In this interview, the research team comprising Dr. Başaran Ayar, Dr. Mahmut Mazlum, and Dr. Kerim Sert discusses their project, “The Image of India among the Turkish Elites: From the Interwar Period to the Multipolar Order.” They explore how perceptions of India among Turkish policymakers have evolved across three distinct historical eras, shifting from early anti-imperialist solidarity to Cold War tensions and culminating in the complex geopolitical rivalry of today’s multipolar world. The conversation focuses on how these shifting views profoundly shape Türkiye’s contemporary foreign policy, particularly its strategic balancing act that relies heavily on its relationships with other nations in the Indian subcontinent, such as Pakistan. The interview highlights recurring historical themes of religious affinity and anti-imperialism that frame this relationship, the project’s foundational contribution to the broader ESIND network’s study of representations, and essential literary works that capture the early historical connections between the two nations.

1) Can you present yourself and the project you are working on?

The team comprises three researchers: Dr. Başaran Ayar (Ankara University), Dr. Mahmut Mazlum (Ankara University), and Dr. Kerim Sert (Middle East Technical University). Each researcher, all social scientists and area experts specializing in different parts of the world, contributes to the project based on their expertise. Dr. Ayar, who is an expert on Eurasian politics, focuses on foreign policy analysis and project coordination. Dr. Mazlum, an expert in European politics with extensive fieldwork experience, primarily focuses on the methodological framework. Dr. Sert, an expert in Indian politics, links the project to India and ensures its progress.

The project, titled “The Image of India among the Turkish Elites: From the Interwar Period to the Multipolar Order,” was submitted to Türkiye’s highest national research support institution, TUBITAK, for funding. Its objective is to analyze how the image and representations of India have evolved among Turkish political elites, particularly policymakers, over time and how these perceptions have influenced Türkiye’s regional foreign policy towards the Indian subcontinent. The research is divided into three main historical periods: The Early Republican era up to the end of World War II, the Cold War period, and the contemporary multipolar order.

2) How do Turkish political elites understand India?

Turkish political elites perceive India through the lens of their broader global political perspectives and Türkiye’s own foreign policy frameworks. Instead of viewing India in isolation, their understanding of India is highly connected to Türkiye’s relations with other Muslim countries in the Indian subcontinent, like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives. These relationships serve as a “confounding variable,” influencing any evaluation or policy regarding India by considering its potential impact on Türkiye’s ties with these neighboring nations. Which is profound in all of the periods that we are focused on through the project.

3) How and for what reasons has this understanding transformed over time?

The perception of India in Türkiye has transformed significantly across three distinct historical periods due to shifting global dynamics and systemic frameworks:

During the Early Republic (Interwar to WWII), the image of India in Türkiye was highly positive. This was largely due to anti-imperialist solidarity (caused by the war of independence of Türkiye) and shared religious beliefs with Indian Muslims. Especially, the financial and moral support provided by Indian Muslims (Khilafat Movement) during the Turkish War of Independence created a strong foundation of goodwill and good relations between the two nations.

Cold War (1945-1991): The relations between Türkiye and India deteriorated due to the influence of bloc politics during the Cold War. Türkiye aligned itself with the Western bloc (NATO), especially in the 1950s, and maintained close ties with Pakistan, while India emerged as a leader of the Non-Aligned Movement and eventually created better relations with the USSR. As a consequence, while India viewed Türkiye’s close relationship with Pakistan and its Western alignment with suspicion, making bloc politics the primary constraint on their relations, Türkiye also did the same for India. All in all, the perception about India at that time was mainly constrained by tensions during the Cold War and Türkiye’s relations with Pakistan.

Multipolar Era (1991 – Present): India, once perceived as a potential partner in a multipolar world, is increasingly viewed as an actor met with suspicion due to conflicting geopolitical interests in the current era, characterized by a multipolar order. As middle powers, both countries wish to accomplish a regional power status without a challenge in their neighborhood. In this process, both countries utilize international aid (during the pandemic, natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis), diplomatic mitigation (In Gulf and Iran), and representation (G20, COPs). Türkiye’s close relations with India’s neighbors and India’s close relations with Türkiye’s neighbors simply intensify the relationship.

