800 Jain Group Members Cancel Turkey Trip Over National Pride Amid India-Pakistan Tensions

India-Pakistan Tensions: Over 800 Ahmedabad-based Jain Lotus Group members have cancelled their post-Diwali travel schedule to Turkey after citing Turkey’s recent pro-Pakistan stance as the reason for the cancellation. The group had planned a 12-day trip, which has now been cancelled.

The Jain Lotus Group decision follows a broader trend of Indian tourists calling off travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan. The two nations had reaffirmed their support for Pakistan in the wake of increased tensions between India and Pakistan over Operation Sindoor and the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.

"Bookings for Azerbaijan and Turkey decreasing by 60% (over the last week) while cancellations have surged by 250% during the same period," Reuters quoted a spokesperson for MakeMyTrip, as saying.

Also Read: Rajnath Singh Visits Srinagar to Review Security Post India-Pakistan Ceasefire

While Azerbaijan released an official statement echoing Pakistan’s position on the conflict, Turkey supported Islamabad’s call for an international investigation into the Pahalgam attack. Turkey has also previously supplied arms to Pakistan.

Jain Lotus Group Treasurer Vipul Shah told Mid-Day that the decision was taken on moral grounds.

“We have cancelled the trip due to this. About 800 people from our Jain Lotus Group were to go to Turkey after Diwali. We had planned a tour of 12 days and 11 nights. We had decided to go to four places in Turkey, including Cappadocia and Istanbul.

Also Read: Operation Sindoor Was a Pre-Planned Response to Terror Threat, Says Defence Ministry

“All the members had planned to reach Turkey in groups of 80 people every third day, not on the same day,” Shah explained.

“However, considering the current situation between India and Pakistan, the core committee, including our president and joint secretary, took everyone's individual opinions and the committee jointly decided that we would not go to Turkey to tour, a country that supports our country's enemy, Pakistan,” said the treasurer.

Shah added that this is the least that they could do for India. “We cannot go to war as an army, but we can do this much in support of the country, right?” he said.

Also Read: Microsoft Layoffs: A Wake-Up Call for India’s Tech Sector to Trim Its Flabby Middle