prelude to normalization 235island just before the coup. Rabuka not only overthrew a demo cratically
elected government but also adopted an overtly racist stance regarding the
ethnic Indian population of the island. When New Delhi was campaign-
ing for international pressure for the restoration of democracy in Fiji, Is-
rael was the fi rst country to send an ambassador to the new regime. Under
these circumstances, Israeli overtures in Fiji were seen as unpleasant de-
velopments.^45 During this period, some leading media commentators also
expressed concerns over possible cooperation between Israel and Paki-
stan.^46 These developments considerably reduced the space for diplomatic
maneuvers.
The Twilight Moments
Rajiv Gandhi attempted to take a new look at India’s Israel policy
and even took small steps in that direction. Though he had four diff erent
foreign ministers, he himself conducted the foreign policy. Unlike others,
his government was more inclined to meet those who actively campaigned
on behalf of Israel, and some of these contacts took place in India. He
sought a modus vivendi with Israel and its supporters in the United States
on issues such as Pakistani weapons proliferation. Even in 1989, a few
months before the Lok Sabha elections, he allowed the Israeli consul to
operate beyond Maharashtra. Israel was probably one of the few issues
where progress was consistently made during Gandhi’s tenure. But he
could not take that giant leap to normalization.
Dogged by corruption charges, administrative ineffi ciency, and inter-
nal dissent, the November 1989 Lok Sabha elections witnessed an anti-
INC wave, and Gandhi was voted out of offi ce. The two minority govern-
ments that succeeded him headed by V. P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar
were too preoccupied with their own po liti cal survival to make any far-
reaching foreign- policy decisions, particularly on Israel. Moreover, Singh’s
electoral strategy was based on forging common cause with self- appointed
Muslim leaders such the Shahi Imam of New Delhi’s Jama Masjid. This
strategy eliminated any hopes of normalization of relations with Israel.
Confronted with growing instability, in the summer of 1991, President
R. Venkataraman called for midterm Lok Sabha elections. While address-
ing an election meeting near the southern Indian city of Madras (now
Chennai), Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a female suicide bomber
belonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).^47