One day one of our coddled young men ordered a cup of coffee from an Indian tea boy. For some reason, the order was delayed and furious at the delay, the pampered youth took out a gun and shot the boy. The case went to court and the youth was tried, convicted and sentenced.
This story raises the question why some here look down on others — in this particular case, Indians. If those individuals had a mind and used it, they would have discovered that India is no ordinary country. It is a nation with a rich and varied cultural heritage going back far into history.
Despite problems and difficulties, Indians have succeeded in protecting their heritage from being lost. This is the very India that triumphed over Great Britain in the last century, making the world’s greatest colonial power watch the sun set on its dominions and finally become an American satellite.
Mahatma Gandhi is a name revered not only by Indians but by people all over world. The slim half-naked fakir, as some of the British used to call him, wrestled with the greatest world power at the time and led a non-violent movement that won his country its independence. The Gandhi legacy is now taught in textbooks all over the world.
Large numbers of Indians are all over the world and they earn the country billions of dollars in annual remittances. India has always been something familiar to us here; you can find evidences of it in our homes, cuisine and tales narrated by grandparents to their descendants throughout the Gulf.
India has always been a strong supporter of Arab causes, especially through the Non-Alignment Movement. The reason India established strong relations with Israel at the expense of its ties with the Arabs is that world policy is governed by interests and influenced by international alliances. Such a change of course should not prevent us from seeking to rekindle and strengthen our relations with India and to benefit from its vast expertise and potential. This can best be done through channels other than trade — science and technology being an important one.
