In the world of today, there is no isolation. There is no place to hide either behind a rock or a hard place when a remark is made hurting the deepest sensitivity and feelings of other faiths and communities, especially in countries where the majority of people revere those faiths.
Most importantly the predominant faith in the Gulf Countries has never come in the way of those places becoming global hubs of business, enterprise, infrastructure, and media. The phrase, “The world lives in the Gulf” has never been so apt as of now. The Gulf Countries are Islamic but all nationalities and faiths have the freedom and the infrastructure to practice their beliefs and customs.
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The presence of our own Goan brothers and sisters in Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE is testimony to how inclusive those countries are even as there are nationals built on the foundation of their faith.
They have one principle. Let the tenets of your faith govern all that you do, but respect all others
And that is the same all over Europe, Canada, the USA, the continent of Africa, The South East Asian Countries, and the Australasia which follow faiths ranging mainly from Christianity, Buddhism, and others.
So when Nupur Sharma the former Spokesperson of the BJP made remarks that are purportedly insulting, the world did not keep quiet. The Grand Mufti of the Sultanate of Oman Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalili was upset over the remarks and described them as a “war against every Muslim”. What followed was a major pushback against Indian products in Gulf markets.
This was followed by other countries like UAE, Iran, Qatar, etc. Then Saudi Arabia joined the backlash coalition against the ex-BJP spokesperson’s insulting comments on the Prophet, describing her comments as “insulting” and calling for “respect for beliefs and religions”, according to a foreign ministry statement.
The Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) has slammed India for the remarks and even urged the UN to take necessary measures to ensure that the rights of Muslims are protected in India.
Nupur Sharma was not a fringe element, but the voice of her party.
We must also see if the suspension of Nupur Sharma is enough. She was not ‘a fringe element’ as described by India’s envoy to Oman. She was the voice of the party and even though her party eventually distanced itself from her remarks, it was done because of the expected diplomatic fallout linked to a deep economic impact. Such “voices” should have no platform political or social if the interest of India and Indians get hurt.
One must feel for our Indian brothers and sisters who toil hard, work, earn self-respect and money and most importantly manage the lives and well beings of their families back home in India. The repatriation economy (earlier known as the money order economy in the pre-digital age). When they reach countries, be it in the Gulf, Europe, or anywhere else in the world, their identities are known by the passport they hold – the Indian Passport. That is their identity. They are Indians.
But if their host countries and their employers feel that their country is insulting the faith and religious beliefs and the most revered heads of their religion, ALL Indians are affected. This one act of irresponsible, fanatic behaviour has harmed and may still harm lakhs and lakhs of Indians eking out a living or studying abroad. Already we have seen tweets of employers in other countries tweeting that they will no longer allow particular Indian workers working in their firms to hold on to their jobs. They are Indians who have left the comforts of home, often their families including their newly wedded wives and some children. Because India did not give them enough opportunities. Is it fair that those opportunities are snatched for them because of a remark made by the National spokesperson of the ruling national party?
When they are forced to return home and are losing jobs, how will they feel? Will the system here provide them compensation and jobs?
Finally, this will hurt India in more hurting ways. A third of India’s oil imports come from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, also known as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In 2021-22, India’s bilateral trade with the GCC stood at nearly $154 billion. Qatar is the leading supplier of Liquid Natural Gas to India. Thus the majority of the bulk of India’s energy requirements are taken care of by the six GCC countries.
An economy, already sinking will be gasping for oil in this case. What will this do to India’s pride and prestige?
And will proud Indians who have achieved so much be able to see eye to eye and hold their head high before their international counterparts? The equity and brand value of a nation is far too important to sacrifice, by those who may be branded as fringe elements who all right-thinking Indians feel have come into the mainstream to hurt Indians.
