Pakistan The port city of Gwadar was once a small, sleepy town of fishermen and traders. After the intervention of the Chinese, this hammer-shaped fishing village has now become the third largest port city of Pakistan. Let us tell you that Gwadar was not always a part of Pakistan. It was under Oman for about 200 years until the 1950s. According to records, Gwadar was under the control of the Sultan of Oman since 1783. In 1958, the Omani government had proposed its merger with India, but the first Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru refused to do so.
After the Indian government rejected the proposal, Pakistan was offered to buy Gwadar. Pakistan bought Gwadar in 1958 for 3 million pounds. Most of the people know a lot about Jahan Ghulam Kashmir. At the same time, very few people know the story of the handing over of Kachchativu to Sri Lanka in 1974 and the merger of Gwadar with Pakistan in 1958. Apart from this, very few people would know how Tibet was accepted as a part of China in 1953. Not only this, there was never any political discussion on these issues in India. Now BJP has started cornering Congress on these issues with Kachchativu.
A single mistake equals a list of strategic mistakes
Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) wrote in a 2016 article titled ‘India’s Historical Mistake’ that not accepting the precious gift from the Sultan of Oman was the only mistake in a long list of strategic blunders after independence. Was. He had written that today no one even talks about the historical mistake of Gwadar joining Pakistan, whereas this mistake has given rise to many big questions. The question arises that how did a small fishing town across the Gulf of Oman come under the control of the Omani Sultan? India Today’s report raises the question as to why Pt. Nehru did not accept it? What would have happened if India had captured Gwadar in 1956?
Gwadar, located on the Makran coast of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, first came under Omani control in 1783.
How Gwadar area came under the control of Oman
First of all, let us talk about Gwadar being captured by the Omani Sultan. Gwadar, located on the Makran coast of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, first came under Omani control in 1783. Mir Noori Naseer Khan Baloch, Khan of Kalat, gifted this area to Sultan bin Ahmed, Prince of Muscat. It is said that there was an agreement between the two that if the prince ascended the throne of Oman, he would return Gwadar Khan Mir. Peshukan and Sur Bandar, two fishing villages adjacent to Gwadar, were also under the control of Oman. Sultan bin Ahmed maintained Gwadar as a base for attacks on Arabia across the coast until 1792. With this he captured Muscat. But, Gwadar Khan was not returned.
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British India government had given proposal to Oman
According to archaeologist Martin Woodward’s article ‘Gwadar: The Sultan’s Possession’, between 1895 and 1904, proposals were made by the Khan of Kalat and the British India government to purchase Gwadar from the Omanis, but no decision could be taken. Let us tell you that since 1763, the administration of Gwadar was handled by a British agent, but amidst the signs of oil reserves in the area, the Khan of Kalat kept demanding to hand over Gwadar to him. According to letters sent by both, the Sultan of Oman also kept talking to the British about a possible handover in return for military and financial help against the rebels. This was the same Khan of Kalat, who ruled Pakistan-occupied Balochistan in March 1948 under the government of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
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What would have happened if the Indian government had accepted the proposal?
Most of Baluchistan came under the control of Pakistan in 1948, but the coastal strip around Gwadar did not come under its control until 1952. This was the time when the Sultan of Oman offered the Indian government to buy Gwadar. According to experts, if that deal had been done, the South Asian geopolitical situation and history would have been different. According to the report, former member of the National Security Advisory Board, Pramit Pal Chaudhary says that after talks with two Indian diplomats, the Sultan of Oman had offered Gwadar to Pandit Nehru. Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retired) also wrote in the article that after independence, the administration of Gwadar was being handled by India on behalf of the Sultan of Oman.
At present, Gwadar Port is a major strategic port in the eyes of global powers.
When did Gwadar area come under the control of Pakistan?
It was further written in the article that the proposal to buy Gwadar from Oman to India came in 1956. Pandit Nehru rejected the proposal and in 1958, Oman sold Gwadar to Pakistan for 3 million pounds. Documents related to Gwadar discussion are present in the National Archives. At the same time, this was also discussed in some articles of that period. It is said that the Jain community of India was interested in purchasing Gwadar from Oman. Azhar Ahmed has written in his paper ‘Gwadar: A Historical Kaleidoscope’ that according to some documents made public by the British government, the Jain community had offered to buy Gwadar. When the government of Pakistan came to know about this, the government there intensified its efforts to buy Gwadar. Pakistan signed the agreement to purchase Gwadar on 1 August 1958. Oman first handed over Gwadar to Britain. Then it was handed over to Pakistan.
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After all, why did Pandit Nehru reject the proposal?
According to national security expert Pramit Pal Chaudhary, Pandit Nehru did not alone decide not to buy Gwadar. According to India Today report, the decision to reject the Omani proposal was taken based on the situation at that time. The then Foreign Secretary Subimal Dutt and Indian Intelligence Bureau chief BN Malik had recommended not accepting Sultan’s proposal. In fact, if Pt. Nehru had accepted and purchased Gwadar, it would have been an Indian enclave in Pakistan without any land access. The situation would have been exactly the same for Pakistan as it was in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The logic behind not purchasing Gwadar was that it would be impossible to protect Gwadar from any attack by Pakistan.
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How important is Gwadar port in the present times?
Pandit Nehru was hoping for better relations with Pakistan. If India had bought Gwadar, it would have unnecessarily provoked Pakistan. However, today this decision may seem like a diplomatic mistake. At the same time, the other aspect is that this decision was very practical. At present, Gwadar Port is a major strategic port in the eyes of global powers. Pakistan succeeded in developing Gwadar as a deep water port in 2008 after a long survey. Due to CPEC, railway lines and motorways started in Gwadar. From here, Pakistan has direct access to some areas of China.
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Tags: India Pakistan Relations, india pakistan war, Jawaharlal Nehru, Oman
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 13, 2024, 21:03 IST