Anime is the animation or cartoon particularly made in Japan with a huge fan following all over the world.  This art form covers serious topics than usual cartoon animations, not only does it attract children but also young adults and teens. It is a huge concept covering different genres like comedy, romance, drama, pornography. 

All the animes share the same kind of appearance which is different from the other cartoons and animations. The editors, the designers, the creators all strictly follow a peculiar artwork for anime. The characters have big eyes, highlighted bright colourful hairs, and chick dressing sense. They also have exaggerated emotional expressions and gestures which are specifically meant for the anime characters. Many of the characters are inspired by the characters of Disney like seven dwarfs, Micky mouse, mini mouse, and so on. So we really cannot confirm where the idea of big eyes, well- endowed figures have come from.

The Anime Culture and Its Popularity

The anime culture is purely Japanese. This culture was born in Japan along with the birth of Otaku subcultures in the 1960s. It has made a huge impact on its own country. The citizens and government of Japan constructed different kinds of statues, landmarks, and sites for the local citizens and also for the tourists. It is such a dominant side of Japan that many companies, business, brands, and organizations use anime characters in the advertisement, slogans, packaging, snacks and so on. Some brands have even launched anime-theme products for the customers, they are surprisingly doing very well in the markets of Japan as well as abroad. These markets are mainly the younger market, where audiences are more curious about the mascots or anime characters featuring in the product more than the product itself. It has become a household cultural trend among kids and young adults ever since the nineties along with pokemon, Digimon, yu-gi-oh.

The inspiration for anime has partially come from Japanese comic books, manga. Japanese culture can be seen in many TV shows. High schools in Japan are as similar as shown in anime. Staying in traditional ryokan inns, eating with chopsticks, the same kind of accessories, quite the same kind of hair and dressing styles are seen in the common people of Japan. There is a character called Hatsune Miku, Japan’s first Vocaloid singer, who has a huge fan base and craze over the Japanese young audience. There are also many realistic shows of anime that accurately blend Japanese culture into art. A Japanese village Manoyama has an anime based on itself named Sakura Quest. The Ambition of Oda Nobuna is based on another real man of Japan’s history called Nobunaga.

A massive part of the Japanese cultural industry, their animation industry is the country’s third-largest industry, bringing nearly $20 billion a year. It is visible everywhere across the country. As we can tell that most of the Japanese people are a fan of anime, the country is filled with people who are mad about manga as wekk and are really into otaku culture.

Anime’s World Domination

The world of anime is full of the genre, variety, and a lot of complexity. It is an incredibly rich culture. It is not only famous in Asian countries but also has an expanding fanbase among Indians, Americans, Europeans, and many more. An amazing thing about the animation industry is that 60% of all animated shows across the world come from Japan. Marketed to a huge global audience, it has been growing higher and higher in terms of popularity, income, and fame. Apart from providing the biggest selling film in Japan, Korea, China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, it has become the most likeable among the western countries.

When it comes to animation, Disney has always been the priority of many audiences. With the rising popularity of anime, Disney has decided to put a Pokemon theme park in Disneyland.

Astro-boy, Dragon Ball, Howl’s Moving Castle, Detective Conan, Cowboy Bebop are very famous and popular in the world. People try to make their anime characters inspired by the characters from these series. Many of the popular anime series and films are taken to be remade in different film industries in different languages. The fantasy world of anime is just taking over us all with lots of colours, moments, and sounds, and songs bring these cartoon characters to life. Shockingly this fantasy world of anime and its characters has more fan following and popularity than many real celebrities.

Anime and the USA has an old connection since the 60s, American fandom has always been loyal to the anime series since then. Channels like Cartoon Network and Sci-Fi programmed anime blocks, series, movies from the 90s. Anime has already taken over Netflix, Amazon Prime. Apart from these anime has a specific app for streaming named HULU. Social media has been a great platform to know about anime characters, their specialty. Halloween costumes, memes, sites like makegirlsmoe, cosplay community are just all about anime and its impact.

The Soft Power of Japan: Anime

The love of Japanese people is and perhaps always will be anime. A lot of ceremonies are celebrated in Japan with the presence of an anime mascot and theme. Before the K-pop industry in South Korea became popular, anime was already there with its immense popularity, huge fanbases, and sky-high viewership. The multi-billion dollar industry is quite a strong tower in Japan’s economy. Japan’s contribution to the world in terms of cars, video games, fashion, and anime is quite impressive.

As mentioned earlier, Japan has lots of brands, products specifically themed in anime for the market with the positive point of the blue ocean market. Well in the field of tourism anime has been a great plus point. Besides the reflection of Japanese culture, food, dressing style in anime already attract the tourist but different kinds of anime concert, anime-themed markets, mascot, statues, art camps are way more effective in promoting tourism to Japan as well as influencing pop-cultures. Places like Tokyo Anime Centre; holds daily radio with an anime character, the electric city Akihabara known as the otaku destination, J-talk Tokyo, Tokyo character street, Dogo onsen, Otome Road are hubs for tourists, people all over the world’s visits these places for their craving for anime, game worlds and many more. Tourism is becoming a high hit in Japan due to its influence all over the world.

Being the third biggest largest economy in the world, with the rising soft power, culture, and diplomatic relations, Japan is doing a great deal in enhancing its international standing. Japan has invested billions of dollars in cultural exchange and teaching of the Japanese language, which is a great success to date and giving a major boost to the economy of the country. A lot of the young generation coming to Japan in search of work, education, and to learn the otaku culture is a great deal for its economy and culture. The root of anime all across the world becoming a major soft power bouncer to the country. The Japanese government has exploited the power of its animation industry to make the country’s economy stronger. The Japanese government has made a lot of investment to make anime-themed towns and museums for tourist attractions. This not only helps the tourism, or work section but also brings a lot’s of business collaboration from the world.  

