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India-Pakistan
Israel: A friend in need?
2003-06-21
There are several reasons why this is the perfect time for India to enter into a strong alliance with Israel:
  • Chanakyan theory of statecraft
  • Certain similarities that make them compatible in the 'clash of civilisations'
  • A realisation by Indians that Israeli concerns are valid
  • The rabid opposition of India's Marxists
Let me emphasise, however, that it is not necessarily the case for India to be forever wedded to Israel, or indeed, to anyone else: all tactical alliances are fluid and based on expediency. Indians, naïvely, go for lifetime commitments, when a light-hearted affaire de coeur is the right answer. The BJP has learned this art of compromise, but the Congress never did. But that's no surprise considering their 'leaders' are selected more for their ability to kiss Nehru dynasty ass than for any inherent competence.

Chanakya in his classic Arthashastra speaks about the national interest. He has a dictum that by definition, a state's immediate neighbours are enemies; in India's case this is amply borne out by China, Pakistan and Bangladesh. As an illustration, China was not India's enemy for 2,200 years as some Chinese strongman said recently: that was because there was a country in between, the buffer state of Tibet. As soon as they swallowed Tibet, they became India's neighbour, and therefore, enemy.
Posted by:rg117

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