DNA Edit: Welcome to India

The optimism surrounding Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s four-day visit to India is understandable. Principles aside, India’s calibrated responses to the marked shifts in the fluid world of geopolitics are underlined by a specific objective: Forging and bolstering ties with nations that serve its best interests. In the current dynamics, New Delhi has realised that Israel has a pivotal role to play in certain key areas, such as defence, trade, R&D, tourism and agriculture. The high-profile delegation comprising 130 businessmen from 102 Israeli companies, accompanying Netanyahu, will explore possibilities to deepen commercial ties, with their Indian counterparts. This is indeed a milestone in bilateral relations, propelled in no small measure by significant investments from the Israeli government. A little over $100 million will be pumped in a phased manner over five years.

At a time when the Indian economy is looking at Foreign Direct Investment in single-brand retail, aviation, and construction, Israel’s keenness to engage with India not only sends a positive message to the world, but also lends heft to New Delhi’s measures of making India an attractive destination for global investors, in terms of ease of doing business. Netanyahu’s visit – the first since PM Ariel Sharon’s trip during Prime Minister AB Vajpayee’s tenure in September 2003 – is also a departure from the template that has guided Indo-Israeli ties.

Though India had established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2002, theirs was a complicated chemistry, often marked by exchanges that were deliberately kept under the radar to avoid diplomatic fallout with other states. The Palestinian cause, to which India has been aligned since the days of Jawaharlal Nehru, was the centrepiece of New Delhi’s West Asia model and often influenced its terms of engagement with Israel. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave it a new direction and boost when he visited Israel last year. It was an acknowledgement of New Delhi’s closeness with Israel, a coming out of sorts from behind closed doors – a bold move by PM Modi. It was about time for the relationship to step out into the sun. There’s no denying Israel’s many acts of solidarity during India’s hour of crisis. Even before the Kargil war, which signalled a turning point in the relationship, Israel had stood by India during the 1962 war with China.

 At the time of Kargil, it had provided India with defence support, including laser-guided missiles for India’s fighter jets, which tilted the outcome in India’s favour. The Congress government’s steadfast refusal to acknowledge Israel’s contributions were motivated by domestic concerns – electoral politics to be precise – since it didn’t want to be perceived as pro-Israeli by Indian Muslims. Now, finally, with the shedding of pretensions and doublespeak under the Modi dispensation, India will likely register tremendous gains from this association. New Delhi can still maintain its individuality, as evidenced in the UN General Assembly when it voted against declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. PM Modi knows what battles to choose, and the costs those would entail. For now, the optics of a bonhomie should serve as a warning for both Pakistan and China.