Rise of Japanese programs is also helping japan to promote their pop-culture in quite an impressive way. The formation and promotion of J-pop just like K-pop is one such example. It’s kind of popular among the younger generation.

“Art and culture play a vital role in globalization. It is a way to get your message across, an effective yet discreet way to create friends – opposite to the alarm and fear resulting from coercion.’’ said the commissioner at the Japanese government’s cultural agency, Seiichi Kundu.
‘’Japanese pop culture is a gateway to the deeper and more traditional Japanese culture’’ said, Ambassador Kondo.

Conclusion

Anime has become the soft power to Japan indeed. The paradox is that the concept of japan’s soft power is not very controversial. People back in Japan and abroad discussed it as a soft power very little. Not like other soft powers, it is not offensive, it is loved by all. It is creating a new pride and confidence in confronting the issue of soft power to the world. Anime’s emphasis on cultural diplomacy is quite agreeable to the whole world. The tourism market, education sector, learning camps are rising daily as lots of people across the globe are getting attracted towards Japan. The people who are still at home trying to learn Japanese, buying many anime-themed products, kind of being prepared for their first visit to Japan, helps the Japanese government to gain more revenues hence improving their economy.

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So, the whole concept of K-pop dominance all over the world is known as “Hallyu”, a Chinese word that stands for the Korean wave of pop culture. The continuous growth of Hallyu resulted in increased distribution and consumption of Korean content through platforms such as YouTube, Netflix, and SNS. Even the incredible and first-ever success of director Bong Joon-Ho’s film Parasite also helped in Hallyu content and the Korean film/entertainment in the industry.

A Little Into Hallyu Background and Present State

In 1992, the Korean Culture and Tourism Institute send a copy of a drama to play into the other countries, with the support of the South Korean government. The government helps these industries to go and other things also. The projects that helped in the spread of Hallyu are – boys over flower, my seesy girl, Swiri, Autumn in my heart also the songs SHINee’s ring ding ding, PSY Gangnam Style, Rain’s bad boy. These become popular not only in the parts of Asia but also among the youth of other countries like the US and the UK. When it comes to Hallyu there are five main factors one shouldn’t forget. The impact starts with lifting the ban on foreign travel for Korean citizens, along with Korean chaebols restructuring. Samsung also considers another main factor of the Korean wave. The rise of Samsung was another era for the South Korean economy and Hallyu. Branding of Korean companies and banning censorship lows, giving opportunities to other citizens to come and learn K-pop is another highlight of the K-pop era. As Barak Obama said the entertainment industry of K-pop in South Korea is the government’s priority.

Every Korean brand promotes its ad along with a K-pop idol or actor, which helps when the protagonist of the ad goes overseas, they help the brand to promote overseas. The wave of Korean pop culture has great support from the government from the past. Korean pop culture has a great impact on Asian countries like China, Singapore, Thailand, and Japan. The Hallyu itself a mandarin word. The K-pop industry is joined by trainees from China, Thailand, and Japan. Many of K-pop group consists of Chinese, Thai and Japanese members along with Korean members with their nationality abroad, which helps them to gain popularity among the countries and reach achievements. Many Korean idols, singers, actors have also signed many sub-labels in other countries due to the increase of Hallyu. The rising popularity of the entertainment industries not only promoting Hallyu but also giving a high rise to the Korean government.  The growth of the Korean wave over the last two decades is fantastic and giving a major impact on the Korean economy.

K-popnomy

When it comes to the K-pop music industry, five to eight K-pop music labels are offering a huge range in the Korean economy. Such labels are Big Hit Entertainment, SM Entertainment, JYP Official, Starship Official, and many more. The chairman of SM Entertainment, Lee Soo-man told a recent seminar that he believed k- pop would grow through technological innovation and even Hallyu celebrities in all powered avatars could even become part of our lives. According to Korea foundation president Lee gum, Hallyu has not only become a global content but an asset to South Korea’s pubic diplomacy. CNN published the article with the headline after the sudden popularity of K-pop song Gangnam Style by PSY released in 2012, “Korean wave of pop culture swipes across Asia.”

Being the uppermost country with the determined goal to become the most popular culture leading exporter South Korea along with its government supporting the entertainment industries to grow higher and reach audiences all over the world. Also, we can say it’s the way to develop the soft power of the country. With the blessing of the biggest cultural phenomena across Asia and another part of the globe Hallyu, Korea expands its businesses, culture, and country image.

Korean merchandise exports to a country respond strongly to lagged TV program exports to the same destination but mostly in sectors characterized by consumer products. These include UN Broad Economic Categories like food and beverages, and other consumer goods Korean annual exports reports, Korean products such as cosmetics, food, fashion, electronics, and mobile phones are exports at a higher rate, which helped in raising the bar by 34.7%. The exports also include the merch by the K-pop idols, groups, the brand product they used to promote also exports at a high rate. Such change of consumer preferences has occurred through several ways as supported by numerous survey results and reports by the MoFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency), and KOFICE (Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange).

First, foreign consumers form favorable national images of Korea while watching the dramas as they naturally experience a chance to learn and appreciate the Korean culture. In the past, people tend to associate national images of South Korea negatively with the Korean War or North Korea, but nowadays such images are giving way to the charming, fun, and lively images of entertainments and state-of-the-art technologies. Such a change of national image enhances consumer preferences for products with the “Made in Korea” label. The entertainment industry helps in the economy by their image, ad, and role in the different brands and also promoting the tourist view of South Korea.

