Although it has a rich and ancient history, India is a fairly new state. This subcontinent is the second most crowded country in the world. In administrative terms, it consists of 28 states and seven union regions. While Hindi and English are the official languages, 22 regional languages are spoken in different states. India has been the birth place of four religions; Hinduism,approximately, ( 80 % of the population, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Nearly 14 % of the population) belongs to Islam, thus composing the world's largest Muslim minority population. Despite such diversity, serious domestic and international conflicts, high poverty and illiteracy rates, India has successfully maintained to be a democratic state until present time. India has the fourth largest army in the world. According to George Friedman, the Indian army has three major functions. The first is to balance Pakistan, the second is to protect the northern border from Chinese invasion. The last, but not the least, is to keep the nation's internal security (1).

The Indian economy is growing at an average rate of 7 % and is the second in world agricultural production. The service and automotive industry, software exporting,electronic trade, start-up business are the main sectors that contribute to economy. Birth control, air pollution, unemployment, regional and individual income imbalances are the major idomestic problems to be overcome. Samuel P. Huntington argues that in the post-Cold War era, seven or eight major blocs were formed, such as the West, Islam, Ortodox Civilization, the Confucius Civilization, the Hindu Civilization, the Buddhist Civilization, Japan, and the Latin American Civilization. He also claims that most of the world's great civilizations have a leader or core state. Russia, India, China, Japan and the USA are the leading states of their civilizations (2). Such remarks highlight the importance of India.

Turkey is a country located in near East,at the intersection of three continents. It has a population of 83 million and is the world's 18th big economy. Turkish Republic was established nearly a century ago as a secular, nation state following the collapse of six century old, religious-based Ottoman Empire. Turkey has been a NATO memberfor 69 years. A vast majority of the population is Muslim and of which, 74 % is Sunni.Turkey ranks as the 11th military power in the world.The political system is multi-party democratic parliamentary system, although there have been two military coups in the last six decades. Major political conflicts and civil wars in neighboring countries pose serious security, humanitarian, economic and social problems for Turkey.

1) George Friedman. Gelecek on yıl (Turkish). The next decade. Pegasus Yayınları (Pegasus Publishing Co.), İstanbul,2011, pp. 244
2) Samuel P. Huntington. Medeniyetler Çatışması (Turkish). The Clash of Civilizations.Vadi Yayınları ( Vadi Publishing Co.), Ankara,1995, pp.170-171
3) H. Hilal Şahin. Osmanlı Devleti ile Hindistan Müslümanlarının Tarihi Bağı ve "Hindistan Hilafet Hareketi" (Turkish). The Ottoman Empire and India Muslims. History and "Indian Caliphate Movement". Kafkas Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi.Kafkas University, Journal of the Institute of Social Sciences. Sayı/Number 24, Sonbahar/Autumn 2019, pp.731-754.
4) Muhammed Sadık. The Turkish Revolution and the Indian Liberation Movement, South Asian Books, New Delhi,1983
5) Nazmul Islam. Turkish Soft Power Policy Towards India, Pakistan and Bangladesh: A Comparative Assessment from Humanitarian Perspective. www.icwa.in, www.academia.edu/37939678. www.icwa.in
6) Halil İnalcık. Osmanlı ve Modern Türkiye(Turkish). Ottoman and the Modern Turkey. Neşe Matbaacılık A.Ş. (Neşe Printing Co.), İstanbul,2013, pp.176
7) Fida Hussain. Hindistan Matbu'atında Türk Kurtuluş Savaşı ve Inkılabı (Turkish). Turkish War of Independence and Revolution in the Indian Press. Ankara Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, İslam Tarihi ve Sanatları Anabilim Dalı. Doktora Tezi,Ankara,2012. Doctorate Thesis. Ankara University, Institute of Islamic History and Arts, Department of Social Sciences, Ankara, 2012.
8) Cengiz Topel Mermer. Keşmir Sorunu ve Pakistan-Hindistan İlişkileri Üzerine Etkisi (Turkish). Kashmir Question as a Matter on India-Pakistan Relations. Doktora Tezi. İstanbul Üniversitesi, Sosyal BilimleEnstitüsü, Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler Anabilim Dalı,İstanbul,2018. Doctorate Thesis. İstanbul University, Social Sciences Institute, Department of Political Science and International Relations, İstanbul, 2018
9) Md. Muddassir Quamar.India-Turkey Relations: Frozen in Time? IDSA(Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses) Issue Brief, May 12, 2017.
10) Mehmet Özkan. Can the Rise of "New" Turkey Lead to "New" Era in India-Turkey Relations. IDSA ISSUE brief. www.academia.edu/335234
11)Onur Sinan Güzaltan. Keşmir sorunu: Türkiye ve Çin arasında işbirliği imkanı (Turkish). Kashmir issue: The possibility of cooperation between Turkey and China. https://www.aydinlik.com.tr/kesmir-sorunu-turkiye
12)Omair Anas.India-Turkey Relations in a "Multidimensional Foreign Policy". Indian Council of World Affairs.Policy Brief, 5 April 2017
13)Henry Kissinger. Diplomacy. Simon and Schuster,NewYork,1994, pp. 23

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