Gulf-Qatar crisis creates uncertainty for 6.5 lakh Indians: Here's why

The diplomatic rift between the Gulf countries with Qatar has widened. United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday accusing the nation of supporting terrorists.

Yemen also cut ties with Qatar, alleging it of working with its enemies. Maldives and Libya have also joined the Arab nations' coordinated move.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia said that Qatar was embracing "various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region," including the ISIS.

Saudi Arabia also banned Qatari airlines from its airspace, while Abu Dhabi's state-owned Etihad Airways and Dubai's Emirates Airline said they would suspend all flights to and from Doha from Tuesday morning until further notice.

Meanwhile, taking stock of the situation, India's Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, said India didn't foresee any problems for its own relations in the Gulf as it was "an internal matter of GCC (Gulf Coordination Council)".

But she also expressed her concern for 6.5 lakh Indians, who are now stuck in the crisis. She said, "Our only concern is about Indians there. We are trying to find out if any Indians are stuck there". "They (Gulf nations) have done this before, we hope things will get better soon," she said.

The foreign minister's concern is reflective of the diplomatic balance that India has to maintain, especially at a time when PM Modi is looking to strengthen the economic and security ties with the Arab states.

6.5 lakh Indian nationals living in Qatar

Around 6,50,000 Indian nationals are living and working in Qatar, according to the latest data available. The figures outnumber native Qataris by almost 2:1. Of the estimated 6.5 lakh Indians now in Qatar, around three lakh are from the Southern state.

Worried about the situation,  Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing  'deep concern' for the safety of 6.5 lakh Indians living in Qatar of which, he said, more than half belonged to his state.

He wrote, "In the context of the developing geo-political situation in the Middle East today. As you are aware millions of Indians are working in countries in the Middle East and therefore the geo-political developments in the region has raised deep concerns among the people in the state since each family has at least one family member or a relative in the region".

Flights to Qatar may get longer, costlier

The travel time for flights between India and Doha will most likely increase with countries like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain closing their airspace for flights from Qatar. There have been no drastic changes to flight schedules, but ticket prices may shoot up due to uncertainty in the region.   

Qatar is home to global airline Qatar Airways and many airports in the Gulf region are major hubs for international connecting flights. Qatar's main Hamad International Airport served around 9.8 million passengers in January-March.

A Times of India report quoted that Qatar Airways is one of the most popular airlines for Indians travelling abroad. Last year, it was at the sixth spot in terms of standalone airlines flying people in and out of India. Over 21 lakh people to and from India flew QA in 2016, with around 80 per cent of them transiting via Doha.

Food Shortage

The economic impact of the severed ties, analysts feel might lead to food crisis in one of the richest countries in the world. After the announcement by the four Arab nations that they would cut air, sea and land links with Qatar, images spread on social media of empty supermarket shelves in the country. People are already stocking up the food items in the event of shortages.