Along with the South Korean government promoting Hallyu the K-pop being the most strong soft power to the country making South Korea a destination of investment and commercial zone for many businesses all over the world. The massive popularity, immense government support, and running television station, broadcasting station helping the K-pop industry to provide a stable and strong economy to the South Korean even in the time of Covid-19.

K-pop Boyband BTS’s Impact on the South Korean Economy

The growth of the Korean economy has gotten great support from a seven-member South Korean boy band BTS. Along with BTS topped the Billboard hundred music chart, the boy band has also sold millions of albums and is one of the most-watched artists on YouTube. Not to mention after the British boy band One Direction, BTS has also sold out their stadium shows very quickly. If BTS maintains the same position, it can generate $30 Billion in economic value in the next years. With the help of BTS, the Korean economy is reaching a sky-high achievement.

According to the Hyundai Research Institute the impact of the Korean economy last year was estimated as US$ 4.93 billion. With such an impact BTS has been given the name of “walking conglomerate”. This also helps other K-pop artists to earn the spotlight with governments’ interest in the K-pop music industries.

After BTS, GOT7, Monsta X, Black-pink, Stray kids, NCT, Exo, Seventeen and Txt also obtained a rank in the Billboard music charts. Defying even the covid crisis, The labels of BTS continue to increased the spike in revenues in the music along in the mainstream economy.

International success and immense popularity of BTS has become the strongest boy band and power among all K-pop labels and groups. the strongest soft power BTS not only supporting the economy but also making highlights of every K-pop label to the audience. The whole K-pop industry not only giving a boost to its economy but also dominating the world with its cultural effects like make–up, hairstyles, bangs, clothing, specific styles.

Personal Impression on K-pop

K-pop is not just music for the government of South Korea, it has become a power source and a major factor in the country. With the growing popularity of BTS and other K-pop group over the deeds not only helping the country to promote the artistic side of the country as well as becoming a major superior of the country. The audience of K-pop usually are teenage girls and boy.

The entertainment industry of Korea is specially designed at a different level than in other countries. Besides making music and dancing on them, they also have reality shows of their life and other variety shows which helps them to promote the way they are living, the food they eat, the product day use which in turn attracts the viewers, specifically fans to the consumption of the items their favorite idol and celebrity using. This has a great impact directly on International exports and the economy of South Korea. Many people from other countries are very interested in the Korean language and their way of living to learn. Many universities have added the course of Korean languages for the pupils.

So far the way BTS along with other K-pop star climbing to sky-high achievement and the enormous popularity of the Korean dramas having, it can make a high rise in the economy of South Korea, giving them more strength to top the soft power and grow as one of the powerful frugality not only Asia but also all over the world.

Conclusions

Hereby K-pop along with the strongest soft power in South Korea giving a crucial power to its economy. The rising of new K-pop groups and the international success of Korean dramas not only dominating the world but also smashing the new records of spreading Hallyu.  BTS being the most important part of the economy of Korea also gets the plus points of not joining their military due to their world tours and accumulate GDP support. The K-pop culture strengthens the Korean economy along with its cultural diplomacy.

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Though there has been a lack of political enthusiasm, the common threat of irking China and structural issues that have acted as obstacles for blossoming Indo-Taiwanese relations, Taiwan has engaged silently diplomatically in India. PM Narendra Modi and President Tsai Ing-wen, have engaged in furthering the bilateral relationship.

Contextualising the Indo-Taiwanese Relationship

The Indo-Taiwanese relations were almost non-existent for more than four decades after the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was recognised by India. Marking the beginning of their ‘unofficial’ ties,  in 1992, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) set up a liaison office in Mumbai and, in 1995, India opened its representative office in Taipei and named it the India-Taipei Association (ITA) for economic engagement. In a month, Taiwan opened its office in New Delhi and called it the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC). Now, the TECC offices are operational in Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai. Although they were not formal diplomatic missions, they do function as de-facto representatives of their respective governments and carry out activities like issuing of visas, carrying out trade and economic relations and facilitating people-to-people contacts. This was the beginning of bettering bilateral relations between India and Taiwan in the sphere of trade and commerce, development and research, science and technology, education, people-to-people contacts, and other related fields and thus, in the post Cold-War period, this marked an important watershed moment in the history of Indo-Taiwanese relationship. This was a pointer towards India’s ‘Look East Policy’, enunciated by the then Prime Minister, Narasimha Rao and was a marker of Taiwan’s pragmatic diplomacy.

Taiwan’s ‘pragmatic diplomacy’ is also known as ‘flexible diplomacy’ and ‘substantive diplomacy’ and focuses on enhancing its international profile and facilitating its external engagements by using ‘unofficial’ and ‘non-diplomatic’ channels in the broader economic and cultural arenas, without attempting conventional state-to-state diplomacy, so as not to invite ire from the PRC. New Delhi, in this context, has emerged as a significant factor for Taiwan’s substantive diplomatic practices. Given their shared concerns vis-à-vis China and the commonality of their democratic values, especially during the current strategic uncertainty, this seems like the perfect ripe moment to enhance relations between the two.

