GS Paper 2
Syllabus: International Relations
Source: IE
Direction: This article highlights how India-Palestine evolved over the years and the changes in India’s approach towards Palestine.
Context: India’s hesitation to support Palestine is deeply regretful because it departs from India’s own tradition of anti-colonial humanism.
Background:
- India and Palestine share many commonalities –
- Both have a colonial history of subjugation
- Both have been home to multiple religious communities with a complex sense of nationhood.
- For several decades after independence, India’s stance on Israel-Palestine has been of sympathy and support for Palestinians.
- The leaders of India’s anti-colonial movement were vocal in their condemnation of Israel’s forcible occupation of Palestine in order to establish a Jewish homeland.
- For example, Mahatma Gandhi stated that imposing Jews on Arabs is unjust and inhumane.
- During the 1947 and 1998 UN General Assembly Resolutions (UNGA), India submitted that
- Independence for Palestine should be the primacy of any future plan for the country.
- Right of Palestinians to self-determination
- India was also among the first countries that recognised the Palestinian state.
Change in India’s approach toward Palestine:
- According to experts, India has now turned its face from Israeli atrocities on Palestinians.
- Turning a blind eye to human rights breaches in Gaza, India abstained from UN Human Rights Council resolutions on war crimes and violence in Palestinian territory in 2015 and again in 2021.
- However, India’s support for the Palestinian cause still reflects in the work of several Indian civil society, educational and cultural institutions.
- For example, the work of the Indian Campaign for the Cultural and Academic Boycott of Israel has underlined that a violent occupier like Israel is deeply unjust and morally repugnant.
India’s current approach towards the Israel-Palestine conflict driven by pragmatism:
| De-hyphenation | Careful Balancing Act |
| Meaning: Dealing with two countries, having adversarial relationship between them, in an independent manner.
Examples: ● In 2018, the PM of India became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel who skipped visiting the Palestinian Authority. ● Improving ties with Israel and Arab countries as some Arab states themselves try to improve ties with Israel. |
Meaning: Choosing sides based on facts rather than emotions.
For instance, ● India opposed the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. ● It abstained from a UNHRC report on the human rights situation in Palestine.
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Conclusion: Not only India, but the entire globe, must acknowledge that Palestine is a moral issue. Global solidarity for Palestine is justified by the universal principle of Justitia nemini neganda est – justice should be denied to no one, regardless of their faiths or beliefs.
Insta Links:
Mains Links:
Q. Indian and Palestine relations are old and time tested. India’s development assistance for Palestine has been consistent and has grown over the years. Discuss. What are the irritants in the relationship? What are the measures needed to strengthen ties?
