New Delhi: After Jawaharlal National University (JNU), Jamia Millia Islamia, IIT Roorkee and other premier institutions across the country, IIT Bombay has announced suspension of ties with educational institutions in Turkey. This comes after Turkey’s continued support to Pakistan after the Pahalgam terror strike and during Operation Sindoor.
Despite Indian traders banning Turkish products and tour operators cancelling bookings in that country, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has continued to pledge his support to Pakistan. India has also cancelled its agreement with Celebi, the Turkish firm that handled services at several airports across the country.
IIT Bombay took to X on Sunday and announced: “Due to the current geopolitical situation involving Turkey, IIT Bombay is processing suspension of its agreements with Turkish universities until further notice.”
According to academicians, such cancellation of ties will not affect Indian universities or students, but will have an impact on Turkey. Currently, IIT Bombay maintains faculty exchange initiatives with several Turkish educational institutions.
IIT Roorkee had also officially terminated its partnership agreement with Turkey’s Inonu University. “IIT Roorkee has formally cancelled an MoU with Inonu University, Türkiye. The Institute remains committed to fostering global collaborations that reflect its academic priorities & uphold national interest,” IIT Roorkee had posted on X.
Earlier, JNU and Jamia have also withdrawn from their academic partnerships with Turkish institutions, reinforcing a broader policy shift among Indian universities to reassess foreign engagements in light of geopolitical developments.
Several non-government institutions, including Chandigarh University, have ended their academic partnerships with 23 universities in Turkey and Azerbaijan due to their support of Pakistan during ‘Operation Sindoor’.
India launched Operation Sindoor after the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of 26 persons, mostly tourists from across the country. After India carried out high-precision missile strikes on nine terror facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), at least six Turkish military cargo aircraft landed in Pakistan with equipment. It later came to be known that Pakistan used Turkish drones to target military and civilian locations in India.
