The Zionism-Hindutva nexus and its Asia fall-out
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu seem to have near matching political strategies— unrestrained ethnic cleansing to muster support and endure popularity in their right-wing domestic constituencies.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Netanyahu’s Likud Party, founded in 1980 and 1973 respectively, derive legitimacy and appeal to voters from religious-nationalist ideologies. Besides, Hindutva and Zionist governments share common attributes, such as governance philosophies, objectives, and modus operandi. Thus, these ideological considerations have shaped Modi’s position on the Gaza war. For the BJP, Israel represents a model religious nationalist state.
As it transpires, Hindu nationalists have been using the war in Gaza for their benefit. They opined, “What Israel is facing today, India suffered between 2004-14.”
This convergence of fascist ideologies has immensely increased military cooperation between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. While expressing solidarity with Israel, Modi decreed that both states share a common struggle against terrorism. On October 7, he posted on X, “We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour.” Indeed, this is not a mere diplomatic statement; it has substantial ideological and material underpinnings.
Since Oct. 7, India has generously provided political, intelligence and counterterrorism assistance to Israel in its war against Hamas. It is a remarkable shift in India’s decades of official policy, which sided with Palestinians. The transformation in New Delhi’s policy has occurred due to the ideological change in the Indian polity; Israel supplies sophisticated military hardware— unmanned aerial vehicles, missiles and radar systems totalling $4.2 billion (2001–2021) to India. Above all, this is about India and the United States’ strategic convergence in global geopolitics.
The systematic rise of Hindutva and Zionism since the 1980’s and the ideological, political, and military linkages between them have broad repercussions throughout West and South Asia
Zafar Nawaz Jaspal
India and Israel are working together in the strategic minilateral group, the I2U2 which replicates the Indo-Pacific’s “Quad.” The group membership facilitates India to receive uninterrupted Israel critical military technologies. India makes up 42 percent of Israeli arms exports. Both sides have also engaged in defense technology cooperation. This cooperation has strengthened India’s surveillance and operational capabilities, particularly in the Kashmir Valley. Besides, I2U2 assists India in materializing its ambitious strategy of being named ‘Net Security Provider’ in the Indian Ocean Region.
Importantly, the Modi government is supporting and endorsing the Israeli armed forces’ brutality in Gaza. On Oct. 7, India did not vote on a United Nations cease-fire resolution proposed by Jordan, which was overwhelmingly adopted. India’s support for the continuity of the war in Gaza to kill innocent Palestinians was even criticized by the Indians. Congress party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said she was “shocked and ashamed” at India’s abstention from voting for a cease-fire. Two left-wing parties — the Communist Party of India and CPI (Marxist) — stated in a joint statement that India’s foreign policy “is being shaped by being a subordinate ally of US imperialism. This negates India’s longstanding support to the Palestinian cause.”
Hindutva volunteers expressed their willingness to participate in the war. On Oct. 12, Israel’s ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, claimed he could raise another Israeli army with Indian volunteers. He said, “Everyone is telling me, ‘I want to volunteer, I want to fight for Israel.’”
Realistically, Indian strategic pundits must realize that the borrowed Israeli surgical strike tactic is only theoretically operable. In practice, it is catastrophic in the South Asian strategic environment. Israel’s neighbors are militarily weak. However, India’s neighbors— China and Pakistan’s armed forces-- are trained and equipped with state-of-the-art weapon systems, including nuclear weapons.
India’s surgical strike at Balakot on Feb. 26, 2019, was a replica of Israeli surgical strikes in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. Unlike Israel’s neighbors, India received a befitting response by Pakistan on Feb. 27, 2029.
During the post-Pulwama military standoff, India deployed its nuclear assets at sea, and Modi made irresponsible nuclear weapons-use statements without realizing that nuclear compellence tactics do not work against nuclear-armed rivals. Nevertheless, the Israeli nuclear signaling has an impact because its neighbors have not developed nuclear weapons.
To conclude, the systematic rise of Hindutva and Zionism since the 1980s and the ideological, political, and military linkages between them have broad repercussions throughout West and South Asia. They redefine the basis of national identity that excludes or marginalizes religious minorities domestically and continuously undermines regional stability.
- Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal is an Islamabad-based analyst and professor at the School of Politics and International Relations, Quaid-i-Azam University. E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @zafar_jaspal