In 2014, Taiwan’s representative to India had attended PM Modi’s swearing-in ceremony, and in 2016, India carefully well thought-out sending a representative to President Tsai’s inauguration but eventually decided against it. Most countries, including India, have found it challenging to balance the political and strategic implications of fostering closer relations with Taiwan due to the uncertainty of China’s reaction, leading to a complex diplomatic maze. In this context, Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy (NSP) under Tsai Ing-wen seeks to expand links with countries across South and Southeast Asia with a great emphasis on building economic, investment and people-to-people ties, as well as a greater focus on India especially while New Delhi “acts east”. Given the swaying relationship between India and Mainland China, it is practical for India to shift towards greater stress on soft balancing by cultivating a fruitful relationship with Taiwan. The Indian government’s ‘Act East Policy’ provides for greater engagement between India and Southeast Asia, making Taiwan important for India’s future economic growth.

In terms of increasing economic and commercial engagement, the TECC and the ITA formalized an MoU in 2017 on the “Promotion of Industry Collaboration”, preceded by twenty-one MoUs signed earlier that year by Taiwan’s Chinese National Federation of Industries and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. In 2018, the first India-Taiwan Trade Forum was convened in Taipei with the Taipei World Trade Center inaugurating its New Delhi office in conjunction with the debut of the Taiwan Expo (a business exposition) in South Asia over the summer of 2018 with New Delhi serving as its inaugural venue. Despite all these developments on the economic front, there have been domestic and structural problems in formalising the relationship, especially due to New Delhi’s position on acknowledging the ‘One-China policy’. New Delhi has overall remained ambiguous on the matter and the investment and trade have remained relatively modest but there have been efforts to increase investment by Taiwanese firms in India and notable joint initiatives and manufacturing clusters have been proposed under the ‘Make in India’ campaign.

Upgrading the Relationship: QUAD Angle

The need of the hour for India is focusing on a practical and long term pragmatic approach for fomenting better ties with Taiwan. We have to strategically balance the ‘One-China policy’ of Mainland China (based on one country, two systems model) and cultivating a beneficial and normal relationship with Taipei. New Delhi should not use Taiwan as a pressure point or Achilles Heel against the PRC as this hampers India’s goals and Taiwan’s development. The focal point for bettering the Indo-Taiwanese relationship should be based on enhancing people-to-people, cultural and business exchanges rather than focusing on the government-to-government gimmicks. Education, tourism and technological innovations can leverage the relationship. India should actively engage with Taiwanese NGOs to create an impact over the coming years and focus on roping in an international networking capacity. Small and medium-sized enterprises too can act as significant job creation initiatives and serve as great vehicles to exchange knowledge and human capital. Taiwan can also help in meeting India’s agricultural modernisation needs and its recent support during the pandemic in healthcare facilities is a pointer in the direction of up-gradation of the relationship in a pragmatic understanding. This soft power diplomacy through developmental assistance, cultural, healthcare, academic and tourist exchanges will surely benefit and give a thrust to long term robust India-Taiwan relations.

There have been under-utilised opportunities in the bilateral relationship. New Delhi needs to engage in proper policy approach to benefit most from a healthy relationship with the core area of the Chinese economy. The reshaping of the relationship with Taiwan has not only been a prerogative of New Delhi, the other three members of the QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue): USA, Australia and Japan have also upgraded their relations with Taipei.

Taiwan is significant for the QUAD countries as it is the core area that can be used to deter Chinese aggression due to its strategic location and partnership with the QUAD countries would act as a diplomatic weapon for both parties against the belligerent Dragon’s ever-rising provocations. Moreover, it is an important source of information on China, as evidenced in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the QUAD needs to protect Taiwan from diplomatic isolation and help it develop its military and defensive capabilities while also providing it opportunities for investment in a safe and incentive-based environment in the QUAD so that they can safely relocate their economic and investment ventures from Mainland China without incurring losses.

Conclusion

India needs to act in a strategic manner and shed its inhibitions and self-imposed restraint on engaging with Taiwan. The bilateral relationship is extremely rewarding if managed appropriately by both parties. They have to act more decisively and New Delhi has to formally acknowledge Taiwan as a development partner and the role it can play in steering the direction of Indo-Taiwanese relationship. It is an opportune moment, also thus for the QUAD to recognise Taiwan as a reliable partner and counter China’s growing footprint in South Asia that it wants to establish its hegemony over, through its bellicose and pugnacious ways.

References:

Karackattu, J. T. (2019). The Case for a Pragmatic India-Taiwan Partnership. Carnegie India.

Nagao, S. (2020, August 2). The Quad must strengthen and support Taiwan. Sunday Guardian Live.

Singh, D. T. (2019). The New Southbound Policy and India-Taiwan Relations. Vivekananda International Foundation.

Tien-Sze, F. (2014). Taiwan’s Relations with India: Issues and Trends. China Report.

Times Now Digital. (2020, October 10). Quad and beyond: Is it time for India to take a tougher stance on Tibet and Taiwan?

Featured Image Source: Google Images | Image by: Reuters

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Nagorno-Karabakh in the Caucasus in South-East Europe and is significant as an energy corridor. This conflict has started to destabilize an area which is now drawing regional powers. It is rather important to understand why Nagorno-Karabakh or Artsakh has emerged as a conflict between two nations, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Nagorno-Karabakh — “Nagorno” is derived from the Russian language which means mountainous whereas “Karabakh” can be broadly understood as a black garden which is an admixture of Turkish and Persian words.

