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Nasser. During the Suez War, it was disappointed that Israel did not
advance towards Cairo and topple Nasser (Hashmi 2011 ). The Pakistan
factor in India’s calculations became more prominent in the late 1960s.
indo-PaKistan Wars
The gradual tension between Nasser and Arab monarchs became condu-
cive for Pakistan, and prominent Middle Eastern countries were helpful
to it during conflicts with India. The outbreak of the Indo-Pakistan War
in September 1965 posed a challenge to the Middle Eastern countries as
most of them, including Nasser’s Egypt, were not prepared to support
Nehru earlier over the Sino-Indian conflict of 1962 (Agwani 1963 ). The
situation was more challenging in 1965 when neutrality, let alone sup-
port for India, would have meant opposition to a fellow Muslim state of
Pakistan. India was not ‘happy’ with the stands taken by Jordan and
Saudi Arabia during the War (Jain 1992 ) but could not express its views
and alienate them further. At the same time, India was appreciative of
the role played by Nasser in the Casablanca Arab summit in the same
month in facilitating ‘a balanced’ position on the Indo-Pakistan War
(Agwani 1963 ).
Things became complicated in 1971 when the Indo-Pakistan War led
to the breakup of Pakistan and the formation of Bangladesh. Much of the
Islamic world was a mute spectator and was not prepared to interfere in
the ‘internal’ affairs of a fellow Islamic country. They refrained from
appreciating, let alone supporting, India’s efforts in safeguarding the lives
and dignity of the Muslims of the then East Pakistan or later Bangladesh.
Some countries provided limited medical supplies to India, which housed
over ten million Bengali refugees in the wake of the March crackdown. As
External Affairs Minister Swaran Singh informed the parliament, “Our
relations with countries of West Asia have been traditional. Our indepen-
dence gave a new dimension to them, and our relations were established
not only at the political and cultural planes but led to a growing economic
exchange between us, which has been of mutual benefit. No passing feel-
ing of disappointment should mar these close relations which are in our
mutual interest” (India, MEA 1972 , 102).
Pakistan received political and military support from its RCD allies,
Iran and Turkey (Chopra 1992 , 60–61), while Saudi Arabia denounced
India for its ‘aggression’ against a Muslim country (Saliba 1972 ; Ahmad
P. R. KUMARASWAMY AND MD. M. QUAMAR