Racking up yet another distinction,
Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Palestine on his
three-nation to West Asia on Feb 10th. Much before the significance
of the historic visit be appreciated, twitter wars
erupted with Congress supporters contesting claims of Ministry of External
Affairs. Soon, photographs of Prime Minister Nehru meeting UNEF (United Nations
Emergency Forces) troops commanded by Lt Gen. RS Gyani at Gaza strip in 1960 surfaced
on the social media network. But however, Nehru’s visit wasn’t official and
moreover, Gaza was then under the control of Egyptian Military. Hence, Nehru
can’t be credited with the honor of visiting Palestine. Support to Palestine
cause has been basic cornerstone of Indian Foreign policy. In 1974, India became
the first non-Arab country to recognize Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
as the legitimate representative of Palestine People and officially recognized its
statehood in 1988.
Modi’s visit to the West Bank comes
weeks after India has hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Earlier
in 2017, Modi made an official visit to Israel the first ever by any Indian
Prime Minister. India for long delicately balanced its relations with Israel
and Palestine that had deep semblance with domestic politics. Since
independence, Palestine issue has been a matter of idealistic commitment and
appeasement of Muslims in India. Obligated by burgeoning India’s energy needs, sizeable
remittances and being home to 3 million Indians, India has been “more Arab than Arabs” and vociferously
championed Palestine cause at the UN. India voted in favor of Palestine for becoming
full member of UNESCO, backed the resolution against the construction of wall
by Israel at UNGA, supported the installation of Palestine flags at UN premises.
Despite, India’s unequivocal support for Palestine’s official nationhood, Palestine/
Arab League/ OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries) never backed New Delhi at
UN over Kashmir issue. On the contrary, Indo-Israeli collaboration in agriculture,
water management and defence have been yielding immense benefits. Intriguingly,
India never overtly supported Israel on International platforms nor openly wooed
Israel.
Moreover, India’s support to
Palestine has now become an oversold argument, Indian Muslims have moved away
from the issue and are more worried about their economic upliftment. Further
the tectonic shift in geopolitics and bid for hegemonic assertion between the
Sunni and Shia powers has taken the West’s interest from the Palestine issue.
Even Palestine issue no longer beleaguers the Arab World. In fact, the prospect
of oil embargoes on India by Arab world is now a distant rarity. Global oil
markets which have slumped due to poor demand have barely recovered. An
economically resurgent India with rising demand for oil can be a lucrative market
for Arab countries. While India is exploring
new avenues to meet its rising energy requirements and swiftly accelerated the
pace of exploring renewable sources, Indian market can be best destination bet
for Oil rich nations (in terms of investments and oil demand). In a bid to
reduce its dependence on West Asia, India is diversifying its oil and gas
imports. New Delhi has started importing natural gas from US which is now exporting
gas to Jordan, Kuwait and UAE. In short, India’s fears of remittances, oil
sanctions and approval from Indian Muslims should no longer encumber its policy
towards Palestine. Also, West Asian countries struggling to quell domestic
insurgencies and changing power dynamics are no longer bothered about
Palestine. Countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia are not averse to forging ties
with Israel. Now the fissures within the PLO have become ominous and the organization
lost its resolve. With international community becoming wary of growing threat
of terrorism, countries are no longer willing to buy the doctrine of good and
bad terrorism. The armed militant wing of PLO, Hamas leader is blacklisted as
terrorist by the US and India’s stance on terrorism is in sharp contrast to the
objectives of PLO.
In December 2017, President Trump’s
decision of recognizing Jerusalem as capital of Israel in December created a
furor in Arab nations who jointly adopted a resolution in UNGA against the
move. Despite strengthening partnership and elevating friendship with Israel,
India voted in favor of Palestine reasserting its commitment towards Palestine.
Burdened by historical baggage, India is still fervently wedded to objective of
Palestine nationhood. With time, India is making readjustments by dehyphenating
its ties with Israel and Palestine. Modi’s visit to Israel in July 2017 skipping
Ramallah has been the first step in that direction.
For all its Hindutva credentials, India’s
foreign policy under Modi regime towards Israel and Palestine has been a matter
of intense scrutiny. Steering clear of symbolism, Modi eloquently dehyphenated
India’s ties with both countries. Months before his Israel visit, Modi courted
all the West Asian countries and hosted President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine
and reaffirmed India’s support to Palestine. In a bid to correct the predicaments
of Indian diplomacy, Modi traveled to Ramallah in a Jordanian helicopter from
Amman, escorted by Israeli choppers. Soon after his arrival, Modi laid wreath
at mausoleum of Yasser Arafat and later visited his museum. Certainly, this
gesture might have irked Israelis as they believe Arafat was responsible for
the killing of several innocent people.
President Abbas accorded red-carpet
welcome to Modi and sought Indian assistance and sustained friendship. Both leaders
held bilateral talks and signed six agreements worth $50 million which included
setting up super specialty hospital at Bethlehem, National Printing press, building
an empowerment center for women and construction of schools. After the talks, Abbas
conferred “Grand Collar of State of Palestine”,
highest honor in recognition of Modi’s leadership and efforts to promote the
historic relations between the state of Palestine and Republic of India. Modi
carefully avoided references to Jerusalem and strongly asserted that a
permanent solution can be possible through dialogue. He said, “dialogue and farsightedness can break the
cycle of violence and free it (Palestine) from the baggage of the past. We know
it is not easy but we need to keep trying as a lot is at stake”. Conferring
the honor, President Abbas said, “We rely
on India’s role as an international voice of great standing and weigh through
its historical role in Non-Aligned Movement and in all international forum and
its increasingly growing power on the strategic and economic levels, in a way
that is conducive and just and desired peace in our region”.
After renewed emphasis on “Act East Policy”, Modi with his
tri-nation visit to West Asia energized “Link
West or Look West” policy. So far, while his efforts in this direction are
underappreciated countries held toast to his diplomatic efforts and leadership
by conferring medals and legions. Clearly, unlike in the Cold war era,
countries are openly seeking friendships with nations of different hues. India
too under Modi, courted Sunni and Shia majority nations and struck a delicate
balance. Pariahs states no longer exist. While maintaining a degree of acquaintance
with all nations is useful in international arena, every country should always
be mindful of its interests and should work towards realizing the same. Modi’s
visit to Palestine though reckoned as “forward-looking” has negligible tangible
outcomes.
No comments:
Post a Comment