Artsakh is composed of Armenian majority and had declared independence from Azerbaijan in 1991 which had a Muslim majority populace, yet it has received no recognition as sovereignty even in the 21^st century. It was in 1823 that this area had come under the administration of Tsar Nicholas I, which was retained under the Soviet Republic. The region was ceded to Armenia by the treaty signed between USSR and Turkey. Artsakh was accorded the status of an Autonomous Oblast. The Russian Government during the 19^th century had favoured the Armenians as they had linguistic commonality with them and promulgated policies that would result in the growth of the Armenian population. By the time of the Russian Revolution of 1905, both Armenia and Azerbaijan engaged into an ethnic conflict which would be renewed before the collapse of the Russian Empire. Armenia dominated population established the Armenian National Council of Nagorno-Karabakh as a protest to Azerbaijan laying claim over Karabakh. However, the ongoing resistance against Azerbaijan must be perceived as a war of self-determination for Nagorno-Karabakh that began in the 19th century. However, between 1918 and 1920, this region was under the administration of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. A failed Armenian rebellion witnessed massacres of Armenians by Azeri forces, inhabiting Shusha or Shushi as Armenians termed it, until 1920. 

Agreements between two countries were reached by the Bishkek Protocol, of which Russia was a signatory in 1994.  During 1987, a petition was propagated by the Armenian academy which argued for the reunification of Nakhichevan to Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1988, Armenia took over the region and a six-year war led to the death of 30,00 people and mass displacement occurred. Armenia traces claim over Nagorno-Karabakh as public opinion believes that this region was part of the Armenian Kingdom since the 4th century BCE. However, human rights violations, refugee crisis and repercussions on the economy have been continuing phenomena in this region. However, it is important in this regard to highlighting how warring tensions in the Caucasus between Azerbaijan and Armenia accentuated as Turkey chose to side with the former, an ally. Pakistan, like Turkey, has pledged support towards Azerbaijan and it cannot be denied that it has never recognized Armenia as a state. Rather, she was equally engaged in the narrative of denial of the Armenian Genocide. Hence, she does not acknowledge Armenia’s claim over Artsakh and stated that the ethnic cleansing of the Azeris must be condemned. It would not be surprising if mercenaries from Pakistan join this war. Weapons have been majorly supplied under the regime of the Turkish Prime Minister. Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a recent statement argued that Armenia must withdraw from this region as it never belonged to her. Additionally, he stated that Armenia has been the greatest threat to peace in Nagorno-Karabakh and even rejecting the path towards a cease-fire. Missile strikes have now become a continued occurrence which has led to casualties for both Armenia and Azerbaijan and it is believed that violence has been fueled by Turkey for it cannot be denied that she has never perceived Armenia to be a country. Nonetheless, Turkey has denied of any of these statements, which is a hoax and the International Community must understand this. On the other hand, Artsakh experienced a war-like situation as Syrian forces had been deployed by Turkey which resonates with her inflicting mass annihilation on the Armenians. Four United Nations Security Council resolutions namely 823,853,874, 884 were passed in 1993 calling for Armenia’s withdrawal from Artsakh which Yerevan had refused to implement. Azerbaijan even aimed to attack the Republic of Armenia, expanding the geography of the conflict in recent developments. The United States of America responded to this crisis in 1988 by raising huge sums of money for humanitarian relief till date. The Trump administration has been facing excessive pressure by American legislators. The House of Representatives of Armenia Caucasus has introduced a resolution that condemns Turkey’s influence in the region and Azerbaijan’s military operations. Immediate US security assistance would be provided as suggested by the letter signed by 12 Senate Democrats. It had been suggested that the Republic of Artsakh would be recognized as an independent nation if violence would persist. The State Armenian Fund submitted a bill which stated the recognition of the Artsakh Republic.  On the other hand, Iran has stated that the disputed territory belongs to Azerbaijan as the Azeris are the most influential in Iran. President Hasan Rouhani has commented that Armenia must end the conflict.

Animosity Towards Armenia, Turkey’s History of Genocide: 1894-1916

The interests of Turkey in this region can be examined when one analyzes its relationship with Armenia. The Armenian Genocide had been perpetrated by under the Ottoman Empire and the Young Turks. This has been recognized as the first modern genocide which received immense publicization from North America and Europe, yet had been eradicated from popular consciousness in less than two decades later. World War I witnessed the defeat of Ottoman Turkey in the hands of the allied powers namely the British, French and the United States. The first massacre of Armenians occurred during 1894-96 by Sultan Abdul Hamid II during his reign. The Young Turks usurped the throne in 1908, thereafter entering the World War on the support of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, history repeated itself through the culmination of bloodshed of the Armenians during 1915-1916. This genocide was executed by the Committee of Union and Progress with the justification of national security in the face of an encroaching Armenian insurgency. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), infamously known as the Young Turks now reigned who believed in the notion of pan-Turkism.

All ethnic groups would be brought under one umbrella: the rule of the Ottomans through the idiom of political unification and therefore, the formation of a one-party state that allowed them to exercise such control which was the pathway to completely annihilate the Armenians. An anti-reform attitude was inherited by the CUP during the advent of their rule in 1908 when its foremost leader, Mehmed Talata dismissed the notion of equality with the non-Muslims, who were known by the terminology of ‘ghuirs’ evoking that the Shari‘a believes such an idea to be maleficent with the sentiments of the Muslims. The French ambassador at Istanbul, Paul Cambon opines that Diaspora Armenians had problematised the issue of administrative mishandling into that of racial persecution. The hatred of the government towards Armenians crystallized in the state’s conspiracy to prosecute the mass killing. These perpetrators have been conferred with the name of front-line killers who believe that their actions are for the greater good of the nation. The Interior Ministry announced that it propagated the ideology of benevolence, which functioned under the Ministry of war lead by Enver Pasha. This was indeed a distorted truth as the young girls were distributed in Muslim households, whereas boys of Armenian origin were made to work in factories. It must be pointed out how nationalist historiography claims that its officials were conducting rescue operations. Here one must be able to decipher the racial connotations which were clearly revealed through the government’s policies, as well as the vocabulary of de-humanization when its Anatolian populations were increasingly termed as tumours and leeches who must be exterminated for the greater good of the nation (Morris and Ze’evi, 2019, pp:137-300 ). A first-hand account of a Turkish Official, Lieutenant Moukhtar Beas dating to 26^th December 1916 had been elucidated which promulgates how order from Constantinople led the deportation of Armenians inhabiting the frontier towns to the interior. Large convoys passed through Erzeorum, consisting mainly of men, children and women. In 1915, he was transferred to Trezibond, where a large number of Armenians would be expatiated for the slaughter. The Armenian culture had been completely destroyed. It has been termed as the loss of moral, intellectual and spiritual life. This leads to the community questioning its position in history and in turn the self’s understanding of rootedness with the community. Rather, the collective identity of a community is submerged in its institutions.  Nevertheless, Turkey shares no diplomatic ties with Armenia which clearly can be perceived as the staunch hatred it holds for the Christian minorities who have been regarded as a threat to her beginning from the regime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.

