domestic politics 159toward it. Their criticism of the domestic policy of the Congress Party as
an appeasement toward Muslims was extended to the foreign- policy
realm. For pro- Hindu and pro- Sikh parties like the Jan Sangh and Akali
Dal, the Congress Party’s Israel policy was a hallmark of its Muslim
appeasement.
Two examples will illustrate the pro- Hindu mindset of the Jan Sangh.
The manifesto of the party for the fi rst Lok Sabha elections in 1952 de-
clared that secularism “as currently interpreted in this country, however,
is only a euphemism for the policy of Muslim appeasement. The so-
called secular composite nationalism is neither nationalism nor secular-
ism but only a compromise with communalism of those who demand a
price even for their lip- service loyalty to this country.”^75 Refl ecting simi-
lar sentiments, on December 23, 1953, a Bharatiya Jan Sangh member of
Lok Sabha demanded that Muslims should not be “allowed in the army,
navy, air force and police and they should not be allowed to occupy any
key posts including the offi cers of Ministers [and] one hundred miles on
the borders of Pakistan should be cleared of people who are likely to have
leanings towards Pakistan.”^76 In other words, Jan Sangh perceived both
the domestic and foreign policy of the Congress Party as one of appeas-
ing the Muslim minority; in its assessment, the INC was pro- Muslim
domestically and pro- Arab externally.
The Jan Sangh was a prominent critic of India’s Israel policy from the
outset. While it was critical of the “artifi cial division” of Germany, India,
Korea, and Vietnam, it was favorably disposed toward the partition of Pal-
estine.^77 It demanded immediate Indian recognition and normalization of
relations with Israel.^78 As early as 1949, the right- wing Hindu Mahasabha
deplored “the discriminatory policy of the Nehru government in refusing
recognition” to Israel.^79 The partition of Punjab witnessed the emergence
of large scale anti- Muslim sentiments among the Sikhs; the Akali Dal
leader Master Tara Singh even off ered to fi ght for Israel. Though their
overall infl uence on Indian foreign policy has been marginal, one cannot
ignore the anti- Muslim roots of their pro- Israeli sentiments. Even K. M.
Panikkar viewed possible Indo- Israeli rapprochement through a postpar-
tition Hindu paradigm. Writing on the eve of in de pen dence, he hoped
that “Hindu India” would be more favorable toward the Zionists after
partition.
While the infl uence of the Muslim population upon Middle East pol-
icy did not receive adequate treatment, the anti- Muslim sentiments of the
Hindu right fi gure prominently in mainstream Indian discourses.^80