’s statement and told Turkey to “learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations.” Meanwhile, on various occasions Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared that Armenia fully defends India’s position on Kashmir. In September 2019, Pashinyan had a meeting at the UNGA session with his Indian counterpart PM Narendra Modi, and both reaffirmed to strengthen the economic and political ties between their countries. To strengthen the military ties in March 2020, India and Armenia signed a $40 million deal for the sale of four Swathi weapon locating radar (WLR) stations. A WLR is designed to detect the trajectory of an artillery shell. Furthermore, the Yerevan City Council approved a proposal in April to install a statue of Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi in the Armenian capital.
India, meanwhile, is aware of Pakistan’s involvement in the ongoing war in Artsakh. Indian newspapers have reported that Pakistani officers were in Azerbaijan providing logistical and technical support for the Azerbaijani army. Not only does Pakistan not recognize Armenia, but it has also established strategic relations with Azerbaijan. In 2003, Baku and Islamabad signed a defense agreement which allowed Azerbaijani military staff, in particular special forces units, to participate in annual military drills with Pakistani armed forces. The main reason driving Pakistan-Azerbaijan political-military cooperation is Baku’s enmity to Yerevan over the crisis over Artsakh. Ironically, while Baku accuses Yerevan of “violating Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,” President Ilham Aliyev has always talked in favor of Pakistan’s territorial claims on Indian Kashmir.
Despite the fact that some Indian officials view the Artsakh struggle from a “separatist angle,” this perception has changed over time. For many Indians, Armenians are battling for their existence against Erdogan’s pan-Turkic and neo-Ottoman projects. Many Indian nationalists see Armenia as a buffer wall against Turkish expansion to the Far East. Both Armenia and India have a mutual concern about the growing partnership among Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan. Backed by its two partners, Islamabad tried to consolidate its position on Kashmir, while Baku does the same over Artsakh. Moreover, the pan-Turkic aspirations of both Ankara and Baku should concern the Hindus in India. Ankara’s pan-Islamic and pan-Turkic dreams to unify all the Turkic nations and expand its influence over Central Asia threatens India’s national security and territorial integrity. The employment of Syrian mercenaries in the war has also raised some alarms in New Delhi as newspapers were loaded with reports of possible Turkish enrollment in Kashmir by deploying Syrian mercenaries to Kashmir via Pakistan to organize terror attacks against Indian troops. Simultaneously for these reasons, Armenia and India must develop a strategic security partnership that goes beyond cultural and economic relations.
Suggestions to further deepen the Armenian-Indian relations
During my academic visit to New Delhi back in February 2020 and my participation at the “Human Rights: National and International Issues and Challenges” conference, I met with many Indian scholars, journalists, activists and ministers from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Their stance was very pro-Armenia, and they were aware of Erdogan’s expansionist aspirations. We had honest discussions about the Armenian cause, and I came to a conclusion which I would like to summarize in the following points:
Other references:
Vahan Baibourtian, International Trade and the Armenian Merchants in the Seventeenth Century, Sterling Publishers, New Delhi, India, 2004
Yeghia Tashjian
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