Gaza crisis: Sympathy notwithstanding, India must stand by Israel

It is impossible for any right-thinking person to not feel for the hapless citizens of Gaza who have been pulverised by the Israelis, but human sympathy is one thing, national interests and geopolitical realities quite another. India’s best friend in West Asia is not any of the Arab countries or the Palestinians whose cause we have ceaselessly supported since 1947, but Israel. We have strong defence ties with Israel, and even emotionally many Indians feel more for the Israelis than the Arabs or Palestinians. Israel is surrounded by hostile neighbours – which cannot but evoke sympathy from a population long subjected to jihadi attacks inspired and supported by Pakistan. [caption id=“attachment_1621545” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A picture taken from the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing from the coastal Palestinian enclave following an Israeli air strike on 16 July 2014. AFP[/caption] Why then do we try and avoid saying this more often? There are three reasons why India seeks strong ties with the Arab Muslim world despite the fact that most of them are ruled by despots and are almost never seen on our side on issues like Kashmir: our own domestic Muslim constituency, the large Indian diaspora in the Gulf, and our dependence on West Asian oil. This was evident yesterday (15 July), when most of the non-NDA opposition walked out over the Modi government’s refusal to pass a resolution to condemn Israel’s attacks on Gaza. The government did not flinch or bend, knowing full well that this was all about appeasing domestic Muslim sentiment – a communal vote which all “secular” parties barring the BJP seem to aspire for. Thanks to these three realities, India’s friendship with Israel is confined to closed doors and opaque deals. This policy is not specific to the NDA, but also Congress. India set up diplomatic relations with Israel under Narasimha Rao, and the big defence deals of the last 10 years were all signed by the UPA, which sets great store by the Muslim block vote. While the feelings for Israel are stronger in the BJP, the basic foreign policy set under Narasimha Rao of cosying up to Israel behind closed doors and singing songs of friendship outdoors with Arab West Asia is likely to remain the norm under a Modi-led NDA too. The moot point is: does it make sense to be more overtly pro-Israel, or at least more balanced between Israel and the Arab world? I believe the time is ripe to begin making such moves. As I have written in the past , India’s natural partners in the world are the US, Russia, Japan, South Africa, Vietnam and Israel (among many others, of course). The first three are important as a counterweight to China, and Israel is important to our defence and anti-terror stance. In the Muslim world, India needs good relationships with Iran, Shia Iraq and Turkey. Iran is the fountainhead of the Shia world, and hence a natural rival to Saudi Arabia, which foments hardline Wahabi doctrines everywhere, including India. Even though Iran is a fundamentalist regime in its own way, our relationship can be based on mutual respect and balance. India’s domestic Shia population is not radicalised, unlike its Sunni majority. However, any leeway on our West Asian policy will depend on domestic readiness to reduce our dependence on imported oil. The best way to do this is by freeing the price of domestic diesel and limiting subsidies in kerosene and LPG and increasing incentives to raise domestic production and supplies of petro-fuels, including gas. We also have to increase our investments in coal – and especially in renewable sources of energy like solar and wind energy. A higher price for domestic petro-fuels means alternative sources of hydrocarbon and renewable energy will become more economic. Israel, with the world’s third largest reserves of shale, is also heading towards less dependence on imported oil. This is what we too need to do. A sound and balanced West Asia policy needs sensible market-based pricing of oil back home. If we do this, we will have more room for manoeuvre in our policies to the Arab world and our friends in Israel. We could actually become better friends with Israel. An Israel without friends will be more brutal than one with some friends.