ORGANISATION OF ISLAMIC COOPERATION (OIC) AND INDIA CONNECT
March 4, 2019

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was invited to deliver an address at the 46th Session of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) summit, held in Abu Dhabi on 1-2 March. 

About: 

  • What is it? It is an international organization with the primary objective of safeguarding the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony. 

  • Origin: It was established in 1969 after attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. 

  • Membership: It is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations with a membership of 57 states. Of these, 47 are Muslim Majority countries. 

  • Observer countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina; Central African Republic; Thailand; Russia and Turkish Cypriot State. 

  • Headquarters (HQ): Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 

India and OIC: Analysis 

  • India’s stand on OIC membership: India, had shown an interest in joining the OIC as a member state at the time of its formation. However, India has never since made a formal application to join OIC as an observer or as a member state. 

  • View of OIC members: 
    • India's potential candidacy is supported by some OIC members as in the past few decade, India’s relations with the Islamic world have undergone a considerable transformation. 

    • Infact, former Saudi ruler Abdullah had, in 2006, proposed that India become an observer in OIC. 

    • However, Pakistan's strong opposition and threat to boycott the OIC has effectively led to India's inclusion in the OIC being blocked. 

    • Pakistan has argued that India's inclusion in OIC would violate the rules of the OIC, which require that an aspirant state should not have an ongoing conflict with a member state. 



  • Arguments for India Joining it: 
    • In terms of Muslims as a percentage of the global population, India ranks third after Indonesia and Pakistan. Thus a large number of Muslim populations remain untouched by the good work of OIC. 

    • In the past, Pakistan has used the OIC to hit out at Indian actions in Jammu & Kashmir. There is an OIC Contact Group on Jammu & Kashmir which regularly passes resolutions criticising India. Thus by becoming a member/observer, India can check it. 

    • G. Immediately after the Balakot strike on 26 February, The OIC formally condemned “India’s violation of the Line of Control” with Pakistan, an OIC founding member state. 

    • The 57-nation strong OIC are too large a bloc of countries to ignore. 



  • Arguments for not Joining it: The OIC statements mean less these days because a number of OIC countries privately dissociate themselves from the grouping, considering it more of an irritant. 

OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) summit, Abu Dhabi: 

  • Positives:
    • External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the two-day meeting at the invitation of the Foreign Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. This is a milestone in the comprehensive strategic partnership with the UAE. 

    • This is the first time that a leader of non-Muslim country has been invited to the OIC conference. 

    • It is also a welcome recognition of the presence of 185 million Muslims in India and of India’s contribution to the Islamic world. 



  • Negatives: 
    • While, there was no condemnation of India’s actions in Kashmir in the Abu Dhabi Declaration, a resolution was passed expressing “unwavering support for the Kashmiri people in their just cause” and condemning the recent waves of Indian “terrorism”. 

    • The resolution criticised the human rights excesses of the Indian forces and called for the implementation of the UNSC resolutions on Kashmir. 



Concluding remarks:

  • Thus the recent invite is not quite the triumph for India as is being made out in official circles, but it is an important development for the future. 

  • What the OIC says and does, matters little. But in today’s information age, its positions shape perceptions, which, in turn, influence policy. 

  • The OIC invite marks a successful breaching of the OIC solidarity by India. Whether or not it remains a one-off affair depends as much on India’s diplomacy, as well as ability to convince the world of its case in Kashmir. 

https://www.orfonline.org/research/indias-oic-moment-isnt-a-triumph-but-it-wasnt-a-failure-either-48781/