Barsam Mohammadi – regional issues expert

After “Narendra Modi” came to power in 2014, the bilateral relations between India and the Zionist regime took a further leap. Modi paid more attention to cooperation in economic, security, military, and technological dimensions, with the Zionist regime practically becoming one of the “friendly” countries of this regime.

The recent developments in Occupied Palestine and the Gaza war revealed the nature and depth of India’s foreign policy orientation about the Zionist regime. After Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, the   Prime Minister of India was the first political leader in the world to “condemn” this operation and voiced “solidarity with the Israeli regime” even earlier than the United States!

India’s political support for the Zionist regime in the war against the people of Gaza is to such an extent that New Delhi “avoids” casting positive votes for the approvals and resolutions issued in favor of Palestine in international assemblies. Refusing to vote in favor of the resolution requesting an immediate cease-fire in Gaza on October 27, which had the support of 120 countries, is one of the clear examples in this regard.

Since the beginning of the Gaza war, in addition to unconditional political support for the Zionist regime at the international level, India has also taken necessary measures in this direction, including banning demonstrations in support of Palestine and issuing permits for marches in support of the Zionist regime; restrictions on publishing any news, information, and reports regarding the Gaza war and the sufferings of the Palestinian people and the crimes of the Zionists, supplying Hermes 900 drones to the Zionist regime, etc.

Regarding the reasons for India’s support to the Zionist regime, there are two noteworthy points:

One: Occupied Palestine is one of the critical regions where the Indian government is very interested in “sending workers” from an economic point of view. Meanwhile, in recent years, the Zionist regime, instead of using Palestinian workers, has turned to Indian workers with the coordination of New Delhi.

In recent developments, which are accompanied by insecurity and instability in Occupied Palestine, and naturally, there are many life risks for foreign workers, Indian workers not only have not left the Occupied Palestine, but to the contrary, their number has also increased!

The atmosphere of “psychological propaganda” and “imaging” of the Zionist regime in India by government political and media circles is such that millions of Indians currently wish to travel to the occupied territories and work there. Of course, the strong relationship between Modi and Netanyahu is not without influence in forming this space.

Notably, according to the agreement signed between Netanyahu and Modi, 65 thousand Indian workers are supposed to work in various sectors of the Occupied Territories, such as services, construction, hospitals, etc.

Two: Extremist Hindus, who have significant influence in the legislative, security, military, etc. sectors of India and are known as anti-Islamist currents that maintain anti-Palestinian approaches, are essential and influential factors in India’s support for the Zionist regime.

In this regard, Khaled Abulfazl, a law professor at the University of California, recently revealed that “some Hindus are participating in the Gaza war alongside the Israeli forces”!

Economic benefits, as well as the purchase of military equipment (about 2 billion dollars per year), are other influential factors in India’s support for Tel Aviv in the recent Gaza war. Besides, the cooperation of Indian and Zionist lobby groups in America also has its effects in this regard.

India’s support for the Zionist regime is one of the essential signs of the “slow and gradual shift ” in India’s foreign policy from “nonalignment” towards alignment with Washington and Tel Aviv. This is happening in a situation where America is experiencing decline, and the Zionist regime is also experiencing “critical” and “dangerous” conditions.

Therefore, it is clear that the Indian government’s unconditional support for America, regardless of the reasons and influential factors in this field, is not a “realistic” policy and has negative implications for India at the political, social, economic, and international levels.

Considering the painful situation the Zionists have created in Gaza and have killed more than 30,000 innocent citizens, especially women, and children, these crimes can “destroy” the political-social image of India, which is one of the political supporters of the Zionist regime. In addition, such a policy is detrimental to India’s “security and national interests.” It causes the “destruction” of the position of this civilized country among other nations and the world’s public opinion.

On the other hand, it is not unlikely that India’s continued support of the Zionist regime will turn the country’s Muslim community, which accounts for about 220 million people, against the government. In the past, the fear of Muslim reaction was the most important factor that did not allow Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India at the time, to interact and cooperate with the Zionist regime.

In any case, in a situation where the international system is facing a “new order” and under conditions where American hegemony is declining and the “center of power” is moving from the West to the East, it seems that India’s support for the Zionist regime. Which continues to commit crimes and genocide in Gaza regardless of the demands of the international community and the world public opinion, does not have a correct calculation basis and will seriously question India’s role and status in the global arena.