Israel's reluctance and the Palestinian Authority's failure to restart and push forward the stalled Middle East Peace Process could be an attractive incentive to draw fresh recruits from Palestine, the region and beyond to the Islamic State—an outfit that has been fast expanding its influence in volatile West Asia and winning over young people from the Muslim world as well as the West.
Senior officials and experts from India and Jordan who had been engaged with each other for the past two days have been mulling over the fast-paced developments in the region and the challenge that IS or "Daesh," as it is commonly called in this part of the world, poses to the countries in the region and beyond. There have been reports that sections of the Indian youth are also being attracted to the IS and unless effective steps are taken to deal with it, the trend could increase in the coming days.
The worrisome events also found place in the Indian President's public statement before a largely young audience at the Jordan University on Sunday.
"India also remains deeply concerned at the ongoing violence in Syria. We are saddened by the tragic loss of lives and the long suffering of millions of displaced citizens—including innocent women and children," President Pranab Mukherjee said. He warned, "Prolonged conflict in Syria has already begun to have a severe impact on the region and beyond."
Jordan and Egypt are the only two countries in the Arab world to a have peace agreement with Israel. India on the other hand not only has strong ties with Israel but also has traditional support among the Palestinians. Officials of both countries feel they should use their influence over the two sides to urgently restart the stalled peace process. In the next few days the Indian President will be engaging with the leadership of Palestine and Israel and there are indications that among other issues to deepen bilateral cooperation this is one issue that will be on top of his agenda in both Ramallah and Tel Aviv.
The churning of the past few years has made West Asia one of the most volatile regions in the world. The unsettling effects of the Arab Spring followed by sectarian wars in Iraq, Syria and Yemen—not to mention parts of North Africa like Libya, Algeria and Tunisia—have brought the deep fissures in the vast region to the surface. Aspiring younger generation of Arabs seeking a better life joined by contending Islamist forces—many of them with hardline, conservative and violent policies have been creating havoc in most nations in this part of the world. The proxy war engaged in by the big players in the Gulf and West Asia has only added to this potent mix. In this context the unresolved Palestinian issue that has always enjoyed wide support from the Muslim world and beyond, has a lot of traction.
India has huge stakes in the region with over six million Indians living and working here. Apart from being the main source for its energy needs, the remittance sent back home every year by the Indians from the region takes care of large part of country's oil bill. In addition it also contributes significantly in the running of several thousand families back home. Peace, stability and security is therefore, something that India, like many other countries in the region, wants.
Given the current situation India's relations with Jordan gather special significance. Jordan has proved to be an island of peace in this volatile region despite being surrounded by countries that are extremely volatile and fast unraveling. It has been a close ally of the US and the west and enjoys free trade agreements with both the Americans and the Europeans. It also has substantial market and investment from the Arab world. As the largest supplier of phosphates to India it plays an important role in ensuring India's food security. Its large finds in shale gas has also given it an added advantage to forge a closer relation with India since it can also play a vital role in India's quest for alternative source to its energy basket and strengthen in securing it further.
Apart from the western countries many from Asia that include China, Japan and south Korea are all looking at engaging with Jordan in a more significant manner as most see it as an emerging financial and trade hub of West Asia.
Moreover, the moderate approach to Islam and its commitment for religious tolerance and pluralism has made Jordan an attractive partner to many countries in west and other parts of the world. India has traditionally enjoyed good relations with the leadership in Amman and President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to the country is another attempt to deepen and elevate these ties to a higher level.
In addition to all this, the growth of IS and the spread of global terrorism—a menace that India has faced for decades in its region—makes Jordan also an extremely attractive partner for Delhi. In the past two days the leadership of India and Jordan through their discussions to enhance political, economic and cultural ties have laid the groundwork that could enable the two sides for a stronger and deeper partnership in the coming days.
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Pranay Sharma in Amman.
