• What are the historic and recent reasons of Turkey (Muslim) Cyprus (Xtan) rivalry? Why was Cyprus divided into two? Background to India Turkey Connect and how must India respond to Turkey. Where relevant compared British role in India’s Independence with Cyrus (Hindu India vs. Muslim Pak.). 

Background to India Turkey Connect 

In Indian history we usually associate Turks with Invaders namely M Ghazni (11^th century) and M Ghori (12^th century). The former is associated with destruction of Somnath Mandir. The latter is known for war with Prithviraj Chauhan in 1193 and advancement of Muslim rule in India. In 1206, Qutb-ud-din Tibak established the Turkish Sultanate at Lahore, later moved to Delhi. To read briefly history 1000-1300 A.D. Raja Suheldev kept the Muslims away for 150 years. Read

Other key event involving Turkey was the Khilafat Movement (around 1921).

In the late 19^th century Turkey was fighting against Italy and other Balkhan powers. Turkey entered the war as an ally of Germany. However, it lost World War 1. Thrace was presented to Greece while Asiatic portions of Turkey passed to England and France. “(At 1900, the "Turkish Caliphate" was the Ottoman Empire, a vast, transcontinental state that spanned Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa, including Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), the Balkans, the Levant, Egypt, and parts of the Arabian Peninsula”. Turkey became smaller and the Sultan deprived of all real authority.

Indian Muslims regarded this as a great betrayal and carried on agitations throughout 1919 but to no effect. “The Turkish Revolutionaries led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, implemented abolished the Caliphate in 1924 after the empire was replaced by the Republic of Turkey.” 

In early 1920 Indian Muslims started an agitation to bring pressure on the British to change her policy towards Turkey for e.g. abolishing the Caliphate. This is known as the Khilafat Movement, received enormous strength because of Gandhi’s support. Read About Khilafat Movement

If I were Turkish, would recall the large parts of Southeast Europe and Middle East that Turkish Kings once recalled. The loss and pain is across generations. 

Was Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) ever part of Greek civilization? 

Yes. Search states, “Yes, ancient and Hellenistic Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) was heavily influenced by and integrated into Greek civilization, with Greek colonies, city-states, and culture spreading across its western and southern coasts and extending inland after Alexander.” 

By 5th century, what is Turkey had become entirely a part of Greece: Greek in culture, language and Christian in religion till the Seljuk Muslim Tribes won in battle. Like in India, locals were converted to Islam. Those Christians who resisted were killed. Thus, a part of the Greek civilization turned Muslim majority. Source and to read more

When Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453 it was renamed Istanbul. So also, the Hagia Sophia Church in Istanbul was converted into a mosque in 1453 after the conquest of Constantinople, into a museum in 1935 and in 2020 declared by President Erogan as a mosque.  Given its importance to Christians, the head of the Greek Orthodox Church still lives in Istanbul.

Just like present day Hindu Muslim relations in India are influenced by acts of invaders, so are Greek/Cyprus Christians and Muslims relations in Cyprus.

India and Turkey - Present

Turkey was needling India by raising the Kashmir issue intermittently During Operation Sindoor, Turkey came into Indian news because of drones supplied to Pakistan, in large quantities.

Islam (Sunni) unites Turkey and Pakistan. Further, Turkey wishes to regain its leadership in the Islamic world, currently occupied by Saudi and UAE, so need Pakistani support. That support might not change post signing of Saudi-Pak Defence Agreement 2025 because the common enemy today is Shia Iran. Turkey has helped Pakistan Navy and is probably its second biggest arms supplier.

Why did Modi visit Cyprus and briefly cause of Turkey Cyprus rivalry?

Since Turkey is openly siding with Pakis, India must make its presence felt so PM Modi visited Cyprus in June 2025 . Media reports then appeared that India was considering sale of advanced defence systems to Greece.

According to this Indian Express article, “Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, located close to Turkey and Syria. The island nation got independence from the British in 1960. Its two major communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, participated in an uneasy power sharing, which flared up into violence just three years later. In 1974, the Greek Cypriots staged a coup with the help of the Greek Junta, to merge the island with Greece. Turkey then invaded, and while the legitimate government in Nicosia was restored, Turkish forces have never fully left the island. In fact, the north-eastern part of the island has declared itself independent as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which only Turkey recognises.” And there is Republic of Cyprus. 

Turkish Cyprus rivalry is a Sunni Muslim vs. Xtan fight Turkey backs Azerbaijan (Shia) while India backs Armenia (Christian). In Sept25, Turkey is trying to be U.S.’s link with the Middle East (Sunni).

Besides the Turkey angle, Cyprus’s geographical location makes it a crucial part of the India Middle-East Economic Corridor (IMEC) “which is supposed to boost trade and connectivity between India and Europe via the Middle East, in which Cyprus, in the Mediterranean, has an important role to play.”

Now, if India were to support Greece/Cyprus and supply advanced weapons to these countries for e.g. Brahmos missiles, the regions dynamics would change.  

Summary - Post 20th rivalry of Turkey and Cyprus

We read that British got control over Cyprus in 1920s. Then, dispute in brief as per ShankarIas.com  

1. “The British formally annexed Cyprus in 1914.

2. In the 1950s, Greek Cypriots engaged in a guerrilla war against the British, calling for unification with Greece.

3. In 1960, the British in 1960 granted independence to the island, instituting a power-sharing arrangement between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

4. In 1974, Greece’s government backed a coup against Cyprus’s president, with Athens demanding a greater say in Cypriot affairs and pushing for a union.

