WISER from its decision to back the Gaddafi regime in Libya, which went all wrong, India has played all its cards well in the Syrian conflict. New Delhi jumped off the fence and went along with the Arab nations in the Middle East where it has invested substantially.

There are about 5 million Indians employed in the Gulf who remit a lot of money. This probably weighed on New Delhi when opting to go along with the Arab plan for a change in Damascus when voting on the Security Council resolution. The six nations of the Gulf Co-operation Council are the principal providers of crude oil and destinations for India’s exports. However, the double veto by Russia and China prevented the council from adopting the resolution. India is emerging as a major player on the world stage and therefore, can no longer look at international relations through the prism of defending third world sovereignty against Western intervention. The reaction to Syrian conflict is not about protecting human rights, but has more to do with the political shift taking place in the Middle East, which started with Egypt and gained momentum with the fall of Colonel Gaddafi. More bloodshed will follow in Syria, but New Delhi will have to react cautiously, putting the nation’s interest ahead of playing to the gallery.