Since the election of Narendra Modi in 2014, India has changed dramatically. As the world attempts to grapple with its trajectory towards authoritarianism and ethnonationalism, little attention has been paid to the linkages between Modi’s India and the governments from which it has drawn inspiration, as well as military and technical support.
India may once have publicly condemned Zionism as a form of racism, but times have changed, and the state of Israel has increasingly become a cornerstone of India’s foreign policy. Looking to emulate Israel in policy and practice, the recent annexation of Kashmir increasingly resembles Israel’s settler-colonial project in the occupied West Bank. The ideological and political linkages between the two states are alarming; their brands of ethnonationalism deeply intertwined.
This month we are joined on the show by Azad Essa, an award-winning journalist, and author of the new book, Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance Between India and Israel. We talk about the history of the shifting relationship between the two countries, India’s waning commitment to the Palestinian cause and the Israeli military industrial complex. We also discuss the influence of European fascism as well as Zionism on the development of the Hindu nationalist movement in the 20th century. Finally, Azad shares his insights on the significance of the relationship between Modi and Netanyahu, and the deteriorating situation in Kashmir.