Why Nehru Declined the Opportunity to Acquire the Port City of Gwadar

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 18th April.  The nation’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, gave the Coco Islands, which were a part of the Northern Andaman Islands, to Myanmar amid a continuing dispute over Katchatheevu, which Bharat gave to Sri Lanka. Unlike the “blunder” of Kashmir, the “acceptance of Tibet as a part of China” (1953 and 2003), and the Katchatheevu giveaway (1974), however, the rejection of the Gwadar offer remains little known and has not been discussed in Bharatiya politics.

The Congress is always viewed to hold anti-Bharatiya sentiments. Originally part of the Northern Andaman Islands, Nehru gave the Coco Islands to Myanmar, which is now directly ruled by China. Throughout their seventy years in power, the Congress showed no concern for the islands near in order to oppose China, the central government is now building two defense airports and a shipyard near Campbell Bay, also known as Indira Point.

In 1974, the Congress government, headed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, gave Katchatheevu Island to Sri Lanka, according to a Right To Information (RTI) report published last month. Prime Minister Modi declared that the “Congress can never be trusted” and that the action “angered” the public. Situated barely 25 kilometres from Tamil Nadu’s seashore, Katchatheevu was an integral part of Bharat till 1974.

A week or so later, an article in India Today stated that Prime Minister Nehru had previously rejected an offer for Bharat to acquire the port city of Gwadar, Pakistan. But Pakistan wasn’t always in control of Gwadar. Up to the 1950s, it was ruled by Omani monarchs for about 200 years. Gwadar was given to Bharat, but Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s administration turned it down before it was eventually taken over by Pakistan in 1958.
The account of Gwadar’s many handovers raises some obvious concerns. What prevented the Bharatiya government, led by Jawaharlal Nehru, from accepting the port town?

History of the issue

Oman made Bharat an offer to purchase the then-small fishing hamlet of Gwadar in the 1950s. Jawaharlal Nehru’s administration turned down the offer, and Pakistan paid £3 million to purchase it in 1958. This is the tale of how Gwadar, Bharat’s current critical port, came to be and why Nehru turned down the plan.

BIG REPORT 🚨 Gwadar, now Pakistan's, was offered to India in 1950s

Oman offered to sell Gwadar, then a small fishing village, to India in 1958 but then PM Jawaharlal Nehru declined the offer.

Now, it's the prized Pakistani port city of Gwadar & strategic port for China &… pic.twitter.com/VE7k6Udn2R

— Times Algebra (@TimesAlgebraIND) April 7, 2024

Was it, therefore, Nehru’s strategic mistake?

Rejecting the Gwadar plan was not, however, a routine decision, in contrast to the “mistakes” of Kashmir, “recognizing Tibet as part of China” (1953, 2003), and moving Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka (1974). Undoubtedly, the history of Gwadar has prompted certain inquiries: How did the Sultan of Oman come to rule over a tiny fishing community on the slender Gulf of Oman shores? Why was it not recognized by Jawaharlal Nehru’s Bharatiya government? Should Bharat take over Gwadar?

How was Gwadar taken over by Oman?

Gwadar, which is in Pakistan’s Balochistan province and is situated on the Makran coast, was initially occupied by Oman in 1783. The Omani Qila, a prominent landmark in the city, and a few structures in Shahi Bazar are remnants of Omani control in the area.

Sultan Bin Ahmad, Prince of Muscat, received the land as a gift from Mir Nuri Nasir Khan Baloch, Khan of Kalat. Kalat Khan and Prince Sultan believed that if the Prince took the throne in Oman, Gwadar would be given back.

Peshukan and Sur Bandar, two other fishing villages on the Pakistani coast close to Gwadar, were ruled by the Omani people. Gwadar served as the starting point for the Arabian invasion of the coast until Sultan bin Ahmad took the crown in 1792 in Muscat. But when Khan Kalatina failed to return to Gwadar, tensions between them increased.

