addition, the Madrid conference and the recognition of Israel by the Soviet
Union and China infl uenced the Indian communists.
In discussing this broad picture, this book looks for answers to some
widely ranging, critical, and disturbing questions. Why did India pursue
a domestically controversial policy toward Israel? What were the roots of
India’s Israel policy? How relevant has the role played by the domestic
Muslim population been? Why did India wait for far- reaching interna-
tional changes before modifying its policy? Is there a pattern in India’s
newly found friendship with Israel?
Largely adopting a chronological path, this book traces the Indian
policy within four broad timeframes. The fi rst phase coincides with the
nationalist struggle, when the Indian leaders were unfavorably disposed
toward Jewish po liti cal aspirations in Palestine. The second phase spans
the formation of Israel in May 1948 and Nehru’s assurances in March
1952 in favor of normalization. This phase marked some improvements
and was accompanied by an Indian desire to reexamine its earlier stance
regarding Israel. This period also witnessed some meaningful interac-
tions between the two sides and raised hopes for a new and productive
relationship.
The third phase roughly begins in early 1952, when Education Minis-
ter Azad persuaded Nehru to defer normalization. In 1956, India ruled
out diplomatic ties, and for the next four de cades, the Indian attitude
gradually hardened. If relations remained cool during the Nehru years,
they rapidly deteriorated and reached their nadir in November 1975, when
India joined with the Arab and Islamic countries in denouncing Zionism
as racism. Minor improvements in the late 1970s when the opposition
Janata Party was in power were nullifi ed when Indira Gandhi returned to
power in 1980 and anti- Israeli rhetoric resumed.
The fourth and fi nal phase began in January 1992, when Prime Min-
ister Rao reversed the traditional policy and established full diplomatic
relations with Israel. Because of the paucity of discussion, this work pri-
marily focuses on the pre- 1992 developments. Indeed, from early 1920,
when the roots of the Israeli policy were planted, until relations were es-
tablished seven de cades later, the absence of formal relations remained
the hallmark of the Indian policy. This was both unpre ce dented and
deeply divisive. Indeed, the nonrelations were as colorful as the post-
normalization developments.
A serious discussion of India’s Israel policy would have to begin at the
beginning: Mahatma Gandhi. He was not the architect of India’s Israel
introduction 23