122 recognition without relationsunfriendliness toward the Jewish demand for a homeland in Palestine,
its opposition to the partition plan, and its vote against Israel’s admission
to the United Nations. Its decision to recognize Israel, however, was com-
plicated in the long run by the absence of formal ties between the two
countries.
For more than four de cades, the absence of normalization or recogni-
tion without relations remained the hallmark of India’s Israel policy.
Nonrelations as a Policy
States rarely establish formal ties with all the countries of the
world. The establishment of relations and the opening of residential mis-
sions are decided by po liti cal, economic, strategic, or cultural consider-
ations vis-à- vis the recognized state. Conversely, the fewer shared inter-
ests, the greater the chances of nonrelations. If this was the rationale, the
prolonged absence of formal ties with Israel would not be controversial.
India’s initial willingness to seek normal ties with Israel and its subse-
quent backtracking make the case rather unique. New Delhi’s original
intention to establish a residence mission in Israel did not receive ade-
quate attention in the scholarly literature. And because of the absence of
formal ties, recognition itself was often treated as a not- so- signifi cant
development.^86
Nehru admitted that normalization was a logical step after recogni-
tion. Speaking in the context of relations with Spain in 1956 he told law-
makers, “a logical consequence of [recognition] was to exchange diplo-
matic mission, subject of course, to our having the personnel.”^87 This
appears to be the general Indian position on recognition and is true for
Israel. A number of offi cial statements support this understanding. An
offi cial note prepared on April 4, 1951, revealed a favorable disposition to-
ward normalization: “In order to ensure that we obtain a clear picture of
the Middle East, it is necessary for us to open a mission in Israel as soon
as possible.”^88 During his March 1952 visit to New Delhi, Eytan got a dis-
tinct impression that normalization was around the corner. According
to him,
Before Israel’s representative [that is, Eytan] left New Delhi, he was in-
formed that the Prime Minister [Nehru] had approved the proposal....
A draft bud get for the Indian legation was being prepared, though