Prophet Muhammad row: Kuwait stores boycott Indian goods
What started as a tit-for-tat comment on a TV news show has led to Kuwait stores removing Indian products from its shelves because they cannot tolerate any comments against Prophet Muhammad. Here is how this political matter exploded into the business arena.
THE TRIGGER
Two former BJP leaders made derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad, Islamic religious symbols, and beliefs. These remarks were wrong and made on TV and Twitter respectively by Nupur Sharma, who was then BJP's national spokesperson, and by Naveen Jindal, who was then the BJP media head in Delhi.
BJP'S DAMAGE CONTROL
BJP denounced their spokesperson's comments, suspended Nupur Sharma, and expelled Naveen Jindal. BJP also shared a statement on the lines of them respecting all religions, but internationally, things went a tad out of control. This is because BJP's damage control actions came after international countries protested against these remarks.
HUGE UPROAR IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES
After major news channels termed this event as an ''insult against the Prophet of Islam in an Indian TV show', countries like Qatar, Kuwait, and Iran called the Indian ambassadors and envoys to clarify the Indian government's stand. The Indian envoys have 'expressed regret & said any insult against Prophet of Islam is unacceptable & this doesn't reflect the position of Indian gov't, which has shown the utmost respect for all religions.'
Countries like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Maldives, Bahrain, and organizations like the Muslim World League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and The Gulf Cooperation Council condemned these remarks. But Bahrain appreciated the action taken by the BJP against its two leaders.
As if that was not enough, there were reports of superstores in Saudi Arab, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar removing Indian goods from shelves after social media protests to boycott Indian goods. Workers at the Al-Ardiya Co-Operative Society in Kuwait piled Indian tea and other products into trolleys and sacks of rice, shelves of spices, and chilies were covered with plastic sheets. Printed signs in Arabic read: 'We have removed Indian products'. To add fuel to the fire, Pakistani Minister Parvez Elahi incited the Arab world to not only immediately boycott Indian products but also send their labourers back.
Countries like Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait import over 85% of their food from India. Their aviation industry depends on Indians and so does their imports of rice, buffalo meat, spices, marine products, fruits, vegetables, and sugar.
Millions of Indians live in the Gulf countries which helps India receive the biggest part of foreign remittances. India also gets about 60% of its oil from the Gulf. India and the Gulf both need each other to survive, so boycotting Indian products or vice-versa seems to be unlikely.