Arab diplomats sore with Jaswant, Advani

NEW DELHI, JULY 16: The Arab ambassadors in the Capital are believed to be quite upset over the remarks made by Union Home Minister L K Ad...

NEW DELHI, JULY 16: The Arab ambassadors in the Capital are believed to be quite upset over the remarks made by Union Home Minister L K Advani as well as Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh during their respective visits to Israel recently in which they talked about a budding nuclear relationship between New Delhi and Jerusalem and attributed the lack of ties earlier to the Muslim votebank at home.

Reacting to Advani8217;s statements about the nuclear relationship between India and Israel, the Arab ambassadors here had held a meeting in the third week of June where they resolved to ask for clarifications from Foreign Secretary Lalit Mansingh. No meeting with Mansingh has, however, been held so far.

The Arab diplomats are equally shocked by comments made by Jaswant Singh in Jerusalem earlier in the month. He is reported to have said that in the early years after Partition 8220;it was felt that injustice must not be done to Muslims8230;India8217;s Israel policy became captive to domestic policy and therefore an unstated veto.8221;

Interestingly, sections of the foreign office have also been somewhat taken aback by Singh8217;s comments; they have argued that the Muslim vote explanation is far too 8220;simplistic8221;. India8217;s opposition to Israel in the early years, these diplomats say, was based on the anti-colonial and anti-imperial argument as well as the fact that New Delhi was beginning to already, informally, lean towards the former Soviet Union.

An emerging, though private view in the foreign office is that the statements by Advani and Jaswant Singh 8220;may be the view of the BJP8221;. The implication here is that New Delhi8217;s line on the Arab world as well as on Israel remains what it has been earlier: That India8217;s relations with both these parties are strong and independent and certainly not at the cost of the other.

The evidence of Arab perception of an 8220;anti-Islamic8221; undercurrent in the BJP8217;s foreign and domestic policies can be seen in the fact that the Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs in the Arab League had recently summoned India8217;s Ambassador to Egypt, Shiv Mukherjee, asking for an explanation of Advani8217;s comments on India8217;s nuclear ties with Israel.

Agency reports on Saturday quoting Arab League officials said they complained about Advani8217;s alleged remarks seeking to develop a nuclear relationship with Israel as well as joint action by New Delhi and Jerusalem against 8220;Islamic terrorism8221;. The League officials are said to have warned against the consequences of such a relationship in the Arab world.

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Arab diplomats here pointed out that they certainly don8217;t seek to deny India a growing intimacy with Israel, considering that Egypt made peace with Israel as long ago as 1979 and Palestine is in the middle of a peace process with Jerusalem.

They wondered, however, whether New Delhi wanted to junk a relationship it once crafted with such patience and care even if it had outlived most of its earlier political utility in the new world order. But, they pointed out, India continued to buy most of its oil from the Arab world.

Moreover, the diplomats also seemed concerned about a growing tendency in India 8212; including in the national media 8212; to dub 8220;Islamic8221; terrorism as a synonym for terrorist activity in general.