Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
various political parties have sought and promoted strong economic ties with
Israel.
Even parties which had originally opposed Rao's decision in 1992, such as the
Janata Dal, have realized the benefits of economic cooperation with Israel. The
visit by veteran communist leader and the then West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti
Basu in summer 2000 was a reminder that normalization enjoys widespread
support in India.
From Rhetoric to Substance
If the Congress party was responsible for creating the necessary administrative
framework for the promotion of bilateral ties, under the BJP the relations have
gathered substance. True to its past record of pro-Israeli sentiments, the BJP has
been pursuing an unapologetic foreign policy toward Israel. In mid-2000 the
visits of Home Minister L.K.Advani and Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh raised
eyebrows both in India and in the Middle East.
Even the negative publicity generated by the outbreak of the second
intifada
later that year did not materially affect the Indian position.
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While the Israeli
handling of the Palestinian uprising did witness the return of pre-1992 hostility
and anti-Israeli rhetoric in the media,
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the Indian government was content with
general platitudes and did not join the international chorus in condemning Israeli
handling of the violence.
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As one leading commentator remarked, 'there is little
reason for India to return to the old ways of doing diplomatic business in the
region'.
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On the contrary, in December 2000, right in the middle of the crisis, the
periodic meeting of Indian envoys in the Middle East was held in Israel.
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Even
negative media reports over the Indian contingent of the Lebanese-based United
Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had not prevented India from
signing defense contracts with Israel.
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There were suggestions and speculations in the media that a number of Arab
and Islamic countries have expressed their apprehensions and displeasure over
progress in Indo-Israeli ties. At times rescheduling of official visits to the region
was attributed to the host's displeasure over India's Israel policy. One unnamed
Arab diplomat even drew ideological parallels between BJP's
Hindutava
and
Zionism.
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A careful perusal of the foreign policy track record of the government,
however, indicates that far from antagonizing the Middle East, the Israel policy
had induced key players such as Iran and Saudi Arabia to engage actively with
India. If the former is rather keen to export oil through pipelines to India, the
latter is keen to promote bilateral ties with New Delhi.
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The Arab and Islamic
countries do not appear to keep their bilateral ties with India a hostage to the
Arab-Israeli conflict. Indeed, even Iraq was eager to improve its ties with India.
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