Conclusion

It is rather necessary for the international community to voice their opinion against such atrocities that are simmering in Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey’s prominent role in this conflict arises from the fact that she wishes to propagate herself as the new leader of the Muslim leader, with Pakistan following the footsteps. The generational trauma that the Armenian population experience remains a horrifying truth. Yet, it is repeating itself in a new form. 

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Historical Context

Observations have shown that with the onset of the Age of Discovery in Europe, increased interest of Russia and China in Central Asia somewhat led to the breaking away of India’s connections with the region. Even after Independence, India’s foreign policy majorly focused on its immediate neighbours, or solidarity-based relations with the African countries, or even robust economic ties with Russia — but, the partitioning of the Indian subcontinent and the distancing of the region geographically did play a role in the deterioration of the relations with the region from India.

Further, in the post-Cold War era, after the Soviet Union split Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the 1990s, India took upon the task of developing its relations with the resource-rich region while also undertaking its own domestic economic reforms of bringing about liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation. Former Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao visited four out of the five republics – Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan in 1993, followed by Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan in 1995. In addition to the collective values that India shared with the countries, collective development and economic growth, as well as formulating approached to combating common threats such as terrorism, religious extremism, and crime that these nations shared with India. A few experts also believe that the stage which was set by these conversations was even reflected in India’s Look North policy of recent times. 

Despite the historical links with the Central Asian Economies and India moving quickly to establish diplomatic ties with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan after their emergence as independent countries almost three decades ago, trade has not grown beyond $2 billion, with them. In recent years, foreign-affairs analysts have begun observing what they call the “New Great Game” in Central Asia — Russia, the US, European Union (EU), China, Turkey, Iran and India are all trying to assert their power and hegemony in the region. Not only does the region provide for a large market, but it also has prospects for developing hydropower, fossil fuel resources, and other lucrative prospects. According to experts, India, for its part, has so far chosen to take the ‘constructivist’ approach. This entails a strategy of, interests are not solely based on economic or strategic benefits but attempt to involve an intersectional and even culture-oriented involvement.

Current Developments

India’s continued interest in Central Asia can be attributed to the geopolitical relevance of the region due to three factors — Chinese presence and influx in the region through its expansionist infrastructure projects like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a continued historical context of Russia’s dominance in the region, and the overall regional security dynamic. Keeping these in mind, India had unveiled its Connect Central Asia Policy in Bishkek in 2012 in order to draw attention to the expansion of the region’s economic interests in congruence with India’s plans of integrating its external neighbourhood.

The lack of connectivity of India with the region of Central Asia has been a long withstanding issue in this context. For instance, the long-delayed Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, backed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), was first proposed in the mid-1990s and all four actors officially signed an intergovernmental agreement in 2010. But, since then, the project has been stalled due to the status of Afghanistan and mistrust between India and Pakistan.

To combat this connectivity gap, India has undertaken positive action in the past as well quite recently. India, Iran and Russia signed the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) agreement which aimed to offer connectivity between India and Central Asia through Iran. As is noted by this resource, while the INSTC is routed via Iran’s Bandar Abbas port, India has also explored the possibility of connecting with Central Asia via Iran’s Chabahar port and thereafter overland corridors passing through Afghanistan. The importance bestowed by India to the Chabahar port, despite the uncertainties which the US-Iran tensions bring to the conversation, can be accorded by the budgetary allocation to the project, which is amounting to INR 1 Billion in 2020-21 announcement.

Way Forward

Since China has been able to leverage its geography, finances and population to ensure that its projects can contribute toward making its dream of a new and improved Silk Road a reality, India is also committed to expanding the scope of its economic relations with the region. India has immense potential in developing small and medium scale industries in the region which is presently being provided through India’s program of ITEC (Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation). The ITEC programme covers information technology, management, journalism, diplomacy, entrepreneurship, and banking. New Delhi also signed the Strategic Partnership Agreements (SPA) with three of the five nations of the Central Asian Economies — Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — in order to stimulate defence cooperation and deepen trade relations.

As a report in a Russian newspaper observed, “Indian presence in the region should balance the growing Chinese influence and prevent it from becoming the region of Beijing’s undivided dominance.” This idea can be brought to effect by India by leveraging its membership at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

India and the Central Asian Economies can prioritize energy, pharmaceuticals, automotive, agro-processing, education, urban infrastructure and transport, civil aviation, IT and tourism sectors to strengthen economic links. The Central Asian economies and India have had a long history of association which can be efficiently revived to mutual benefit by the means of strategic and economic cooperation and connectivity, both notions that can be leveraged by the stakeholders in a post-pandemic world.

