Ah Test Called Modi

[size=14pt]anyway contrary to what has been reported I have no antipathy for Modi..indeed I was raying him up early but that was largely picong.

Modi appears to represent some indian nationalist trends that can and may lead to a splitting of Indo ranks with Israel/USA... I see nutten wrong with that.  that is likely good fuh the world.  but I don't care about politicians their trade period..which is nothing but  bazaar of so-called leaders to the highest monied bidder[/size]


http://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/20...di-moment/

Quote:Bibi’s Modi moment

The meeting between Prime Minister Narednra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on a Sunday afternoon on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York may exude an air of informality and it is only natural. There is no surprise that Modi’s party Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP], which is rooted in Hindu cultural nationalism, and Israel which has incessantly battled the tide of political Islam in its neighborhood and has an existential fear of Islamism would have an ideological affinity (unstated, though) that drew them together.
The top BJP leadership of L. K. Advani and Jaswant Singh were soul mates of israel and they never cared to hide it. The previous BJP government even toyed with the idea of an entente cordiale between the US and India and Israel, two besieged democracies. The Jewish community in the US acted as great bridge builders. (Interestingly, Modi’s meeting with Bibi yesterday followed a session with the representatives of the American Jewish community.)
So, these are happy hours for India-Israeli relations. Buy one glass of beer and another comes free. But how happy are they?
The BJP under Hindutva leaders like Advani and the BJP under Modi are vastly different. The BJP today aspires to cast its net wide, after having met with stunning success in the last general elections in dozens of constituencies with significant Muslim electorate, including even some Muslim-majority constituencies. If the BJP hopes to eradicate the Congress Party from Indian politics, it needs to be projected as a party that speaks for all Indians.
Again, the alacrity with which India has marked a distance from the US-led military campaign against the Islamic State and the Indian official spokesman’s measured comments when asked about the Islamic State having figured in Modi’s  conversation with Bibi underscores that while extremism and terrorism are shared concern for the two countries, they also have specific interests to safeguard that may not necessarily overlap.

Quote:In fact, the Indian official spokesman’s briefing and the animated Q&A that followed, when juxtaposed with the Israeli handout of the Modi-Bibi meeting, brings out some nuances.
The israeli side highlighted that the ‘terrorist’ threat posed by Iran was a centre piece of the conversation. The Indian version, on the other hand, virtually contradicts it and conveys the impression that all that happened was that Bibi said his piece on the Middle East situation, which he was fully entitled to, and then they moved on. What needs to be factored in here is that Modi is yet to sit face to face with President Hassan Rouhani. 
As for “Islamic terrorism”, the Indian spokesman ducked and simply wouldn’t be drawn into a public comment as to what transpired between Bibi and Modi. But he hinted sufficiently enough that the two perceptions could be divergent. Most certainly, Delhi has to bear in mind the ghastly reality that the ISIL holds over three dozen Indians as hostages. 
Of course, Modi made a huge gesture to Bibi by altogether ignoring the Gaza issue. This is a great deviation from India’s traditional approach. But how can the Modi government discuss security and peace in the Middle East while skirting the core issue of Palestine?
Both sides paid attention to broadening the bilateral cooperation. Israel can be a natural ally in Modi’s campaign to bring sanitation and water security to the desperate life of millions of Indians. We don’t know whether security cooperation figured at all — sharing of intelligence and so on. Conceivably, it did.
Bibi has pitched for cyber security as a new area of cooperation. Israel is setting up a national cyber defense authority and the Modi government is also taking similar measures.
This touches the very core of national security. The Indian spokesman gave an impression that it was a mere inter alia discussion. To my mind, India is deliberately avoiding public discussions on this highly sensitive area of national security.
There have been reports hinting at India-Israel cogitation with regard to cyber security. Frankly, when Japan’s Shinzo Abe is moving ahead rapidly with israel, can Modi be far behind? But, given the reality that China is the elephant in the tent here, India’s (and Israel’s) shyness to discuss the issue publicly is understandable. Israel has a flourishing relationship with China.
But what took my breath away is that Modi injected his ‘Make in India’ doctrine into the uterus of India-Israeli defence cooperation. Will it impregnate Israel?
The interests of the two countries do not quite converge here. For israel, the Indian market is hugely profitable as it is, and the income out of arms exports to India is a pillar of budgetary support for its economy. Second, why would Israel help India to become, ultimately, its competitor as an arms exporter?
To be sure, Bibi would have found Modi a far more demanding person that he’d have allowed for a mere Hindu nationalist. If Modi has his way and relentlessly introduces his ‘Make in India global initiative’ as the yardstick to measure the transactions in the great Indian arms bazaar, he will be doing a world of good for India’s long term defence preparedness and capability.
But it will create serious problems for israel and the US, which are exporting arms to India on a privileged track that remains shrouded in fog most of the time, and are based on the ‘asking price’, without even having to participate in international tenders and face fierce competition in broad daylight from other astute vendors.