For India, however, the turmoil in Syria represents the loss of what analysts call a crucial Islamist “voice of support” on one of its thorniest issues: Kashmir.
While New Delhi has long maintained that the Kashmir dispute is a bilateral issue between itself and Pakistan, Syria’s continued support at the United Nations and elsewhere has been seen as a quiet but significant victory.
“The voice of support from the Arab-Islamic world was significant,” said Kabir Taneja, a Middle East expert and deputy director of the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi. During Bashar al-Assad’s reign, Syria repeatedly stressed that Kashmir was an internal issue that India should resolve on its own without outside interference.
Now, with Assad gone, the future of that support is uncertain.
Opposition forces captured the Syrian capital last weekend, forcing Assad to flee and ending his family’s decades-long rule in a country torn by a civil war that has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions more.
Indian media reported that the dramatic turn of events caught Delhi by surprise. India hosted a delegation of Syrian officials a few weeks ago.