4) How does the image of India in Türkiye shape contemporary political activities?

Türkiye’s perception of India as a geopolitical competitor rather than a dependable partner forces it to adopt a more comprehensive, rather than an “India-centric,” approach to the subcontinent. Given Türkiye’s political elite’s suspicion of India, the country actively strengthens its ties with India’s neighboring countries, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, to counterbalance India’s regional influence. For instance, Türkiye provides substantial support to Pakistan through defense industry exports, including drones and electronic warfare systems. This has resulted in anti- Türkiye boycotts in India and the cancellation of a $2.1 billion naval ship contract by India in 2024. Additionally, Türkiye’s longstanding support for the UN mediation in the Kashmir dispute is perceived by India as direct interference in its internal affairs, leading to strained diplomatic relations that only temporarily ease during humanitarian crises, such as the 2023 Türkiye earthquake.

5) In your experience, have you encountered recurring stereotypes in Turkish representations of India?

While we are not explicitly using the word “stereotypes,” it could be said that representations of India in Türkiye are historically constrained and framed by specific themes. Primarily, India has historically been viewed through the dual lenses of “religious affinity” (focusing on the Muslim populations) and “anti-imperialism” (caused by the independence movements). In today’s Türkiye, the portrayal of India is often limited to the context of the India-Pakistan rivalry.  This perspective tends to view any interaction with India through the lens of Türkiye’s historical “brotherhood” with Pakistan. Additionally, unlike Europe, which historically positioned India as its “other” to define European identity, Türkiye itself acts as a “deviant case” that has also been an “other” to Europe, making its representation of India unique.

6) What connections do you see between your work and ESIND?

This project is directly connected to the ESIND because it mainly adapts its core research questions regarding how Europeans understand India and applies them to the Turkish case. The project tries to understand the relationships between representations and foreign policy decisions. Therefore, it seeks to reveal the representations of India in Türkiye and Türkiye’s foreign policy towards the subcontinent. Based on this data, we will attempt to draw parallels between the representations of India and the foreign policy towards it in one country. Consequently, the project will contribute to ESIND by establishing an initial theoretical framework and providing a foundation for further studies. Additionally, the project will directly contribute to the ESIND network by providing translated primary sources into a shared European database and presenting comparative data that contrasts with Türkiye’s.

7) Can you suggest a reading or a movie that better represents the connection between Türkiyeand India?

Based on the historical archives and relevant literature mentioned in the project, two significant readings represent the early connections between the nations:

• Şirvanlı Ahmed Hamdi Efendi’s Seyahatname (Travelogue): Written during the era of Abdulhamid II, this work provides crucial insights into how the Ottoman Caliphate was perceived in the region.
• Halide Edip Adıvar’s Travel Notes (2014): Her accounts from her travels to India demonstrate the mutual anti-imperialist solidarity and the immense interest that prominent Indian figures like Gandhi and Nehru had in the newly founded Turkish Republic.
• Mohammad Sadiq’s The Turkish Revolution and the Indian Freedom Movement (1983) and Turkish Revolution and the Abolition of the Caliphate (1991): Sadiq is one of the first academics who arrived in Türkiye and conducted his doctoral research as an area expert. This book and article explain how the two nations got inspired by each other during their independence movement and the role of the caliphate.

8) Ultimately, what is the impact of the emerging imagery of India on the shaping of contemporary political activities, social relations, and artistic production?

The original ESIND assess the impact of “representation” on “contemporary political activities, social relations, and artistic production.” Our project narrows the focus to political activities and, more specifically, foreign policy. The evolving image of India in Türkiye has significantly influenced contemporary politics, creating a sense of geopolitical rivalry. For instance, when India advocated for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)—an initiative that deliberately bypassed Türkiye— Türkiye perceived this as a dismissive strategy. Consequently, Türkiye responded to the project by accelerating the process of the Developmental Corridor (Qatar, UAE, Iraq and Türkiye). Social relations are predominantly shaped by historical memory, such as the aid provided by Indian Muslims during the Turkish War of Independence, and contemporary issues like migration from the subcontinent.