I recently attended a lecture by the Ambassador of the Republic of India at the Tel Aviv University’s S. Daniel Abraham Center for Diplomatic and Regional Cooperation. Ambassador Navtej Singh Sarna, a very tall, turbaned Sikh in a black Nehru suit, is an imposing figure. Both a diplomat and a writer of novels, short stories and nonfiction, the ambassador’s stated topic was Recent Milestones in India’s Foreign Policy. However, he diverged from that subject and gave his audience a brief introduction to India’s diplomatic history, leaving ample time to answer questions.

Noting the similarity of Israel’s independence (1948 from Britain) to that of India (1947 from Britain), the ambassador told us, generally speaking, that the job of a country’s foreign policy is to maximize the country’s interests. In India’s case, a fluid and flexible policy has been required, beginning with India’s independence up to the present day, and rooted in the bedrock values of the people. He emphasized that all eight major religions are found in India and are part of those bedrock values. According to the ambassador, all the religions “get along relatively well.”

An internationalist, nondiscriminatory foreign policy evolved from India’s colonial past. At the time of its independence, India had been an impoverished, colonized country for 200 years and its citizens were in a pitiable state because of the general lack of opportunity, a condition that had been imposed on them by the colonial regime. Wishing to open itself to aid and development from all-powerful countries (communist and democratic) and wanting to ally itself with other countries in similar circumstances, India chose a policy of nonalignment. This was considered the only possibility at the time and it remains so today. India believes that it continues to benefit from being a leader of the nonaligned movement, which has allowed it the opportunity to develop its potential.

The ambassador pinpointed 1989 as a turning point in the history of his country. During that year the Cold War ended with a seeming victory for democracy, of which India is the world’s largest example. In the same year, India’s economic reform program, which began in 1981, also ended. In the ambassador’s words, “A nation, not just an idea, became reality.” With its large educated work force and a positive domestic market, India was ready to gain its place as a global leader in a world environment that needs leadership.

India has the world’s largest “middle class” and a population second only to China. But India’s birth rate is twice that of China and its median age is only 25 compared to China’s 34. Inevitably, India will overtake China as the world’s most populous country. Economically, India is far behind China but it’s still one of the world’s largest economic powers, currently ranked between Japan and Germany. Nevertheless, India faces problems with its global image, food security, and environmental challenges. Multilateralism remains India’s strategy to enable it to become a developed society in which all Indians can reach their potential and India can meet its global challenges.

According to the ambassador, India’s goal has been largely realized - in a tough environment, even worse than Israel’s. Its neighbor Pakistan, the world’s second largest Muslim country, is a nuclear power and an epicenter of terrorism. The two countries have disputed the region of Jammu-Kashmir ever since the British left in 1947. India had its own “9/11” last November 26, when infiltrators from Pakistan terrorized Mumbai. Noting that Pakistan has entire regions of lawlessness, the ambassador told us that no accommodation can, or will be, made with terrorists. Despite numerous agreements with Pakistan, terrorism is still a big impediment to close relations, which would benefit both countries.

India, often described as a subcontinent because of its size, stretches from the Persian Gulf to the Straits of Malacca (off of Malaysia). India is an energy-hungry nation that seeks good strategic relations with all its neighbors and the world powers. It has recently had a turnaround in its relations with America and has been termed an “indispensable country” by President Obama.

In the question and answer period, the ambassador replied to a question about India and the Muslims. Relations with some Muslim countries, most notably Pakistan and Afghanistan, are troubled. Afghanistan is a neighboring country that can’t be ignored because India has many interests there, including many Indians residents. There will be no accommodation with the Taliban, because there are no “good” terrorists. India has ancient relationships with Afghanistan and also Iran. India has many Shia Muslims, like Iran, but India’s Muslim population is even larger. In fact, India has the third largest Muslim population in the world, after Indonesia and Pakistan. Fact: India needs Iranian oil. So even though Iran is violating the agreements it has signed regarding nuclear energy, dialogue is the way forward between India and Iran, not conflict. (In 2005, the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement was signed, in which India agreed to separate its civil and military nuclear facilities and place all its civil nuclear facilities under the IAEA framework, in exchange for America’s full civil nuclear cooperation with India.)

I asked the ambassador why, since India is an increasingly potent giant among nations that have built a strong relationship with Israel, it has consistently voted against Israel in the United Nations as part of the nonaligned movement. Did India not give much importance to U.N. votes? He replied, “That’s your inference, not ours.” He commented on the important partnership between Israel and India in the fields of security, defense, agriculture, trade and tourism, noting parenthetically that there are up to 40,000 Israelis, including 25,000 young post-Army backpackers, touring India at any given time.

The ambassador astounded me when he mentioned that Israel’s exports to India were $4 billion in 2009. India’s largest trading partner, China, exported only about ten times that to India, as did America. Israel’s balance of trade is negative with China and America, but it’s positive with India.

Despite the ambassador’s denial, I believe that India’s votes in the U.N. are only formal tokens. Both countries have terrorist neighbors and are vibrant democracies. Israel has overtaken Russia to become India’s number one defense partner and arms supplier while India relies on Israel’s expertise in security, agriculture and water management. The two countries are partners in telecommunications, software and medical equipment business ventures. India is quite aware of the reasons why Israel takes a highly combative stance against Muslim threats, while respecting India’s history of multilateralism. The future of the strong partnership between India and Israel looks bright, as was evident from the ambassador’s

presentation.

Stephen Kramer resided and worked in the Atlantic City area until 1991, when he moved to Israel with his wife, Michal Langweiler, and two sons. He can be reached at Sjk1@jhu.edu.