COMMENTS POSTED ON THE INDIAN EXPRESS, WEBSITE OVER ITS EDITORIAL: LOSE- LOSE:
For Indian Express editors, "the high-level political engagement between New Delhi and Tel Aviv has become routine", but India has yet to fully figure out, how its people will react to Israel's international shenanigans. The event of the banning of an Israeli defense supplier firm, on corruption charges is still fresh. India's Muslims hardly tolerate Congress overtures to Israel and US. If Congress has to improve its chances in coming 2014 general elections, it will need massive Muslim vote switch in its favour. And that cannot come about, if Israelis are so routinely welcomed, especially on the touchy subject of defense. No body in India wants to be subservient to Israel for its defense requirement. That asking price for such development will be too costly for Congress.
Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai
<ghulammuhammed3@gmail.com>
--------
http://www.indianexpress.com/
SECOND EDITORIAL
The Indian Express : Sat May 19 2012, 03:30
Snub to Tel Aviv could damage a crucial partnership abroad — and will win Antony no points at home
New Delhi’s decision to turn down an Israeli request for an official visit by its defence minister, Ehud Barak, during the Defexpo last month, is a reminder of how domestic political posturing often takes precedence over national security interests. No section of the Union government has had more intensive contact with Israel than the Indian defence establishment. India’s armed forces and the Defence Research and Development Organisation need sustained access to advanced Israeli technologies.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony reportedly pointed to a possible domestic backlash as the reason for his decision. The minister, it seems, is trapped in a time-warp, but fortunately India’s political discourse on Israel has long moved away from the sloganeering of the past. In the two decades that have followed the normalisation of bilateral relations, high-level political engagement between New Delhi and Tel Aviv has become routine. Even leaders from the left, usually the most strident of Israel’s critics, had come to terms with New Delhi’s ties with Tel Aviv. In fact, Jyoti Basu was among the first chief ministers to visit Israel in the 1990s. The UPA government, which had initially slowed down its engagement with Tel Aviv, reversed that policy and sent three of its cabinet ministers — S.M. Krishna, Kapil Sibal and Kamal Nath —to Israel in its second term.
Seeking out profitable international defence partnerships, wherever possible in the world, should be one of the top priorities of the defence minister. As head of the defence establishment, it is Antony’s job to defuse any domestic political risk that might be associated with the necessary pursuit of India’s defence preparedness and modernisation — although the implication that there would be any domestic fallout of a possible Barak visit is itself questionable. By all accounts, India’s defence minister needs to re-order his priorities.
For Indian Express editors, "the high-level political engagement between New Delhi and Tel Aviv has become routine", but India has yet to fully figure out, how its people will react to Israel's international shenanigans. The event of the banning of an Israeli defense supplier firm, on corruption charges is still fresh. India's Muslims hardly tolerate Congress overtures to Israel and US. If Congress has to improve its chances in coming 2014 general elections, it will need massive Muslim vote switch in its favour. And that cannot come about, if Israelis are so routinely welcomed, especially on the touchy subject of defense. No body in India wants to be subservient to Israel for its defense requirement. That asking price for such development will be too costly for Congress.
Ghulam Muhammed, Mumbai
<ghulammuhammed3@gmail.com>
--------
http://www.indianexpress.com/
SECOND EDITORIAL
Lose-lose
The Indian Express : Sat May 19 2012, 03:30
Snub to Tel Aviv could damage a crucial partnership abroad — and will win Antony no points at home
New Delhi’s decision to turn down an Israeli request for an official visit by its defence minister, Ehud Barak, during the Defexpo last month, is a reminder of how domestic political posturing often takes precedence over national security interests. No section of the Union government has had more intensive contact with Israel than the Indian defence establishment. India’s armed forces and the Defence Research and Development Organisation need sustained access to advanced Israeli technologies.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony reportedly pointed to a possible domestic backlash as the reason for his decision. The minister, it seems, is trapped in a time-warp, but fortunately India’s political discourse on Israel has long moved away from the sloganeering of the past. In the two decades that have followed the normalisation of bilateral relations, high-level political engagement between New Delhi and Tel Aviv has become routine. Even leaders from the left, usually the most strident of Israel’s critics, had come to terms with New Delhi’s ties with Tel Aviv. In fact, Jyoti Basu was among the first chief ministers to visit Israel in the 1990s. The UPA government, which had initially slowed down its engagement with Tel Aviv, reversed that policy and sent three of its cabinet ministers — S.M. Krishna, Kapil Sibal and Kamal Nath —to Israel in its second term.
Seeking out profitable international defence partnerships, wherever possible in the world, should be one of the top priorities of the defence minister. As head of the defence establishment, it is Antony’s job to defuse any domestic political risk that might be associated with the necessary pursuit of India’s defence preparedness and modernisation — although the implication that there would be any domestic fallout of a possible Barak visit is itself questionable. By all accounts, India’s defence minister needs to re-order his priorities.
No comments:
Post a Comment