11. Prelude to Normalization
On January 29, 1992, India became the last major non- Arab and
non- Islamic state to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel. While
the fi nal credit went to Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao, much of the
ground work was done by Rajiv Gandhi. During his tenure as prime min-
ister between 1984 and 1989, Gandhi made a number of small but sig-
nifi cant moves toward Israel, repaired some of the damages of the past,
and started a pro cess that eventually bore fruit a few years later. He ap-
proached the Middle East with an open mind and had a genuine desire to
explore new avenues. His failure to take the pro cess to its logical conclu-
sion underscored not only the limitations of India’s Israel policy but also
Gandhi’s own personality.
The 1980s saw Rajiv Gandhi’s po liti cal baptism, ascent to the highest
elected offi ce in the country, electoral debacle, and brutal assassination.
On October 30, 1984, literally hours after security guards assassinated
his mother, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv was sworn in as India’s youn gest prime
minister. Until that moment, he had never held any offi cial position.^1 He
showed himself to be a diff erent kind of politician. His absence of ideo-
logical orientation and refusal to see things within a narrow historical
context were his greatest assets as well as his impediments. Notwith-
standing limited po liti cal experience and acumen, he led the Congress
The international situation has no doubt changed considerably but my gut feeling
is that even if Indira Gandhi or Rajiv Gandhi were in offi ce today, they would still
be wearing blinkered glasses. In contrast [Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha] Rao,
though an elder statesman, comes out as a refreshingly pragmatic and unorthodox
politician. —Joseph Leibler, co- chairman, World Jewish Congress