our mutual interests.”^65 To put it mildly, India was more understanding
of Arab support for Pakistan than the Arab countries were of the Indian
position on Bangladesh.
The post- Bangladesh period witnessed a further deterioration in In-
dia’s attitude toward Israel. A host of domestic and external factors con-
tributed to this trend. The massive mandate secured by Indira Gandhi in
the 1971 Lok Sabha elections and the military success over Bangladesh in
December strengthened and consolidated her position and power. Com-
ing out of the shadow of being Nehru’s daughter, Indira Gandhi emerged
as India’s undisputed leader. The opposition, which had been needling
the government over its Middle East policy, was decisively defeated. Par-
ties sympathetic toward Israel, such as Swatantra and Jan Sangh, faced
serious electoral reverses. These developments virtually eliminated the
type of real opposition that was witnessed during the June war and the
Rabat fi asco. Around the same time, Israel was facing increasing interna-
tional isolation and condemnation over its policy regarding the territories
it had occupied during the June war.
As a result, India’s support for the Arabs during the October war of
1973 was a foregone conclusion. Even without the Arab threat of an oil
embargo, it was overwhelmingly supportive of the Egypt- initiated war. It
squarely blamed Israel for its refusal to vacate the occupied territories.
“Intransigence” on the part of Israel, it argued, was the basic reason for
the hostilities.^66 In December 1973, Foreign Minister Swaran Singh main-
tained that the “arrogance” of Israel and the active support it received
from its “mighty friends” (an obvious reference to the United States) “had
driven the Palestinians to mea sures of desperation.”^67 Unlike the past, the
offi cial position was not seriously challenged either in the parliament or
by the press. The post- 1973 years witnessed the growing infl uence of the
PLO. In October 1974, the Rabat summit of the Arab League recognized
the PLO as the “sole and legitimate” representative of the Palestinians.
This was followed by the decision of the United Nations to bestow “ob-
server” status upon the PLO; the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat ad-
dressed the world body on November 13, 1974. These events resulted in
India recognizing the PLO and permitting an in de pen dent offi ce in New
Delhi.
India’s Israel policy reached its nadir on November 10, 1975, when it
joined with the Arab and Islamic states and voted for the notorious UN
General Assembly Resolution 3379, which described Zionism as a form
of racism and racial discrimination.^68 Justifying its stance, India argued,
216 the years of hardened hostility, 1964–1984