By Ashwin Chandrashekhar
Indias relationship with Israel stood along Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehrus belief that Zionism found its strength in western imperialism until 1992 when the former established diplomatic relations with the latter. Despite Israels military assistance in the Indo-China war and the two Indo-Pak wars, the Indian political class remained skeptical of a potential relationship with the only stable democracy in Western Asia owing to its close relations with the Arab states and its over dependence on the Gulf States for energy supplies. With Nehrus close relationship with Nasser, India further found it difficult to forge a friendly foreign policy towards the Jewish majority state despite obvious economic and strategic benefits sprouting from an alliance.
Fast forward to the 21st century and India has become Israels primary defence market with the state running close to Russia as the South Asian giants leading defence equipment supplier. The advantages of such a relationship have proven to be manifold as Israel has not only helped upgrade Indias defence inventory but also, through various collaborations, allowed it to develop its own indigenous suppliers pool. While diplomatic exchanges have dried down between the two nations in the last decade, the strategic partnership has grown with a joint working group on counterinsurgency in place and regular co-operation in military operations being undertaken.
While popular belief in the media and within the defence circles seems to be that the two nations have a largely supplier-buyer relationship, a deeper look says otherwise. Indias purchase of the Phalcon AWACS system which has allowed it greater monitoring ability especially in border infiltration and cross-border terrorism has rung alarm bells in Pakistan that finds this a great security threat. In an Al Jazeera debate on burgeoning Indo-Israeli relations, this apprehension was confirmed by a former Pakistani Army Major and analyst Ikram Sehgal. The narrative surrounding the AWACS contract provides yet another interesting insight as to how Israel was initially to put pen on paper with China, no less, on the Phalcon deal but such that was struck down owing to pressure from the White House. The voices claiming that an Indo-US-Israel axis fighting together against terrorism and for democracy seems to have received a huge boost after this episode.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, India has tried its level best to adapt to a unipolar world and its decision to foster relations with Israel would definitely have had the United States reaction in mind. The political class has constantly claimed that India stands by Palestine and its Arab brothers on the Israel-Palestine question and owing to a strong Muslim minority in the nation, such a stand seems to be justified not only to stay in the good books of our Middle-Eastern trade partners but also a large section of the electoral college. But with India voting against Iran on three occasions at the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and aiding Israel to launch a satellite, TechSTAR, that is allegedly used to spy on the Islamic Republic points towards a difference implicit policy gaining precedence in Indias foreign relations.
Indias foreign policy took a functional route in 1992, when Narasimha Rao shed the skin of Nehruvian ideology and proceeded with a more rational outlook. Today, with Indias post-colonial identity receding and its neoliberal policies garnering huge support in the Western world, one wonders whether functionality has given way to the reincarnation of ideology based foreign policy. In a recent Foreign Policy magazine poll of 61 experts, India was rated as most preferred state to receive a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. The India-Israeli partnership will be a credible barometer to test whether the nation is bound to be a minion of Western hegemony or an independent and rational player in the global balance of power.