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New Delhi gains at OIC

despite Pak’s shrug off

India’s claim of being home to the world’s second largest Muslim
ASIAN DRAMA population has got established. With this, Indian diplomacy has added

Syed another significant feather to its cap
NooruzzamaN
espite the 57-member came after concerted consultations in-
Organisation of Islamic volving the OIC’s key members like Saudi
The columnist — former Cooperation (OIC) passing a Arabia, India said, “We see this invitation as
Deputy Editor of The resolution on Kashmir dur- the desire of the enlightened leadership of
Tribune, Chandigarh — ing the March 1 session of its the UAE to go beyond our rapidly growing
specialises in foreign D Council of Foreign Ministers close bilateral ties and forge a true multi-
affairs. With a career at the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, ignoring faceted partnership at the multilateral and
spanning 41 years, he India’s well-known stand on the K ques- international level.” India considers it as a
keeps close watch on tion, the 50-point Abu Dhabi Declaration “milestone in our comprehensive strategic
issues related to South was free from this embarrassing factor for partnership with the UAE”.
Asian countries. The India. The OIC has been routinely coming The OIC invitation, the first such devel-
views expressed are out with anti-India resolutions on Kashmir opment after the organization came into
personal on Pakistan’s pressure and, therefore, there being in 1969 as a “collective voice of the
was nothing new in what it did. What was Muslim world”, has special significance
significant was the negotiated and unani- since the first such gesture to India asking
mous declaration on the conclusion of the for sending an official delegation to the
OIC’s 46th session which kept the K word Islamic Summit Conference (as it was then
aside. called) in Rabat, Morocco, in September
This might have been in deference to 1969, got cancelled at the 11th hour follow-
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma ing Pakistan’s aggressive anti-India lobby-
Swaraj’s participation in the plenary ing. Senior Congress leader Fakhruddin Ali
session of the strategically significant Ahmed, who later became India’s President,
50-year-old OIC at Abu Dhabi as the Guest had already reached Morocco to take part
of Honour. It was a major victory for India’s in the conference, but could not do so and
diplomatic drive to be represented at a had to come back disappointed.
gathering of representatives from Muslim- The Rabat fiasco led to the straining
majority nations as a matter of right despite of India’s relations with Morocco as well
Pakistan’s vehement opposition. At last, as Jordan owing to Rabat succumbing to
India’s claim of being home to the Islamabad’s pressure and “on account of
It was a major world’s second largest Muslim population Jordan’s attitude towards India’s participa-
tion” in the conference. India ultimately
has got established. With this, Indian diplo-
victory for India’s macy has added another significant feather withdrew its Ambassador from Rabat
diplomatic drive to its cap. UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah (Morocco) and its Charge de’affaires from
bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who extended the
Amman (Jordan).
to be represented invitation to India in his country’s capac- But the world today is not what it was
at a gathering of ity as the host nation, made it clear that a at that time. India now has emerged as the
“friendly country of India has been named
world’s fastest growing and third largest
representatives as the Guest of Honour in view of its great nation in terms of purchasing power parity
from Muslim- global political stature as well as its time- and the sixth largest economy so far as the
GDP is concerned having an impeccable
honoured and deeply rooted cultural and
majority nations as historical legacy, and its important Islamic track record on different fronts. The growth
cake is being shared by all sections of the
component.”
a matter of right Welcoming the UAE gesture, which population, including Muslims, the second

Tehelka / 31 march 2019 54 www.Tehelka.com