5. In response, Turkey launched a military invasion, occupying the northern third.

6. Greek Cypriots were forced to flee from north to south, while Turkish Cypriots fled in the opposite direction. (Reminds me of Kashmiri Pandit Exodus 1990)

7. In 1983 the northern part of the island was declared as the breakaway state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey”.

Sounds a bit like Pakistan occupying parts of Jammu and Kashmir and staying there to date. Read The Truth about Accession of J&K to India

Key is that Greek Cypriots want the island to become part of Greece.

How can India respond to Turkey?

By way of background sources state that Turkey is a big power in the area, unreliable, tries to balance between the U.S. and Russia (is amongst the top five buyers of Russian Oil now reducing to please Trump), during 2020-24 SIPRI said it was the 11 largest exporter globally, Member of NATO, connected with many countries because of Black Sea, Blue Stream is a major Trans Black Sea gas pipeline that carries gas from Russia to Turkey, President Erdogan was conferred an honorary degree by Jamia Milia Islamia University in 2017, Operation Dost was launched by India in 2023 when earthquakes hit Turkey but Islam is a bigger unifier, India cancelled ship building consultancy order to Turkey after awarding it. Europeans dislike Turkey but are worried that Turkey’s potential to push refugees into Europe. So India must deal with Turkey differently.  

It must seek to keep Turkey busy in its own neighbourhood, so it must seek to promote closer economic ties with Cyprus and Greece and seriously evaluate export of advanced arms to these two countries. The global chessboard is changing fast so India must track Russia Turkey relations closely.

Conversely, we must realize that Turkey is a much large economy than Greece. A search shows, “Prominent Indian companies with a presence in Turkey include TATA Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance, Aditya Birla Group, Wipro, Dabur, GMR Infrastructure, Jain Irrigation etc.” Turkish Airlines is used by many Indians and has seat sharing with India’s leading airline Indigo. 

On the other hand, Greece is a smaller economy. Further, during the 2009 Greek Financial Crisis India did not help Greece, did not have the financial capacity. Then China took a stake in Port of Piraeus, converting it into a majority stake around 2018. Today it has become a key transhipment port and the seventh largest in Europe. In 2009 there was no Adani Ports, who in 2023 bought a majority stake in Israel’s Haifa Port.

India has to strike a balance between a known adversary and strategic/economic interests. Eventually, India has to become an economic/military power of consequence. The world, Turkey included, respects power. The Indian approach can be best understood in this tweet by Col Mayank C (retd). It states that an Indian warship was headed to Greece to be part of a joint exercise with Greece and France. The Turkish Navy intercepted the warship only to back off later.

Excerpts from 3 sites on post 20th century Turkey Cyprus rivalry

I have only taken information that is not provided above.

Site 1 Imperial War Museum UK

Site 2 Republic of Turkiye - MEA

“It is both useful and important to keep in mind that there has never been in Cyprus a "Cypriot nation" due to the distinct national, religious and cultural characteristics of each ethnic people who, in addition, speak different languages. It is also interesting to note that although the two peoples had lived together in the Island for centuries there were practically no inter-marriages and not even a single commercial partnership was set up.”

Sounds familiar to us in India. The West telling us India was never a nation, so many languages, so many cultures.

“When Britain decided to decolonise the Island, in the House of Commons on 19th December 1956 the Colonial Secretary, Alan Lennox-Boyd, pledged that "it will be the purpose of Her Majesty's Government to ensure that any exercise of self-determination should be effected in such a manner that the Turkish Cypriot community, no less than the Greek Cypriot community, shall in the special circumstances of Cyprus be given freedom to decide for themselves their future status.”

Thanks to Mountbatten/Nehru, words self-determination are part of Kashmiri folklore since 1947 even though concept was not part of Indian Independence Act passed by British Parliament. Read The Truth about Accession of J&K to India

As a compromise between Cyrus Christian and Muslims, the Republic of Cyprus was established in 1960. Both wanted to live independent of each other. For Indians it was the Republic of India in 1950 and Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

In Christmas 1963 the Greek Cypriots attached the Turkish Cypriots. Surely Muslims were targeted. Since they forever play the victim card, cannot say how truthful the content on the MEA site is.

The Christians want to assert the Christian nature of Cyprus, the Muslims (Turk) do not want that. Sounds very familiar to Indians.

Site 3 Government of Cyprus MEA gives a different perspective

“Throughout its long history and due to its strategically important location, Cyprus had been conquered by the major colonial powers of the Eastern Mediterranean. However, from the 12th century BC, when the first Greeks colonized the island and through the centuries, the island’s Greek character has always prevailed. The last colonial power to occupy the island was Britain in 1878, succeeding the Ottoman Empire which had conquered Cyprus in 1571, a year marking the first presence of Turkish inhabitants on the island and the beginning of the creation of the Turkish-Cypriot community.” 

“Turkish-Cypriot clandestine paramilitary organizations (Volkan – TMT) strategically sought the conflict with the Greek-Cypriots in order to cause partition. The Turkish-Cypriot nationalist leadership had essentially turned into an instrument for implementing Turkish policy in Cyprus. The change of policy of the Turkish National Party was reflected in its new name: “Cyprus is Turkish”. 

Pakistan been playing this game with India, adjusted for the Sub-continent, since 1947.

Since Greece has numerous small islands close to Turkey, sources state that Turkey pushes refugees (read Muslims) through small boats into Greek islands from where refugees find their way into the European Union. Similar strategy followed against India by Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Also read

1. Ottoman Empire

2. Ebsco.com – balanced read. 

3. What can be learnt from Chinese investment in Europe

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