since the early 1950s.^7 Because of fl ight schedules, he made a brief stop-
over in New Delhi and stayed overnight in the eastern city of Calcutta.
While no Indian offi cial received him in the capital, the Israeli leader
was greeted by a small demonstration in Calcutta.^8 When the opposi-
tion criticized the government for its “discourtesy,” Foreign Minister
Dinesh Singh admitted that no one “from the Ministry of External af-
fairs received him.... But the arrangements were known to him.”^9 The
issue did not die down, and a few weeks later he informed the Rajya
Sabha: “It is not that we extended our hospitality. We only extended our
courtesies.”^10
The handling of another visit in the same month underscores the In-
dian attitude. Deputy Prime Minister Margarete Wittkowski of East Ger-
many visited New Delhi before India had formally recognized East Ber-
lin. She was received by none other than Foreign Minister Dinesh Singh.
Though India had recognized Israel as early as September 1950, it chose
not to extend any courtesy to President Shazar. India’s assertion that Sha-
zar was on a “private visit” through India was technically correct. But he
was on a state visit to the neighboring country of Nepal and was com-
pelled to stop in India for technical reasons.^11 The whole episode high-
lighted that India was not prepared to extend normal cordialities toward
Israel. Before long, this attitude manifested more clearly.
The June War, 1967
The Arab- Israeli war of 1967 was a hotly contested foreign- policy
issue in in de pen dent India’s history. Neither the aggressive opposition
nor the watchful media were prepared to accept the arguments and ratio-
nale put out by the government or the Congress Party. While they were
unable to bring about any change, the government was certainly put on
the defensive. Tension in the Middle East was mounting following Presi-
dent Nasser’s decision on May 16 to demand the withdrawal of the United
Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) from the Sinai Peninsula. This even-
tually culminated in a complete pullout of the UN peacekeeping force. A
few days later, on May 25, India announced its position on the unfolding
drama. This was only days away from Israel’s fi rst decisive move toward
confrontation, namely, the appointment of Moshe Dayan as defense minis-
ter. More than ten days before the commencement of actual hostilities, in
identical statements before both houses of parliament, External Aff airs
204 the years of hardened hostility, 1964–1984