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Later, the trade between Arabian peninsula and India was dominated by Arab traders from Oman and yamen. At the same time, Indian ocean trade between East Africa, middle east and India were dominated by Oman. Trade between Arabia and India became the backbone of Arabian peninsula by the end of the first millennium CE. 

Interestingly, Arabia had less to export to India and most of the goods flowed from India to Arabia. Expect, the pearl industry which was an important export until the discovery of oil in the Gulf region. In places like Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai, pearl diving was a way of life. 

Relations between India and the Gulf region became stronger during the British raj when in addition to an economic component a military component was acquired by them. British had begun to dominate the subcontinent, by the mid 19th century, the control and influence exercised by them on Arab territory came as a result of their need to protect the sea lanes. The British conquered Aden in 1839, which was administered as a province of British India. A protectorate was established by the British in Abu Dhabi in the year 1820 and later on over Dubai, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and other states that would later form the United Arab States (UAE). The British affairs of Arab were managed by British officials in India and were garrisoned on British command by Indian soldiers. 

The relationship between India and the Gulf region began to change and reverse with the independence of India and the discovery of oil in the Gulf region. The balance of trade began to shift as a result of exporting oil. Today, 80% of oil is exported in India from the region and independent India failed to te the gulf economically as British India did. Despite the economic turn faced by India, it continued to maintain important relations with the region relative to others. By the 21st century, India’s export to the gulf region were more than the European Union. I.e. In the financial year 2012-13, India’s export to GCC stood at $51 billion according to financial times. About 15% of exports in India go to the Gulf. India was also the largest trading partner of Dubai until china overtook it in 2013. The strong relation between the two is maintained even today. 

INDIAN IMMIGRANTS AND THE GULF

India is the top recipient of remittances alongside being the largest country of international migrants. Since the ‘oil boom’ from the 1970s, Indian migrants to the gulf became a valuable source of income and backbone of economies for high-migration states through remittance transfer. During this period, the migrants have largely contributed to the economic development of the gulf region. 

However, In recent years’ condemnation of treatment provided to domestic expatriate workers and blue-collar in the region has cast the migration in a less favourable light, demanding greater attention from the government of India to worker welfare and diaspora issues. Regardless of this, complaints of abuse, hardship and exploitation persist.
The return of workers has increased and the outflow of migrants has slackened due to fluctuation in the oil market, economical slowdown and changing gulf policies. The coronavirus pandemic too clouds the future of gulf-India migration relations, which would be a challenge for the government of India as well as the workers and their families dependent on them due to healthcare and livelihood challenges that they would have to face. 

The usual return to jobs after the travel ban ends is far from assured. Return of labours and New jobs depend upon the economic capacity of the gulf. Indian migrants who would return to gulf would be required to present their medical certificates as per the mandate of Kuwait authorities. However, once the pandemic ends, Gulf states could impel sweeping wide-ranging departures. A more likely scenario is an adjustment of reliance on foreign workers followed by a cut in government contracting and levying of high employer and visa fees. Either would give a blow to the economy of India as well as to the families and communities of people who have long served the gulf states as a lifeline.

KUWAIT EXPAT QUOTA  BILL

Among the large number of migrant workers that India sends to the world, a total of 9 million Indian migrants are employed in the Gulf region. USD 82 billion in form of remittance were received by India during 2019 as per world bank report. Due to the pandemic, many workers are left in a vulnerable condition as the countries of destination are failing to provide new economic opportunities because of which the migrant workers are returning to India. Kuwait’s total population stands at 4.3 million, out of which 3 million are migrant labours among which over a million belong to India. As a result of the rising pressure over the economies, Kuwait became the first among the GCC countries to introduce a bill aiming to deport migrant workers from the country. During the first week of July, Kuwait decides to roll out a bill to reduce the number of foreigners in the country as proposed by the PM. 

 According to the new ex-pat quota bill approved by the Kuwait authorities on reducing the number of foreign labourers in the Gulf region, eight lakh Indians can be forced to leave their jobs and return to India. The legal and legislative committee of the national assembly has determined that the bill is constitutional. The bill allows a maximum of 15% Indians in the region, while the Indian community consists of 1.45 million of its population making it the largest ex-pat community in Gulf. Due to the pandemic and a slump in oil prices, government and the lawmakers call for a reduction in the number of ex-pat community in the country. Kuwait remains the largest source of remittances for India, the country received nearly $4.8 billion from Kuwait as remittances in the year 2018. Most of the COVID positive cases in Kuwait come from foreigners as the disease spreads between the migrants living in overcrowded housing. 

IMPACTS OF THE NEW BILL

Some important facts on both sides- India and Kuwait need to be considered at this point. Now that the Kuwait government is planning on sending back foreign workforce, the authorities would need to perform a rain-check and see if the local population have the requisite skills and knowledge to perform the jobs. These semi-skilled work involves low pay and therefore attracts migrant workforce, the willingness of the local community to take up the jobs would impact the market of Kuwait. 

While the Indian government has launched SWADES (Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support) to record data relating to skills of migrant workers returning to India, which can be used by recruiters to appoint and use workers in India. However, the current market is already suffering from the pandemic and a considerable number of people have lost their jobs, in such situation it won’t be easy to reintegrate these returnee workers in the domestic market. Many of the labourers are returning without getting paid what was due to them which would be another roadblock in the reintegration efforts. These workers would join the people who have returned through Vande Bharat mission and are looking for jobs in the country. Return migrants should be included in the employment and social development programs offered by central and state governments irrespective of where they come from. A number of these people might consider re-immigrating, for this, the Indian government must check the markets and deport migrants to that area where demand is high. 

