Reply: West Asia, especially the Gulf region, is host to almost nine million Indians, who are working not only for their livelihood but are also contributing towards the economic growth of their respective host countries.

Md. Muddassir Quamar replies: With time, the Palestinian issue has lost some of its strategic importance. Historically, the question of Palestine occupied centrality in West Asian politics and was the primary issue during the heydays of Pan-Arabism in the 1950s and 1960s. The Arab defeat in 1967 significantly changed the regional geopolitical dynamics. The 1978 Camp David Accords and the subsequent signing of a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1979 resulted in Palestine losing an important regional supporter.

Adil Rasheed replies: Indian academicians prefer to use the term West Asia and not the Middle East. The term Middle East may have made some geographical sense for British colonialists ruling from London, but that has lost relevance following the disappearance of the British empire after World War II. In fact, the term Middle East outside its vague colonial context does not specify the geographical region it refers to.

Please refer to the following publications:
“Special Address by Shri Anil Wadhwa, Secretary (East), MEA, GoI at the 2nd West Asia Conference”, IDSA, January 20, 2016.

P. R. Kumaraswamy and Meena Singh Roy (eds.), Persian Gulf 2016-17: India's Relations with the Region, Pentagon Press, IDSA, New Delhi, 2018.