Eight naval veterans are on death row in Qatar. The charges against them have not been made public, but media speculation attributed to unnamed sources in the government is that they have been convicted of espionage for a “third country”. Their families, the large community of Indian military veterans, and the nation are looking to the government to bring them back alive and well. The Indian diaspora in Qatar and elsewhere in the region is watching with concern. West Asia is on the brink of a region-wide conflagration, and India is in election season.
Is this the most difficult diplomatic challenge that the Modi government has faced in the last nine years? The apparent helplessness of the government in the matter since August last year, after the eight men — three captains, four commanders and a sailor — were picked up in a midnight swoop, and its admission of “shock” at the verdict of death penalty to all eight men, indicate no less.
