The second anniversary of the fateful September 11 attacks will likely see Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in India. The significance of this first official summit visit between the two countries cannot be overemphasized. This is the stuff that history is made of.
Almost forty years after establishing diplomatic ties and ten years after upgrading them to full ambassadorial status, the world?s two most vibrant democracies are exchanging greetings at the highest level. That the 9/11 anniversary will be in the backdrop is only befitting as the leaders of the two most embattled democracies commiserate. The terror bombings in Jerusalem and Mumbai (Bombay) within a week of each other only underscore the stark reality that the war against freedom is a seamless one. And therefore, the war against terror should be an equally seamless undertaking by the defenders of freedom. Whether it is New York, Jerusalem, Mumbai, Kabul or Baghdad, the enemy is the same, though with slightly varied incarnations. At times it is the Lashkar-e-Toiba, at other times it is the Islamic Jihad. In some places it is al-Qaeda, while elsewhere it is the Hizb ut-Tahrir. These name-brands all belong to a multi-national corporation that is funded by petro-dollars, fueled by a totalitarian ideology, and staffed by shadowy cowards, who seek to please God by killing and maiming helpless women and children.
It is to the credit of Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that he is willing to take the considerable political risk in hosting his Israeli counterpart. Leading an unstable coalition of several disparate parties and ruling a country with the second highest Muslim population in the world, Mr. Vajpayee is a seasoned enough politician to know the domestic costs of Mr. Sharon?s visit. For the New Delhi government, matters are not helped by the fact that Yasser Arafat is considered a hero by many Indians, who see the PLO chief as the doyen of freedom fighters. Nor is the Vajpayee administration unaware that tens of thousands of Indians make a living in, and remit home crucial hard currency from, the oil-rich Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
If political courage is found in New Delhi, it is certainly not lacking in Jerusalem either. Ariel Sharon must know of the consistently pro-Arab, pro-PLO stance of India in all international forums for more than half a century. He is consciously reaching out to a country whose relationship with Israel has been, at best, lukewarm until very recently. Nor is Mr. Sharon likely to be oblivious of Washington?s express desire to keep India?s archenemy Pakistan placated to ensure the latter?s continuing support for the Afghanistan operation.
Since democratic governments generally do not have the power to coerce public opinion, courage is the other tool available to them in traversing uncharted paths to unknown destinations. Both Sharon and Vajpayee are showing signal courage in arranging this historic visit. They will need more of the same in the months ahead. The world?s biggest democracy and the Middle East?s only democracy are both very obvious targets of those who hate freedom. The common enemies of India and Israel often find unofficial sanctuary in some, if not all, of their respective neighboring countries. Commonsense indeed would dictate that the two democracies significantly deepen their cooperation in the areas of defense training, counter-terrorism and intelligence sharing.
In applauding the courage of Prime Ministers Sharon and Vajpayee, one can only expect that their decision to deepen the ties between their two democracies is given adequate political support by that other pillar of democracy, the United States of America. Without prejudicing its principled position on the genuine issues of Palestinian and Kashmiri grievances, Washington must encourage the strengthening of the global anti-terror coalition that Mr. Sharon?s visit signifies.
On the second anniversary of a day that forever divided the world between freedom and fanaticism, there should be no doubt that, for all their differences, India and Israel stand morally and philosophically in the camp of freedom. The Sharon visit to India will hopefully make it clear that they stand together in that camp. They cannot afford not to. Nor can the free world.
Almost forty years after establishing diplomatic ties and ten years after upgrading them to full ambassadorial status, the world?s two most vibrant democracies are exchanging greetings at the highest level. That the 9/11 anniversary will be in the backdrop is only befitting as the leaders of the two most embattled democracies commiserate. The terror bombings in Jerusalem and Mumbai (Bombay) within a week of each other only underscore the stark reality that the war against freedom is a seamless one. And therefore, the war against terror should be an equally seamless undertaking by the defenders of freedom. Whether it is New York, Jerusalem, Mumbai, Kabul or Baghdad, the enemy is the same, though with slightly varied incarnations. At times it is the Lashkar-e-Toiba, at other times it is the Islamic Jihad. In some places it is al-Qaeda, while elsewhere it is the Hizb ut-Tahrir. These name-brands all belong to a multi-national corporation that is funded by petro-dollars, fueled by a totalitarian ideology, and staffed by shadowy cowards, who seek to please God by killing and maiming helpless women and children.
It is to the credit of Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that he is willing to take the considerable political risk in hosting his Israeli counterpart. Leading an unstable coalition of several disparate parties and ruling a country with the second highest Muslim population in the world, Mr. Vajpayee is a seasoned enough politician to know the domestic costs of Mr. Sharon?s visit. For the New Delhi government, matters are not helped by the fact that Yasser Arafat is considered a hero by many Indians, who see the PLO chief as the doyen of freedom fighters. Nor is the Vajpayee administration unaware that tens of thousands of Indians make a living in, and remit home crucial hard currency from, the oil-rich Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
If political courage is found in New Delhi, it is certainly not lacking in Jerusalem either. Ariel Sharon must know of the consistently pro-Arab, pro-PLO stance of India in all international forums for more than half a century. He is consciously reaching out to a country whose relationship with Israel has been, at best, lukewarm until very recently. Nor is Mr. Sharon likely to be oblivious of Washington?s express desire to keep India?s archenemy Pakistan placated to ensure the latter?s continuing support for the Afghanistan operation.
Since democratic governments generally do not have the power to coerce public opinion, courage is the other tool available to them in traversing uncharted paths to unknown destinations. Both Sharon and Vajpayee are showing signal courage in arranging this historic visit. They will need more of the same in the months ahead. The world?s biggest democracy and the Middle East?s only democracy are both very obvious targets of those who hate freedom. The common enemies of India and Israel often find unofficial sanctuary in some, if not all, of their respective neighboring countries. Commonsense indeed would dictate that the two democracies significantly deepen their cooperation in the areas of defense training, counter-terrorism and intelligence sharing.
In applauding the courage of Prime Ministers Sharon and Vajpayee, one can only expect that their decision to deepen the ties between their two democracies is given adequate political support by that other pillar of democracy, the United States of America. Without prejudicing its principled position on the genuine issues of Palestinian and Kashmiri grievances, Washington must encourage the strengthening of the global anti-terror coalition that Mr. Sharon?s visit signifies.
On the second anniversary of a day that forever divided the world between freedom and fanaticism, there should be no doubt that, for all their differences, India and Israel stand morally and philosophically in the camp of freedom. The Sharon visit to India will hopefully make it clear that they stand together in that camp. They cannot afford not to. Nor can the free world.