New Delhi — Trump's speech, which mostly focused on fighting terrorism and extremism during the summit and conveniently ignored the other issues plaguing the Middle East and Africa, has been greeted with optimism and hope in India.
Media reports on the event have also created euphoria that New Delhi is very high on Washington's agenda in the fight against terrorism. Experts noted that the US, India cooperation on terrorism has grown and both countries are sharing information and collaborating on many related fronts. But they also reminded that more concrete steps need to be taken with like-minded countries in the fight against terrorism, instead of getting into a celebratory mood over symbolic statements.
"America has suffered repeated barbaric attacks — from the atrocities of September 11 to the devastation of the Boston Bombing, to the horrible killings in San Bernardino and Orlando. The nations of Europe have also endured unspeakable horror. So too have the nations of Africa and even South America. India, Russia, China and Australia have been victims," Trump said in his over 35-minute speech on Sunday.
There is no tangible impact from Trump including India in the list of countries afflicted with terrorism, especially when it came at an event in Riyadh."Mentioning India along with some other countries as victims of terror is no big deal. That India is a victim of terror is an indisputable fact," Brahma Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies, at the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research, told Sputnik.
Prof Chellaney has consistently talked about the connection between the Sunni-Salafi ideology of Wahhabism promoted by Saudi Arabia and its close links with Daesh.
"Both India and the US have been victims of terrorism. In the post-9/11 environment, the way the two countries perceived the security threat amidst the rise of Islamic terrorism has brought them closer on this front. Terrorism remains both the nations' concern. Al-Qaeda is today replaced by Daesh, but terrorism remains a security threat. In the post Mumbai terror attack, both the nations have worked together and have avoided many terrorist attacks. Under Trump and Modi, the cooperation on counter-terrorism will become deeper. There is greater convergence under Trump and the Modi administration," Dr Ashok Sharma, adjunct faculty at University of New South Wales, Canberra at Australian Defence Force Academy, told Sputnik.
Meanwhile, during a recent response in the Indian parliament, Home Minister Rajnath Singh expressed concern over rising extremism in the Kashmir Valley, especially over the Daesh recruitment of Indian youth. In his reply to a question in the lower house of parliament, Singh said about 23 youth are believed to have joined Daesh.
