110
from establishing diplomatic relations with Israel and its recognition of
Israel on 17 September 1950—incidentally, the day future Prime Minister
Narendra Modi was born—was not followed by the establishment of
normal diplomatic relations (Kumaraswamy 1995 ). For the next four
decades, New Delhi followed a recognition-without-relations policy until
relations were established in January 1992 (Kumaraswamy 2010 ; Blarel
2014 ). Even minimal diplomatic exchanges with the Jewish State were
seen a dilution of and an insult to the Palestinian cause. Only at the end of
the Cold War was India able to adopt a policy of balance vis-à-vis the
Israeli- Palestinian equation.
Correspondingly since the days of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru,
India’s engagements with the Middle Eastern countries had the Palestinian
flavour. This was more pronounced towards Nasser’s Egypt but could be
noticed with other countries as well. This was often expressed through the
demand for the ‘implementation’ of the UN resolutions; for example, during
the second summit held in Cairo in October 1964 the NAM declared that
[t]he Conference condemns the imperialist policy pursued in the Middle
East and in conformity with the character of the United Nations decides to:
1) Endorse the full restoration of all the rights of the Arab people of Palestine
to their homeland and their in alienated right to self-determination;
2) Declare their full support to the Arab people of Palestine in their struggle
for liberation from colonialism and racialism. (India, MEA 1981 , 21)The Palestinian issue figured prominently in various official statements
issued during Prime Minister Nehru’s engagements with foreign leaders;
the Nehru-Nasser joint communiqué during the latter’s visit to Delhi in
April 1960 noted that both leaders “reiterated their view that the question
of Palestine should be solved in conformity with the provisions of the UN
Charter, the resolutions of the UN and the principles unanimously
adopted at the Bandung Conference of 1955 for peaceful settlement of
the Palestine question” (India, Foreign Affairs Record 1960 ).
The same trend was followed by his successors, especially Indira Gandhi
and Rajiv Gandhi. In September 1974, Foreign Minister Swaran Singh
told the UN General Assembly:
The situation in the Middle East may freeze into another period of neglect,
if the momentum towards a solution of the basic problems slows down. Only
the rapid and full implementation of Security Council resolution 242 (1967)
can lead to a just and enduring peace. The restoration of the legitimateP. R. KUMARASWAMY AND MD. M. QUAMAR