Lose-lose

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 Indias 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 Israels critics,had come to terms with New Delhis 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 Antonys job to defuse any domestic political risk that might be associated with the necessary pursuit of Indias 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,Indias defence minister needs to re-order his priorities.