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With the change in the regime and the new rule of the Congress-led government in India the relationship with Israel is likely to change again. Certainly over the last few years the right wing Bharatiya Janata Party government, which professed to be a staunch advocate of close ties with Israel, had tried to strengthen diplomatic and military relations with the country, at times hazarding concerns in Arab countries. In fact, during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee regime, Israel became the second largest supplier of military hardware to India after Russia. The relationship, however, is likely to face difficulties now and might undergo a paradigm shift with a change in India’s foreign policy. In this respect the statement of India’s new Foreign Minister Natwar Singh that relations with Israel would not come at the cost of ignoring Palestinian aspirations, may act as an indicator of the shape of things in the near future.
Since Independence India has always maintained a sympathetic attitude towards the Palestinian cause. The friendship between the late Indian Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Palestinian President, Mr.Yasser Arafat is well known. It is, however, also true that historically it was under Indira Gandhi in the late 1960s that channels of communication and mutual security assistance with Israel were opened. These were further sustained by the Morarji Desai government and later strengthened by Rajiv Gandhi and the governments that followed. It was during Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao that India established full-fledged diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992. It may be noteworthy to mention that Israel has been a keen supporter of India’s views on the Jammu and Kashmir issue and this support had come even though India had no formal relations with Israel till 1992.
Undoubtedly, India’s relations with Israel have undergone a significant change over the last few years. This is mainly due to a drastic transformation of the international scenario and the emergence of a brave new world combating the worldwide menace of terrorism. By some strange twist of destiny both India and Israel have found themselves at the receiving end of terrorism, albeit with different ground realities. While the Kashmir problem continues to nag India; the Palestinian issue in Israel shows no signs of resolution despite the efforts. However, merely having a common enemy – ‘terrorism’ in this case — is not enough justification for the two countries to come closer than earlier.
Numerous other factors need to be taken into account for good relationship between the countries. Traditionally, India has always supported the Palestinian struggle for the stated reason of the solidarity with an oppressed people. There was also a pragmatic angle too, to that policy. India needs petroleum along with the support of Muslim countries on the Kashmir issue. Besides, there was concern over the continuity of foreign exchange remittances of the huge Indian expatriate population working in the Gulf. But these concerns can always be addressed without necessarily having the “now-cold-now-hot” relationship with Israel.
It is pertinent to note that especially after the Kargil conflict in 1999, a new era of India-Israel cooperation began. The two countries started a formal dialogue on counter-terrorism. Jane’s Terrorism and Security Monitor had reported that Israeli intelligence agencies were “heavily involved in helping New Delhi combat Islamic militants” operating in India-administered Kashmir and that “at least one Indian counter-terrorism unit has been reported to have undergone specialized training in Israel”.
The Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s visit to India last year had understandably generated reaction from Islamic and Arab countries. Ariel Sharon has been well-known for his aggressive stance towards Palestine and is even recognized as one who upset the Oslo peace process, which would have brought about a solution to the Palestinian problem. It was the same peace process, wrote former Foreign Secretary and present National Security Adviser J N Dixit sometime ago, “which led to India to establish formal diplomatic and political relations with Israel…The important fact to be remembered is that Indo-Israeli relations transcend the prime ministership of Sharon”.
In fact, India had clearly mentioned to the Foreign Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Nabeel Sha’ath, who came before Sharon, about relations with Israel and the Minister had agreed with New Delhi’s views about relations with Israel on the issue of peace in the Middle East. In turn, India mentioned Palestine’s concerns to Sharon when he was here.
It may be mentioned that Arab countries like Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Qatar have governmental contacts with Israel.
The new government in office has made it quite clear that though it laid a “very high importance on its relations” with the Muslim world, External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh said “we value our relations with Israel. But our relations with Israel will not be at the expense of sacrificing the legitimate rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people.”
In an optimistic future scenario, the Congress government in India may — considering the changed realities in the world — go for a stable, working, cooperative relationship with Israel, along with maintaining the same cordial relations with Arab nations. It is worthwhile to mention that a number of ties in India’s relationship with Israel in scientific and other fields is on. Economic, scientific and technological cooperation exists between the two. Israel’s expertise in dry-land farming, desert irrigation and agro-industries will certainly help India. Such ties could very well be the starting point for the new regime to foster a healthy relationship with Israel.
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