India–Mongolia relations
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India–Mongolia relations (; ), also known as Indian-Mongolian relations or Indo-Mongolian relations, are bilateral relations between the democratic republics of India and Mongolia. These relations are rapidly developing, with Indo-Mongolian cooperation formerly limited to diplomatic visits, provision of soft loans and financial aid and the collaborations in the IT sector; but were enhanced in 2015 by Narendra Modi's visit to Ulaanbaatar, where the two Prime Ministers declared a "strategic partnership" between the two Asian democracies. India established diplomatic relations in December 1955. India was the first country outside the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
to establish diplomatic relations with Mongolia. Since then, there have been treaties of mutual friendship and cooperation between the two countries in 1973, 1994, 2001 and 2004. Mongolia supports India's candidature as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, while India supported the inclusion of Mongolia as a full member of the Non-Aligned Movement. According to a 2010
Gallup Gallup may refer to: *Gallup, Inc., a firm founded by George Gallup, well known for its opinion poll *Gallup (surname), a surname *Gallup, New Mexico, a city in New Mexico, United States **Gallup station, an Amtrak train in downtown Gallup, New Me ...
poll, 26% of Mongolians approve of Indian leadership, with 9% disapproving and 66% uncertain. In December 2016, Mongolia asked for financial help from India after the country's border with China was blocked. Following Indian External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj's visit to Mongolia in April 2018, India & Mongolia decided to establish an air-corridor to boost bilateral trade. It is also expected that construction of Mongolia's first ever oil refinery will commence in 2023 with technical & financial assistance from Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL).


Historical relations

There has been historical interaction between India and Mongolia for over 2,700 years. Indo-Mongolian relations, Pg 7


Delhi Sultanate

During the
Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).
, the Turco-Mongol conqueror in Central Asia, Timur (Tamerlane), attacked the reigning Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud of the Tughlaq dynasty in the north Indian city of Delhi. The Sultan's army was defeated on 17 December 1398. Timur entered Delhi and the city was sacked, destroyed, and left in ruins, after Timur's army had killed and plundered for three days and nights. He ordered the whole city to be sacked except for the sayyids, scholars, and the other Muslims; 100,000 war prisoners were put to death in one day.


Mughal Empire

In 1526,
Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...
, a
Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror: * Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent ** Timurid Empire of C ...
descendant of Timur and
Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...
from Fergana Valley (modern day Uzbekistan), swept across the
Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversing pa ...
and established the Mughal Empire, covering modern day Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. However, his son Humayun was defeated by the
Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
warrior Sher Shah Suri in the year 1540, and Humayun was forced to retreat to Kabul. After Sher Shah's death, his son Islam Shah Suri and the Hindu king
Hemu Hemu (; also known as Hemu Vikramaditya and Hemchandra Vikramaditya; died 5 November 1556) was an Indian emperor who previously served as a general and Wazir of Adil Shah Suri of Sur Empire during a period in Indian history when Mughals and A ...
, who had won 22 battles against Afghan rebels and forces of Akbar, from Punjab to Bengal and had established a secular
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
rule in North India from Delhi until 1556.
Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
's forces defeated and killed
Hemu Hemu (; also known as Hemu Vikramaditya and Hemchandra Vikramaditya; died 5 November 1556) was an Indian emperor who previously served as a general and Wazir of Adil Shah Suri of Sur Empire during a period in Indian history when Mughals and A ...
in the
Second Battle of Panipat The Second Battle of Panipat was fought on 5 November 1556, between Akbar and the king of Delhi, Hemu. Hemu had conquered Delhi and Agra a few weeks earlier by defeating Mughal forces under Tardi Beg Khan in the battle of Delhi and crowned him ...
on 6 November 1556. The Mughal dynasty ruled most of the Indian subcontinent by 1600; it went into a slow decline after 1707. The Mughals suffered a severe blow due to invasions from Marathas and
Afghans Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry f ...
due to which the Mughal dynasty were reduced to puppet rulers by
1757 Events January–March * January 2 – Seven Years' War: The British Army, under the command of Robert Clive, captures Calcutta, India. * January 5 – Robert-François Damiens makes an unsuccessful assassination attempt ...
. The remnants of the Mughal dynasty were finally defeated and taken over by the British during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, also called the 1857 War of Independence. As the British took over the remnants of the Mughal Empire, the dynasty was ended. The Mughals were perhaps the richest single dynasty to have ever existed. During the Mughal era, the dominant political forces consisted of the Mughal Empire and its tributaries and, later on, the rising successor states - including the Maratha Empire - which fought an increasingly weak Mughal dynasty. The Mughals, while often employing brutal tactics to subjugate their empire, had a policy of integration with Indian culture, which is what made them successful where the short-lived Sultanates of Delhi had failed.
Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...
the Great was particularly famed for this. Akbar declared "Amari" or non-killing of animals in the holy days of Jainism. He rolled back the ''
jizya Jizya ( ar, جِزْيَة / ) is a per capita yearly taxation historically levied in the form of financial charge on dhimmis, that is, permanent Kafir, non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The jizya tax has been unde ...
'' tax for non-Muslims. The Mughal emperors married local royalty, allied themselves with local '' maharajas'', and attempted to fuse their Turko-Persian culture with ancient Indian styles, creating a unique Indo-Saracenic architecture. It was the erosion of this tradition coupled with increased brutality and
centralization Centralisation or centralization (see spelling differences) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, framing strategy and policies become concentrated within a particu ...
that played a large part in the dynasty's downfall after
Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
, who unlike previous emperors, imposed relatively non-pluralistic policies on the general population, which often inflamed the majority
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
population.


