India- Israel Relations in Post-Cold War Era; An analytical study.

Abstract

he research titled ‘INDIA-ISRAEL RELATIONS IN THE POST- COLD WAR ERA; AN ANLYTICAL STUDY’; seeks to examine the evolving dynamics of India- Israel relations during the post - Cold War period. The study primarily spans from 1992 to 2022. However, it is also analyse the pre- independence reservations, both at the individual and ideological levels, as they played a pivotal role in shaping the subsequent convergence between the two states. The study analyse the pre- independence stance of Indian National Congress and nationalist leaders like M.K.Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru towards Zionism, as it played a decisive factor in shaping India‘s post independence foreign policy. Despite their personal sympathy to the Jewish sufferings, they opposed Israel. Their opposition stemmed from the principled stance against Zionist methods with the support of British imperialism to establish a religious based state in Palestine soil. This opposition became the basis of India‘s Israel policy during the post- independence period, charactarised by ̳diplomatic estrangement‘ and postponement of diplomatic relation with Israel without any direct conflict of interest. However, amidst this ̳estrangement policy‘, India did not hesitate to seek security and intelligence assistance from Israel during the wars with China and Pakistan. With the end of the Cold War and subsequent global transformation, India abandoned the policy of estrangement and established diplomatic relations with Israel in January1992.The growing security challenges from India‘s geostrategic environment and the desire to become a hard power, India was compelled to venture a pragmatic foreign policy within its idealistic framework. This re-defined India‘s policy options towards global powers, including Israel. In the absence of Soviet Union, a major defence supplier to India, Israel emerged as an attractive partner for security and military modernisation. Beyond strategic and security engagements, the collaboration between India and Israel expanded to research and development, cyber security, agriculture and water management, science and technology and people- to- people contact and wide commercial cooperation. This collaboration became wideand open during the Narendra Modi period, and during this time India de- hyphenated its Israel policy from Palestine. This pivotal shift in India‘s foreign policy towards Israel represents a unique model in the Indian diplomatic history. Through historical and analytical methods, alongside comparative foreign policy analysis, the study incorporates Securitisation Theory, Rational Choice theory, and Defensive Realism to explain this paradigm shift. The research reveals that India initially held ideological differences with Israel, given its status as a Zionist state based on religion and supported by imperialist forces. This stance was rooted in India‘s ideological footings and also on societal security and economic security concerns. However, as India faced burgeoning security challenges during the post- Cold War period, it was compelled to reorient its engagement with Israel, recognising it as a reliable partner capable of providing assistance across various domains. In this shift, India was eager to preserve its traditional relations with Arabs and Palestine but also seemed as a fruitful attempt to protect India‘s national security through its collaboration with Israel.