Is India backing Armenia on ground and ONLINE because of Azerbaijan’s Kashmir stance?
The Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO has been collecting donations from India to help Armenians
Despite the peace announcement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Indians have been entrusting their unconditional support to Armenia on every possible forum. It is interesting to note that this goes against the official Indian ‘neutral’ stand, which has asked the fighting parties to “maintain peace” in the region.
In an official statement, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said, “India is concerned over the Karabakh situation, which threatens regional peace and security. We reiterate the need for the sides to cease hostilities immediately, keep restraint, and take all probable measures to sustain peace at the border.”
We have seen disturbing reports of resumption of hostility between Armenia and Azerbaijan. India is concerned over this situation which threatened regional peace & security. We reiterate the need for the sides to seize hostility immediately: Ministry of External Affairs pic.twitter.com/1SBmP1gP4m
— ANI (@ANI) October 1, 2020
According to a paper by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a defense and strategic policy think tank based in Canberra, Indian accounts have been backing Armenia with #IndiaSupportsArmenia – gaining a lot of traction on social media.
The Former Indian envoy to Yerevan, Achal Malhotra, explained in a report published by The Indian Express that Armenia and India have old ties.
India has ties with both #Armenia & #Azerbaijan but Armenia strongly supports India on Kashmir & Armenia has no ties with #Pak If Pakistan and #Turkey are against someone, then that country must be on the right side.India support armenia unconditionally????#IndiaSupportArmenia
— Murlidhar (@Murlidhar007) September 28, 2020
He said, “The presence of Armenians in India can be traced to the late 8th century. For decades, Kolkata has been home to the country’s Indian-Armenian community. Historians credit much of the city’s development and the establishment of some of its most iconic educational institutes to the Armenian community.”
“Azerbaijan has been critical to us on the Kashmir issue,” said Malhotra.
While Yerevan has robust virtual support from India – several Indians have been helping Armenians on the ground as well.
Three days after fighting erupted in the Nagorno-Karabakh, a 21-year-old medical student Sanjay Yadav, took six friends to Yerevan’s Republic Square to donate food and water for Armenian soldiers on the frontlines, the Indian Express report noted.
Just to say thank you means say nothing.
Indian community in Armenia helps people coming from Artsakh with prepared food from Indian Mehak Restaurant"We will continue to help all the Armenians during these challenging times"
????❤ #Artsakhstrong#India #Armenia pic.twitter.com/daL873g7xE— davìd ???? (@daveadamyan) October 5, 2020
Reportedly, the Indo-Armenian Friendship NGO has been collecting donations from India for helping Armenians affected by the two-week war fought between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“By supporting Armenia’s stance, India will necessarily be endorsing the right to self-determination,” said Malhotra.
“There has been an accepted interest of territorial integrity involved in the dispute. India’s backing of Armenian secessionists’ could have strategic outcomes for us on Kashmir, he added.
What are your thoughts on this? Please share with us in the comment section below.
no surprises there.