CONCLUSION

At this point, India needs to strengthen its ties concerning migrant labours with Kuwait and other GCC countries, where most of the Indian workforce resides. While maintaining bilateral ties is important, a roadmap needs to be prepared for the development of international migration policy for labours which would take into consideration both returnees and migrant workers from the country. In a regional meeting under the aegis of MEA (ministry of external affairs) organised by India together with Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the strengthening of bilateral relations during this times to protect migrants workers was deemed to be a priority, which was supported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). 

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Swarming

The swarms are enormous masses of tens of billions of flying bugs. Locust swarms can travel up to 81 miles and more each day, with 40 billion to 80 billion locusts packed in half a square mile. A swarm of locust in the year 1988, flew from West Africa to the Caribbean, covering a distance of 3100 miles in just ten days. One of the locust’s species- the desert locust, is found in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, they inhabit an area of about six million square miles or thirty countries. Desert locusts possess a threat to the economic livelihood of a tenth of humans. Locusts are migratory, transboundary pests. They ride the winds, crisscrossing swaths of land until they find something they want to munch on. They especially love cereal grain crops, planted extensively across Africa. 

How Do Locusts Affect Food Security?

“The locusts are in your field for a morning, and by midday, there’s hardly anything left in your field, it’s just eaten.” Locusts are voracious eaters. Each locust can eat its own weight in plants, so a locust’s swarm comprising of 40 to 80 million locusts can consume about 423 million pounds of plants every day. The largest locusts outbreak occurred in 2003 and lasted till 2005, and damaged crops worth $2.5 billion. Studies showed that the effect of this outbreak was largely felt by the subsistence farmers. This in return affects the education of the children who grew up in that period since it was difficult to go to schools, and girls were disproportionately affected. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), locust invasion is an unusual threat to food security and livelihood in parts of East and West Africa, South West Asia, and India. Africa is very vulnerable since they had consecutive years of droughts, heavy rains, and floods. The potential hunger threat to Africa is tremendous since it is a region where 42 million were already slated to face acute food insecurity.

The map points towards the Global Forecast for desert locust (May- July). The map shows the threat to agricultural production in East Africa, the Indo-Pak border, Sudan, and the Sahel in West Africa. The danger is likely to increase due to rainfall and spring in East Africa. The swarms have begun migrating from Baluchistan and can be seen in Rajasthan, India. The locust attack can be termed as a “two-front war” since it is a challenge for India and the African continent to ensure food security as well as fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Food security in the Afro- Asian region is at risk since the locust is breeding in East Africa, Yemen, and Southern Iran.  

According to the 2020 Global Report on Food Crisis, there are 135 million severely food insecure people spread across fifty-five countries and territories. Most of these people are in the Middle East and Asia, Lake Chad Basin, Central Sahel, Horn of Africa and Southern Africa, and Central America. A study by the World Food Programme shows that 130 million more are thrust towards hunger due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This gives a total of 265 million food-insecure people who would need food and nutrition as they lack any means to survive the health and economic consequences of the crisis. The monsoon season in East Africa and India would create a perfect environment for locusts to breed. Food shortage already prevailing in these regions, further these locusts attack would lead to increased food security. 

In India already 1.7 hectares of agricultural land in Rajasthan and Gujrat has been destroyed by locust attack. The presence of locusts is also detected in Punjab and Haryana. Experts suggest that locust mainly breeds in rainwater and areas affected by the cyclone. The rising temperature and changes in the climate would worsen the situation in the upcoming month. The Agricultural Ministry is investing in spraying equipment and drones to prevent the attacks. Since they can have catastrophic on Rabi crops in Rajasthan and Gujrat. Scientists warn that the locusts could push agrarian parts of India to the brink of disaster, severely disrupting food supplies and slashing earnings for millions of struggling farmers. 

How is the World Fighting Locust Attack?

Countries are taking various steps to the invasion under control, but with the outbreak of the coronavirus, it has become more difficult to fight the locust attack. In this difficult time, it is important to adapt to integrated environmentally safer measures. These may include:

1. Preventive Measures: Early detection infrastructure can be used for tracking, thus helping in keeping an eye on the spread of locusts. 
2. Post-outbreak Control Measures: Using environmentally friendly biopesticides, since it will not harm the environment and ecosystem.
3. Integrated Approach: Countries shall form effective policies and enhance social security programs, including compensation for farmers, producers, and local community residents.

The primary effect is taken by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, which runs the Desert Locust Watch to track locust migration patterns. A US $ 500 million program approved by the World Bank to support countries like Africa and the Middle East affected by the locust attack. The main aim of the program is to help the affected households, cover up their immediate food needs and protect their physical and human capital assets while building up national surveillance and early warning systems to diminish future outbreaks. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has teamed up with the United Nations to remodel technology earlier used for tracking smoke plumes from fires to foresee a locust attack.

Conclusion

The combined crisis of Covid-19 and Locust is a major challenge and may lead to more disasters such as drought, disease, and increased poverty. The loss of agricultural productivity, the discontinuity of supply chains, the lack of labour, and the disruption of wholesale and transport markets due to the lockdown have had a catastrophic effect on the economy. The closing of borders as part of the quarantine measures has imposed restrictions on the movement of probable aid to tackle the locust problem.

This calls for an integrated strategy with increased monitoring, surveillance, and expenditure in a preparedness program to make vulnerable nations more immune to locust attacks. Social security, such as insurance, must be given to farmers and consumers through effective governance.

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