Suez Crisis

Suez Crisis

The Suez crisis was a war fought by Britain, France and Israel against Egypt in 1956. Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser who wanted to lead the Arab nationalist movement that was gaining popularity in the Arab world. He wanted to gain concessions fro his own country and did so by playing Western and Soviet powers against each other. Nasser signed an arms deal with Czechoslovakia in October 1955; this angered and threatened US and Britain who withdrew aid for the building of the Aswan High dam. In response, Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal which was owned by British and French companies. This threatened their economic interests as the canal was important for trade. The war lasted for a week, and invading forces were withdrawn within the month. As a result, Egypt now firmly aligned itself with the Soviet Union, which armed Egypt and other Arab nations for the continuing struggle against Israel. India’s relations with Egypt go back to relations between Mohandas Gandhi and Saad Zahgloul over their common goals for independence. India and Egypt became the founders of the Non-aligned movement in 1955. Nehru supported Egypt in the 1956 war and even threatened to withdraw India from the British Commonwealth.

After the war Nasser's standing in the Arab World improved, as did the support for pan Arabism. The crisis also hastened decolonisation, as the remaining colonies of both Britain and France gained independence over the next several years.