Cultural exchanges


Buddhism

Buddhism was carried to Mongolia by Indian missionaries during the early Christian era. As a result, today, Buddhists form the single largest religious denomination in Mongolia. Buddhists entered the service of Mongol Empire in the early 13th century. Buddhist monasteries established in Karakorum were granted tax exempt status, though the religion was not given official status by the Mongols until later. All variants of Buddhism, such as
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
,
Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...
and Indian Buddhism flourished, though Tibetan Buddhism was eventually favored at the imperial level under emperor Möngke, who appointed Namo from
Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
as chief of all Buddhist monks. Ogedei's son and Guyuk's younger brother, Khoten, became the governor of Ningxia and
Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...
. He launched a military campaign into Tibet under the command of Generals Lichi and Dhordha, and the marauding Mongols burned down Tibetan monuments such as the Reting monastery and the Gyal temple in 1240. Prince Kötön was convinced that no power in the world exceeded the might of the Mongols. However, he also believed that religion was necessary in the interests of the next life. Thus he invited Sakya Pandita to his ordo. Prince Kötön was impressed and healed by Sakya Pandita's teachings and knowledge, and later became the first known Buddhist prince of Mongol empire.
Kublai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...
, the founder of Yuan dynasty, also favored Buddhism. As early as the 1240s, he made contacts with a
Chan Chan may refer to: Places *Chan (commune), Cambodia *Chan Lake, by Chan Lake Territorial Park in Northwest Territories, Canada People *Chan (surname), romanization of various Chinese surnames (including 陳, 曾, 詹, 戰, and 田) *Chan Caldwel ...
Buddhist monk Haiyun, who became his Buddhist adviser. Kublai's second son, whom he later officially designated as his successor in the Yuan dynasty, was given a Chinese name " Zhenjin" (literally, "True Gold") by Haiyun. Khatun Chabi influenced Kublai to be converted to Buddhism, as she had received the Hévajra tantra initiations from Phagspa and been impressed. Kublai appointed Phagspa his state preceptor, and later imperial preceptor, giving him power over all the Buddhist monks within the territory of the Yuan dynasty. For the rest of the Yuan dynasty in Mongolia and China, until the Mongols were overthrown in 1368, Tibetan lamas were the most influential Buddhist clergy. Via the Tibetan clergy, Indian Buddhist textual tradition strongly influenced the religious life in the Empire. Some of the Ilkhans in Iran held Paghmo gru-pa order as their appanage in Tibet and lavishly patronized a variety of Indian, Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist monks. But in 1295,
Ghazan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes archaically spelled as Casanus by the Westerners) was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of A ...
persecuted Buddhists and destroyed their temples. Before his conversion to Islam though, he had built a Buddhist temple in
Khorasan Khorasan may refer to: * Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan * Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
. The 14th century Buddhist scriptures found at archaeological sites related to Chagatai Khanate show the popularity of Buddhism among the Mongols and the Uighurs. Tokhta of Golden Horde also encouraged
lama Lama (; "chief") is a title for a teacher of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term ''guru'', meaning "heavy one", endowed with qualities the student will eventually embody. The Tibetan word "lama" means "hi ...
s to settle in Russia, but his policy was halted by his
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
successor Ozbeg Khan.


Modern times

India established formal diplomatic relations with Mongolia on December 24, 1955, thereby becoming the first country outside the
Soviet bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
to establish diplomatic relations with the country. Since then, there have been numerous diplomatic visits and interactions between the two countries. India sponsored Mongolia's candidacy for membership of the United Nations in 1961 despite opposition from Taiwan and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and in 1973, Mongolia reciprocated to the Indian gesture by becoming the second country after Bhutan to recognise Bangladesh as an independent country following the
liberation of Bangladesh The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...
by Indian troops.


