New Delhi: India, and Indonesia, who are maritime neighbours are set to firm up ties with the visit of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to Delhi later this month. Subianto has been invited to be the chief guest at India's Republic day on 26th January, an honour India reserves for countries with which it has close relationship. The ties between the 2 countries span several centuries, and one that looks towards further positive trajectory. Explaining the ties:

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History: India, Indonesia history spans centuries, with Hindu, Buddhist and later Muslim faith travelling to Indonesia from the shores of India. The stories from great Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata form a source of Indonesian folk art and dramas. Historically, ancient India has had a huge cultural impact on Indonesian kingdoms. From around the 1st to the 14th centuries, various kingdoms in Indonesia adopted these Indian religions alongside Sanskrit culture, literature, and scripts. These include the Majapahit Empire (1293-1527) in Java which was one of the last major Hindu-Buddhist empires in Indonesia to the Srivijaya Empire (7th to 13th century) centred in Sumatra but had extensive maritime trade networks connecting India.

Ties since Independence: India, Indonesia who are 2 large countries of the global south have taken a major lead when it comes to post-independence goals of political sovereignty, economic self-sufficiency. The 1955 Bandung conference in Indonesia was hosted by then President Sukarno aimed to promote Afro-Asia economic and cultural cooperation and oppose colonialism. The conference laid the groundwork for the Non-Aligned Movement, which sought to keep newly independent countries out of Cold War politics. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India, was one of the key architects of the conference and attended it along with leaders like Egypt's Nasser, China's Zhou Enlai.

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Recent ties: PM Modi has been to Indonesia in 2018, which was his first bilateral visit to the country. He later travelled to the country for the G20 summit in 2022 in Bali. PM Modi and President Prabowo Subianto met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil's Rio in November 2024. Minister of state in MEA Pabitra Margherita visited Jakarta as Special Envoy of the Indian PM to attend the inauguration ceremony of Indonesia's President Prabowo in October 2024.

Trade: Indonesia is the second largest trading partner of India in the ASEAN, with bilateral trade increasing from a meagre US$ 4.3 billion in 2005-06 to US$ 38.84 billion in 2022-23 and US$ 29.40 billion in 2023-24. India is the second largest buyer of coal and largest buyer of crude palm oil from Indonesia and imports minerals, rubber, pulp and paper and hydrocarbons reserves. There are about 100 Indian investments / Joint Ventures in Indonesia and as per Indonesian authorities, Indian investment in Indonesia is USD 1.56 billion in 7292 projects during 2000-2024.

Republic day: This year, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has been invited to be the Chief Guest at India's Republic day, an honour India bestows on countries with which it has close relationships. But this is not the first time India has invited an Indonesian President to be the chief guest at the Republic day parade. President Sukarno of Indonesia in 1950 was invited to be chief guest at the Republic day, becoming the first foreign leader to grace the occasion. In 2011, President Susilo Bambamg Yudhoyono was invited, and then in 2018, Indonesian President Joko Widodo along with all ASEAN leaders was present for the Republic day. 

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Ganesha & Garuda: Garuda, the bird-like creature which is the vehicle (Vahana) of Lord Vishnu and the symbol of the Majapahit empire is today part of the country's national emblem designed in 1949. Even after the fall of Majapahit, Garuda continued to be an emblem of nobility and power among subsequent Javanese kingdoms. The cultural connection is so strong that at one point the country had a banknote with Lord Ganesha which reflected the historic influence of Hinduism in Indonesia. The note was demonetized in 2008 by the authorities as part of a regular currency update.

Connectivity: Plan is on the table to connect Andaman and Nicobar Islands with Aceh, a key outcome from PM Modi's visit to Indonesia in 2018. In May 2018, a Joint Task Force (JTF) was established on Andaman-Aceh connectivity. Indonesia will host the 3rd JTF in 2025. Direct Connectivity between India and Indonesia started in August 2023 by operation of Indigo flights between Mumbai and Indonesia's capital Jakarta. Direct flights started between Delhi and Bali in December 2023 and between Bangalore and Bali in March 2024. India emerged as the second largest source of tourists(more than 600,000) to Bali in 2023, after Australia.

Defence: Defence has emerged as a key component of India, Indonesia relationship. Both have several exercises, like Samudra Shakti, which is a bilateral naval exercise, to Garuda Shakti, which is army to army exercise. Both nations have conducted coordinated patrols in the Andaman Sea and Java Sea to combat piracy, illegal fishing, and trafficking. Discussions have been ongoing regarding the sale of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to Indonesia, which would mark a significant defense deal. It will be part of the discussion during the upcoming visit of the Indonesian President to India. 

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Diaspora: There are around 14,000 Indian Nationals (NRI) living in Indonesia including entrepreneurs, engineers, IT professionals, consultants, bankers, and other professions. They are mainly concentrated in Greater Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung and have community associations, and actively engage in various festivals. The country has a number of Persons of Indian origin, mostly from South India, but a significant number of them are also from North India which includes Sindhis (around 10,000), Sikhs (around 10,000), Gujaratis according to the Indian embassy.

Indonesia & Odisha:While Indonesia has had a strong relationship with India, the state of Odisha has special ties. Biju Patnaik the former CM of Odisha and the father of Naveen Patnaik (himself the CM of Odisha as well) launched a daring flight of freedom and flew Indonesia's 1st PM from Java to India as Dutch controlled the area. For his bravery and assistance in the Indonesian fight for freedom, President Sukarno awarded Biju Patnaik the title "Bhumiputra," meaning "Son of the Soil," an honour rarely bestowed upon foreigners. Biju Patnaik and his wife, Gyan Patnaik, were honoured by being asked to name Sukarno's daughter, whom they named Meghawati, later known as Megawati Sukarnoputri, who served as Indonesia's President from 2001 to 2004. Bali Yatra is an annual festival held in Cuttack that celebrates many things including the ancient maritime and cultural links between Odisha (historically known as Kalinga) and the islands of Southeast Asia, particularly Bali in Indonesia.

Past irritants: While India, Indonesia ties have been historically positive, Jakarta's pro Pakistan stance during 1965 war Indo Pak war was a concern for Delhi. During the war started by Pakistan, several demonstrations were held before the Indian Embassy in Jakarta which culminated in a violent attack on the Chancery on 9 September, 1965, causing extensive damage. Similar violent demonstrations were held in front of the Indian Consulate in Medan. MEA's annual report of 1965 says, in September of that year "it was announced that Indian properties had been brought under the supervision of the Indonesian Government. It was explained that though the Indians continued to own their properties, they would not be free to sell or transfer them to others"