Israel’s Foreign Minister Came To India In Disguise In 1977, New Book Reveals

<p>New Delhi, Jul 18 (PTI) Then Israeli foreign minister Moshe Dayan came to India in 1977 on a clandestine visit, in disguise and under a false name, to meet prime minister Morarji Desai and his counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a failed attempt to establish diplomatic ties between the two countries, says a new book.</p>
<p>The Israeli minister failed in his mission and left empty-handed. Visibly annoyed by the outcome, Dayan declined the parting gift of antique Indian silverware offered by his hosts, Abhishek Choudhary writes in “Believer&rsquo;s Dilemma: Vajpayee and the Hindu Right&rsquo;s Path to Power”.</p>
<p>He flew out “mocking India&rsquo;s poverty, cursing its rulers’ moral cowardice”, says the book that uncovers a little-known episode in India-Israel ties.</p>
<p>The “awkward meeting”, the author notes, was a sign that for all its ambitions, the Janata government did not have the mandate or confidence to revamp India&rsquo;s foreign policy.</p>
<p>Dayan’s covert visit to India was “top secret” as Desai feared it would lead to the collapse of the Janata government if made public.</p>
<p>The meeting, held at a &ldquo;poorly furnished government house&rdquo; in New Delhi, was so discreet that Vajpayee got to know of it only after Dayan landed. Even foreign secretary Jagat Mehta wasn’t told anything.</p>
<p>”On the afternoon of 14 August, Israeli foreign minister, Moshe Dayan, alighted in New Delhi. He was travelling under a fake name and had disguised himself with dark glasses and a large straw hat. He was put up at a private residence in south Delhi&rsquo;s Safdarjung Enclave,” reads the book, a sequel to Chaudhary’s award-winning bestseller “Vajpayee: The Ascent of the Hindu Right”.</p>
<p>The purpose of his visit: “to advance talks on establishing diplomatic relations between India and Israel”.</p>
<p>India recognised Israel in 1950 but established full diplomatic relations with the country on January 29, 1992.</p>
<p>”As a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement, India had some clout among the non-aligned nations. At the very least, Dayan was hoping to receive India&rsquo;s backing for the Israel-Egypt peace plans in the NAM, neutralizing India&rsquo;s longstanding support to the Arabs,” the book adds.</p>
<p>”At India&rsquo;s request, the meeting was kept top secret. No other cabinet minister, not even Foreign Secretary Mehta, got a whiff of it. Morarji Desai thought that if the news of Dayan&rsquo;s visit became public, the Janata government would collapse,” it claims. Janata Party, a political alliance formed in 1977 by various opposition groups, came into power in 1977 defeating Indira Gandhi&rsquo;s Congress after the Emergency period. Desai, who became the first non-Congress prime minister of India, remained in the office for 856 days — serving till 1979.</p>
<p>Vajpayee, despite his long standing support for formal ties with Israel, appeared visibly uneasy during the meeting with Dayan.</p>
<p>According to Desai — who shared the episode months later with Indian diplomat I.K. Gujral, then India&rsquo;s ambassador to the USSR — Vajpayee was &ldquo;terrified&rdquo; about the implications of the encounter and was told “not to worry”. Desai, however, remained steadfast in rejecting Dayan&rsquo;s overtures.</p>
<p>While acknowledging that India had recognised Israel in 1950, Desai made it clear that full diplomatic relations could only be considered “only after peace came to the region”.</p>
<p>He reiterated India&rsquo;s longstanding support for a Palestinian state and resisted even minimal gestures, such as opening an Israeli consulate in Delhi.</p>
<p>”Both Vajpayee and Desai argued that such a step would be misinterpreted, leading to &lsquo;unnecessary complications in diplomatic relations with West Asia&rsquo;… He (Desai) suggested Dayan meet Vajpayee during the conferences in the US and Europe but refused to risk sending his foreign minister, formally or secretly, to his country,” the book recounts.</p>
<p>Following the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, an embassy opened in New Delhi, and the consulate in Mumbai — operational since 1953 — became a consulate-general.</p>
<p>”Believer&rsquo;s Dilemma”, priced at Rs 999, is described by publishing house PanMacmillan India as a political history of contemporary India covering the crucial period between 1978&ndash;2018 — &ldquo;a transformative 40-year span that saw the Hindu Right move from the fringes into the corridors of power&rdquo;.</p>
<p><em><strong>(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)</strong></em></p>