Joint Declaration of 1973

An Indo-Mongolian joint declaration was signed in February 1973 during the Indian visit of the Mongolian Prime Minister Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal.


Treaty of Friendly Relations and Cooperation (1994)

A treaty of friendly relations and cooperation was signed in February 1994 during the visit of the then Mongolian president Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, to India. As per the provisions of the treaty, India and Mongolia resolved to develop cooperation in trade and economy, science, health, agriculture, culture, education, communication and tourism. They also resolved to work closely to ensure security and curbing international crimes and terrorism.


2001-present

In January 2001, the Mongolian president Natsagiin Bagabandi visited India. Indo-Mongolian relations, Pg 8 During this visit, a Joint Declaration was issued and a series of six major agreements were signed in order to promote cooperation in the fields of Information Technology, Investment Promotion and Protection and mutual legal assistance in civil, criminal and commercial matters. Mongolia conveyed its support to India's bid to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and also indicated its support for India's peace efforts with Pakistan. The Mongolian prime Minister Nambaryn Enkhbayar visited India in January 2004. During this visit, three agreements were signed in order to promote mutual cooperation in the fields of Animal Health and Dairy, Space Science and biotechnology. India offered a soft loan of US$25 million to improve its infrastructure. Indo-Mongolian relations, Pg 9 Proposals for an Atal Bihari Vajpayee Centre for Excellence in Information Technology and Communication Technology in the Mongolian capital
Ulaan Baatar Ulaan ( mn, Улаан, ''red'', zh, 乌兰) may refer to: * Wulan County, Qinghai, China * Ulaan Taiga Ulaan ( mn, Улаан, ''red'', zh, 乌兰) may refer to: * Wulan County, Qinghai, China * Ulaan Taiga Ulaan ( mn, Улаан, ''red'', zh, ...
were formalized during this visit. The Foundation of IT Center was laid by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 17, 2015. A Mongolian-run Buddhist monastery was established in the historic city of
Bodh Gaya Bodh Gaya is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple Complex in Gaya district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is famous as it is the place where Gautama Buddha is said to have attained Enlightenment ( pi, ...
and its foundation stone was laid by Enkhbayar. Indo-Mongolian relations have been growing ever since it was resolved to elevate ties to a "new level of partnership" during the India visit of Mongolian President Enkhbayar.
India 2008 India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, Pg 496
India provides technical and economic cooperation to Mongolia in the fields of higher education, agriculture, information and communication technology and human resource development. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi visited Mongolia on 16 May 2015, where he also addressed the Parliament. He also handed over Bhabhatron equipment to the National Cancer Centre in Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. Furthermore, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to in May 2015, a $1 Billion line of credit was extended to Mongolia, for infrastructure development, amongst many other fields. In early 2021, India stepped up on the
COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...
distribution to several countries, including Mongolia, to mitigate some of the delays by the WHO. India donated 13 boxes (150k doses) of the COVID-19 vaccine to Mongolia, making it one of the first 25 countries to receive the vaccine from India. During the donation ceremony, Ambassador of India to Mongolia M P Singh noted the importance of Mongolia for India's Act East policy as a strategic partner and ‘spiritual neighbour.’ Recent Recently, India and Mongolia have reviewed bilateral cooperation in hydrocarbons and steel sectors. * The Project came in the backdrop of Mongolia, which has large uranium deposits signing an agreement for civil nuclear cooperation with India in 2009 and China unfolding its
Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R), formerly known as One Belt One Road ( zh, link=no, 一带一路) or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 150 ...
(BRI). * India is opposed to the Belt and Road Initiative, which seeks to invest about US$8 trillion in infrastructure projects across Asia, Europe and Africa, as it says the initiative lures countries into debt traps and does not respect sovereignty. * India is building an oil refinery in Mongolia which will serve 70% of country's population. The worth of the project is $1.2 billion.


See also

* Foreign relations of India *
Foreign relations of Mongolia Mongolia has diplomatic relations with 191 UN states, the Holy See, the State of Palestine and the European Union. It seeks neutrality and cordial relations with many countries including in cultural and economic matters. It has a modest number ...
* Mongol invasions of India *
Mongolians in India There is a small Mongolian community in India, comprising mostly Buddhist monks and scholars as well as international students from Mongolia. Migration history Onward migration from Tibet Mongolians who were originally studying in Tibet in the 1 ...


Notes


References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:India-Mongolia relations Mongolia Bilateral relations of Mongolia