268 c o n c l u s i o nthe Arabs, but the latter had no qualms about cozying up to Pakistan dur-
ing its confl icts with India. This Indian path led to a peculiar develop-
ment when it acknowledged Arab “help” during its confl icts even while it
was receiving unacknowledged military assistance from Israel.
When Prime Minister Narasimha Rao decided to establish full diplo-
matic relations with Israel in January 1992, he completed a pro cess that
began over four de cades earlier. India became the last major non- Islamic
country to establish full relations with the Jewish state. Through normal-
ization, Rao put an end to India’s treating its relations with Israel as
a zero- sum game. No longer would India assume that support for the
Arabs and Palestinians had to be accompanied by a total absence of for-
mal ties with Israel and that even a modicum of relations would be a
betrayal of the Palestinians.
This shift was possible both because of the end of the ideological di-
vide in international relations and due to specifi c circumstances that en-
abled India to revisit and re orient its Israel policy. The international com-
munity, especially in the Middle East, has been less hostile to Israel since
the end of the cold war. For the vast majority of Arab and Islamic coun-
tries, there is no military solution to the Arab- Israeli confl ict. In practical
terms it is no longer an “either/or” question. Unlike the past, India can
maintain cordial ties with Israel and with the Palestinians. Its new desire
for great- power status and its growing economic strength have resulted
in India gradually diluting the Pakistani factor from the Middle East.
The region has ceased to be a battleground for Indo- Pakistan diplomatic
rivalries.
The domestic Muslim opinion has shown signs of accommodation on
Israel. Improvement in Israel’s diplomatic status in the Islamic world
resonates among Indian Muslims. Although their pro- Arab sentiments
are visible and palpable when the peace pro cess turns violent, they are
not blind to the growing po liti cal recognition of Israel by countries such
as Saudi Arabia. Rabid opposition to Israel’s right to exist is largely con-
fi ned to marginal radical elements. The mainstream Islamic world has
serious diff erences with Israel’s policies but less with its existence.
During the cold war, the Indian approach to the Middle East had the
peculiar feature of being a zero- sum game. It was unable to decouple its
bilateral relations with Israel from the wider problems in the Middle
East. In its assessment, the furtherance of its interests in the Arab world
demanded not only remaining distant from Israel but even treating it as
an outcast. By not establishing formal ties with the Jewish state, it sought