The modern nation-state of Türkiye — and its predecessor, the Ottoman Empire — have long been interested in exerting influence on South Asia. Such interest has become evident again after a few decades of occultation. Türkiye has long seen itself as the patron of Muslim interests in the region, and Muslim states in South Asia have sought closer relations with them throughout the ages.

In the past year alone, there have been several suggestions of an enhanced Turkish role in the affairs of the Indian subcontinent. Indian investigators have suggested that a Turkish handler played a role in coordinating Delhi’s November 10, 2025 Red Fort blast. Meanwhile, Pakistan and Türkiye have grown closer, along with Azerbaijan — these countries comprise an informal defense grouping known as the “three brothers.” Moreover, Türkiye supplied military equipment and intelligence to Pakistan during the May 2025 India-Pakistan clashes.

The link between Türkiye and South Asia is due to the convergence of ideology and geopolitics over the past five centuries.

India had long traded directly with the Roman Empire, including the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, which was based in Constantinople — modern Istanbul. However, direct relations and trade between India and the Byzantines fell off after the Arab conquest of much of the Middle East and Egypt. Centuries later, much of the Byzantine Empire’s Anatolian heartland — modern Türkiye — came under the control of the Turks, and eventually the Ottoman Empire was established. Indians were no strangers to Turks. Turkic groups from Central Asia conquered and ruled much of the Islamic world in the Middle East and South Asia. Many major Indian Muslim states, such as the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal........

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