Archivist Martin Woodward’s paper “Gwadar: The Sultan’s Domain” claims that offers to purchase Gwadar from Oman were made between 1895 and 1904 by the Bharatiya government and British Kalat Khan, but no choice was taken. Gwadar was governed by a Deputy British Political Agent starting in 1763, but the Khans of Kalat insisted on having control of Gwadar because of their conjectures on the region’s oil riches.

The Sultan of Oman persisted in talks with the British in the meantime over the potential of surrender in return for financial and military assistance in suppressing the rebels. Before being absorbed into the newly formed Pakistan in March 1948, under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Balochistan was ruled by the Khan of Kalat.

When Bharat was offered Gwadar by Oman

Then, the Sultan of Oman proposed to sell Bharat the port city of Gwadar. South Asia’s history and geopolitical environment will shift as a result of this accord. Pramit Pal Chaudhary, a former National Security Advisory Council member, said, “According to personal conversations with two Bharatiya diplomats, the Sultan of Oman proposed Gwadar to Bharatiya Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.”

In his 2016 paper, Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) stated: “The diplomatic community states that Gwadar was administered on behalf of the Sultan of Oman following its independence from Bharat, and the two countries enjoyed excellent relations.” The proposal, in my opinion, originated in 1956, stated Pramit Pal Chaudhary. In 1958, Jawaharlal Nehru turned down the offer and sold Pakistan Gwadar in Oman for £3 million.

Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) asserts that vocal instructions are possible. “The National Archives has documents and some newspaper articles about the Gwadar conflict, but the opinions of Bharatiya officials have been redacted,” says Pramit Pal Chaudhary. Indeed, the Indian Jain community expressed interest in purchasing Gwadar from Oman.

In his essay “Gwadar: A Kaleidoscope of History,” Azhar Ahmad states that even the Indian Jain community was prepared to purchase Gwadar, according to records made public by the British administration. The Jain group could afford to pay good prices and possessed big lands.

What prevented Nehru from purchasing Gwadar?

Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of Bharat at the time, was undecided on whether to accept Ouman’s offer from Gwadar. Additionally, Oman’s suggestion was rejected in an oblique manner. National security analyst Prameet Pal Chaudhary stated, “The then Foreign Minister Subimal Dutt and possibly Indian Intelligence Chief B.N. Malik was advised not to accept the Sultan’s offer.”

Gwadar would have been Bharatiya territory in Pakistan if Nehru had agreed to buy it. The circumstances Pakistan encountered in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) would make sense. According to Prameet Pal Chaudhary, there is no way to defend Gwadar against an attack by Pakistan. Nehru continued to wish for cordial ties to be established with Pakistan. While turning down the “priceless gift from the Sultan of Oman” now, some 65 years later, consider it to have been a sensible and practical decision at the time.

The strategic significance of Gwadar hammer-shaped

World powers have long been interested in Gwadar, a strategic port with a view of the Gulf of Oman. The development of Gwadar as a deep-water port was long-planned by Pakistan, but it finally happened in 2008. China’s Belt and Road Initiative is to blame for Gwadar’s transformation (BRI). An essential component of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project is Gwadar Port. In order for China to have access to the Arabian Sea, this port is crucial.

In 2021, a deal was made in relation to Gwadar Port

In 2021, Pakistan and China have decided to include Gwadar Port in the CPEC. China and Pakistan would gain from the agreement to share Gwadar Port’s entire capacity via the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China’s Xinjiang province and Pakistan’s Gwadar port in Balochistan will be connected by the CPEC project. It is a significant, billion-dollar project as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 2013 saw the beginning of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). China is funding a number of Pakistani infrastructure initiatives.

China stated that it will invest $46 billion in the CPEC project at its inception; however, by 2017, the project’s total cost had increased to $62 billion. Bharat has always opposed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) due to the project’s passage through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Any foreign investment in the region is deemed objectionable by Bharat.