158 d omestic politics
However, a discussion of the domestic angle is incomplete without
mention of the pro- Israeli sentiments that are prevalent in India.
Pro- Israeli Sentiments
During the prolonged absence of relations, the Indian parlia-
ment functioned as the principal forum for articulating nongovernmen-
tal viewpoints. The Constituent Assembly, for example, discussed the
Jewish state in December 1947, more than fi ve months before the forma-
tion of the state of Israel.^68 Since then Israel fi gured prominently in the
Constituent Assembly Debates and subsequently in both houses of
India’s parliament.^69 In the wake of Nehru’s decision to recognize Israel,
attention shifted to normalization, and the opposition regularly raised
objections over India’s Israel policy.^70 The socialist parties, especially the
Praja Socialist Party (PSP) and Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP) had frater-
nal ties with the Israeli labor movement and looked “upon the Jewish
state as a beacon of demo cratic socialism” in the Middle East.^71 Mapai/
Labor rule in Israel until 1977 favored the pro- Israeli orientation of In-
dian socialists. Their participation in various international gatherings
such as Socialist International and the Asian Socialist conferences proved
useful for forging bilateral ties.^72 The socialists had long campaigned to
reverse the offi cial policy toward Israel. The socialist weekly Janata dis-
cussed Middle Eastern developments and gave the widest possible cover-
age to pro- Israeli views in the country.^73 Support for Israel also came
from the Swatantra Party, known for its pro- Western orientation and op-
position to the Soviet controlled- economy model and antidemo cratic
social order.
However, the most prominent and vocal support came from groups
that viewed Israel through the Islamic prism. Taking a more lenient
view of the situation, Heptulla attributed right- wing support to Israel to
the trauma of partition for Hindu refugees from Pakistan.^74 Partition
along religious lines had an adverse impact upon the scores of Hindus
and Sikhs who were uprooted from the land that became Pakistan.
Their immediate grievance against Muslims, whom they held responsi-
ble for partition, was transformed into a fondness for “enemies” of Mus-
lims. Their unfriendliness and suspicions toward the Muslim popula-
tion within India was externalized. They viewed Israel primarily as a
state opposed to Islam and Muslims, and were thus favorably disposed