Boycott on spot ?

The call to boycott Turkey and Azerbaijan is currently trending in India following these Nations’ open support for Pakistan. Similarly, there’s a growing demand to boycott Pakistani artistes. But do such boycotts actually work? To a certain extent, yes.

Turkey supporting Pakistan is understandable. An Indo-Pak war means more money for Turkey and its President’s family.

Let’s not forget that a key global supplier of the most robust, cheap and deadly combat drones is none other than Selcuk Bayraktar, the Chairman of Turkish Defence Firm Baykar and the son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Erdogan. So yeah, they’ll support Pakistan.

Azerbaijan, on the other hand, supports Pakistan as a matter of returning the favour it had received from Islamabad in 2020, while India was seen as supporting its enemy, Armenia!

In 2020, Azerbaijan and Armenia went to a mini-war over a territory called Nagorno-Karabakh. This area lies geographically within the borders of Azerbaijan but has an ethnic Armenian population.

In this war, Azerbaijan emerged victorious largely due to support from Turkey and Pakistan.

Following this victory, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Turkey formed a stronger alliance, dubbing themselves the “Three Brothers,” pledging mutual support on issues including Karabakh, Kashmir and Northern Cyprus respectively.

While Pakistan not only unequivocally supported Azerbaijan and reportedly sent its mercenaries to fight for Azerbaijan, India was stuck in an indecisive state. Why?

Because by the time this war broke out, India had already signed an agreement with Armenia for the delivery of Swathi weapon locating radars, Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers and the Akash-1S missile defence system.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev had explicitly requested India to refrain from supplying Armenia, citing national security concerns, but the agreement was already in place.

Ironically, despite Azerbaijan’s strong support for Pakistan regarding Kashmir, it continues to seek weapons from India, highlighting the complicated nature of today’s geopolitics.

The intertwining of technology, economics, and shifting allegiances often makes modern international relations resemble interactions with entities suffering from bipolar disorder or multiple personality disorder.

For instance, while Turkey, Pakistan and Azerbaijan claim to be ‘Bhaijans’ brought together by Islamic solidarity, Azerbaijan is a supporter of Israel! This stands in stark contrast to Turkey and Pakistan, both openly hostile to Israel.

Azerbaijan supports Israel not just because they have energy agreements but because Israel is their ally who helped them fight against Iran in 2022-2023 !

Similarly, in response to the Feb. 6, 2023, earthquakes in Southern Turkey, India was the first Nation to send six C-17 military aircraft filled with over 250 trained personnel, specialised equipment and relief materials. The humanitarian mission was called ‘Operation Dost’ and now where is the reciprocation to that dosti?!

Indeed, geopolitics is a perplexing game.

For now, India still requires oil from Azerbaijan, while Azerbaijan values Indian tourists and defence technology. There is room for negotiation.

Turkey, however, may suffer more from a boycott, as India’s primary imports from Turkey are non-critical items such as apples and marble slabs. But Indian tourists and trade are crucial to them.

Such economic pressure will have an economic impact on ordinary citizens, which puts pressure on the Governments to think twice before they take sides.

Meanwhile, what about boycotting artistes from Pakistan?

While the liberal Indians criticise the boycott, they must also acknowledge the imbalance.