Modi says, "Mazel tov"

The first few years after independence were marked with a cautious approach to foreign policy. As Nehru resolutely kept himself away from major tangles in the Cold War and engaged with Russia mainly fulfilling the needs of nascent India related to defence and security. Not just that, India sought a lot of help to sustain its wobbly economy and armed forces through imports and technology transfers.

A major element of Nehru's tilt away from America was the cold shoulder given to Israel, a nation which many believed to be a natural ally to India. While Nehru sympathized with the plight of the Jews and the atrocities they faced during the Holocaust, he bluntly refused deep collaborations with Israel, nor did he support the formation of Israel very enthusiastically, although India formally recognized Israel in 1950.

However, the world has shifted drastically since Nehru’s time. The current situation in the world is not very suitable for clinging to long time friendships, especially in terms of ensuring military alliances. Most major powers are weary and wary of entering into any new fray, and especially for India, the reticence the U.S. has historically shown in standing against Pakistan is not something reassuring. The timing is especially bad on this, considering China's posturing and the repeated run-ins the Indian security forces are having against China. In a way, India is caught in a strategic corridor between China and Pakistan, with the Belt and Road initiative making the neighbourhood even more problematic for India.

Hence, for the current administration, the fresh friendly overtures to Israel are a godsend. A nation which stands as a sole non-Islamic nation in the restive Middle East, Israel shares India's wariness for Islamic terrorism and especially Pakistan, which it does not have any diplomatic ties with. Moreover, the current duo of Netanyahu and Modi are much more compatible with each other than previous Congress administrations which were wary of seeing themselves close to a nation seen as a persecutor of Muslims in the Middle East. Especially in the Nehruvian model of politics and probably considering Nehru’s own bent towards taking a compassionate view of politics, he was maybe uncomfortable the manner in which Israel was formed.

However, Modi’s hard realism is visibly different from Nehru’s. Modi apparently realizes that India needs to follow some models of American diplomacy, especially the duplicitous policy of "stay the best of friends with Saudi Arabia and on the other hand, remain the closest supporter of Israel and bar any international sanctions against it." Similarly, Modi seems to want to pull off the feat of maintaining and improving ties with Iran on one hand while building them up with Israel.

The ties hold good hopes and will be mutually beneficial if they are navigated well. Israel has done a lot in terms of water conservation, research in building quality urban spaces and is in a way, the pioneer of the Smart Cities concept, which Modi will want to tap into for his Smart cities project, and of course, arms and technology transfer which India is seeking to bolster its flagging military technology. For Israel, India is a major ally which in its own view, is in a similar plight with regards to Islamic terrorism, along with of course, being a lucrative economic opportunity hungry for transfer of technology and products in all the aforementioned areas.

In terms of being victims of terrorism, Israel actually has immensely superior military might than its purported enemies such as Hamas and Hezbollah, and sophisticated defence systems such as the Iron Dome and its belligerent military have made it extremely hard for terrorists to strike at Israel, while India has faced much more daunting challenges in the form of well-equipped Kashmiri infiltration in a rough terrain, coupled with major terrorist attacks on its soil. Nonetheless, India and Israel can form a manoeuvrable political alliance to create pressure on their common nemeses, and possibly share intelligence, military insights and collaborate strategically to each other’s mutual advantage.

On the other hand, both India and Israel face similar criticism regarding their human rights records. Israel is accused of human rights violations in Palestine, while India has similar allegations of heavy-handedness in Kashmir, the Northeastern states, and last but not the least, in it's own heartland against the left-wing insurgency. Modi and the BJP are facing even more criticism against the violent mobs attacking Dalits and Muslims in the name of cow protection. In the eyes of their detractors, it is an alliance of two leaders with similarly questionable human rights records. Both of them have mostly shown disdain of such criticism, mostly ignoring it, sometimes responding to it and many-a-times lashing out at it as propaganda by opposing politicians and vested interests.

At this point however, India's dire need of an ideologically aligned ally who is politically, technologically and scientifically powerful at the same time trumps all considerations. At a time when traditional allies such as Russia, the U.S. and others are not being of too much help or are locked in their own tussles, Israel is a useful new friend India can hope to bank on. To be fair, the Nehruvian sympathy to Palestine and the inexplicable lack of diplomatic ties with Israel did not pay off in terms of political advantages or alliances, while Israel supported India in campaigns against Pakistan despite the lack of strong diplomatic ties.

If India and Israel can manage these ties well, maybe use them to steer Trump and the U.S. to help their own ends, and create a strong multi-faceted association, it will probably be one of the best foreign policy achievements of Modi's tenure. But Modi also cannot afford to let go of India’s current allies. He will need to strike a fine balance between other allies like Iran, other Middle Eastern nations in light of these new developments. Especially with Iran, where India plans to invest in a big way for development of the Chabahar Port, and which is a critical supplier of oil for India, Modi’s administration will need to step up efforts to reassure them that the relations with Israel will not alter the historically deep ties with Iran.

In sum, the development of Indo-Israeli ties was a political inevitability, regardless of the extent to which they blossom. As for the moral angle of allying with a ruthlessly militaristic nation like Israel, the answer would be to ignore them and progress to strengthen these ties due to the many political and strategic exigencies that India faces.