EVOLVING PRAGMATISM IN INDO-TURKISH RELATIONS : FROM COLD WAR TO POSTCOLD WAR PERIOD

The main objective of this paper is to explicate and underline various facets of India-Turkey relations since India’s independence. At the outset it is to note that India’s ties with the Turkish or Turkic people is very old and historically can be traced back to the first century B.C. (from the time of Kushans). We know that, the peoples from Central Asia and Altaic regions started migrating in phases from their original homelands towards western and southern directions and settled in various regions. A group of people (O uz Turks), settled on Anatolia/Asia Minor who later established the g Ottoman Empire and some others like Uzbeks, Chagtai, Ilbari and Qaraunah Turks entered the Indian soil through Afghanistan and established the Sultanate at Delhi (13th century) and later the Mughal Empire (16th century) on Indian Sub-Continent and ruled during the next few centuries. There were extensive relations between the people of Anatolian region and the Indian Sub-Continent (Sultanate, Mughal and British periods) that existed from medieval period through the modern times. The interactions and cultural exchanges throughout the history, particularly between the Turkish people from Ottoman Empire and elsewhere and the people of the Indian SubContinent have resulted in substantial influence on different aspects of lives in these regions.