5appetite for energy resources as the domestic resources could not cope
with the galloping hydrocarbon requirements. Until then India managed
its energy needs mainly through local production and relying on a mixed
basket of sources such as coal, wood and other traditional means. This was
no longer feasible with the pace of its economic growth, and the need for
stable sources of energy resulted in the Gulf Arab countries, which are
geographically closer and oil-rich, becoming a key player in its calcula-
tions. For their part, the Gulf countries were also looking for a stable
markets, primarily due to stagnation in their traditional markets in the
West, and began seeing India as a natural destination.
Until the 1990s, due to the weak economic basis, India’s approach
towards Arabia was marked by political rhetoric and its leaders often flagged
the absence of relations with Israel as a sign of their commitments to the
Arabs. Though it was in continuation of the anti-imperial and anti- colonial
phase of the nationalist struggle, this indicated the absence of any political
influence or interest convergence between India and the Gulf. The economic
reforms and exponential expansion of energy demands provided a much-
needed but long absent economic wherewithal to the bilateral relations.
It is mostly within this emerging context one could understand and
explain the transformation of India’s policy towards the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia, which has the largest known oil reserves in the world and has been
the largest oil producer and exporter since the 1970s. Because of their
size, energy resources and relative internal resilience, the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran emerged as the core compo-
nent of India’s new approach towards the Gulf. Though it procures the
bulk of its oil from other countries such as Iraq, Kuwait and the UAE and
gas from Qatar, India’s Middle East policy has been dominated by Saudi
Arabia and Iran.
Reforms and resultant economic growth also contributed to India’s
power aspirations and led to it seeking a strategic partnership with Gulf
Arab countries. Due to its size, location, religious importance, regional
influence and global standing, Saudi Arabia emerged central to India’s
interests in the Gulf. The Kingdom having over three million expatriate
labourers—the largest concentration of people of Indian origin outside the
country—was also important. For its part, Saudi Arabia also began looking
at India beyond the traditional prisms of being an underdeveloped econ-
omy. The September 11 terror attacks and the resultant backlash against
the Kingdom as well as Islam resulted in Riyadh adopting a Look East
policy, which had economic and strategic dimensions beneficial to India.
INTRODUCTION