The book looks at various aspects of the India-Israel relationship and brings occupied Kashmir to the forefront Photo Twitter/ @salaamedia
South Africa – Renowned author Azad Essa has unveiled his latest book, Hostile Homelands. This groundbreaking work explores the complex alliance between India and Israel, shedding light on their shared ideologies, operational strategies, and the controversial occupation of Kashmir.
Hostile Homelands delves deep into the historical context and contemporary significance of the India-Israel alliance. With meticulous research and compelling analysis, Essa examines the striking parallels between the two nations, highlighting their shared ideologies and modes of operation. The book explores various aspects of their collaboration, focusing on the interplay between political design, ideology, and the impact on occupied territories.
The reason and motivation for writing Hostile Homelands
The discussion surrounding human rights often centres on the Palestinian cause, with the Kashmir issue receiving comparatively less attention. The 240-page book serves as an opportunity to bring the Kashmir issue to the forefront, particularly for those in South Africa who are passionate about human rights and addressing the plight of oppressed communities.
At the Hyatt Hotel in Johannesburg, Essa sat down with Salaamedia senior presenter, Inayet Wadee, to discuss Hostile Homelands. Discussing his motivation for writing the book, Essa explained he always saw India as this “country that is founded on secularism, non-violence” until he encountered the story of Kashmir.
“When I discovered Kashmir, that kind of shocked me. A country that positioned itself as anti-colonial, against Apartheid, talks about the Palestinians, how it can also be running an occupation of its own. With 700 troops, with 1000’s of disappeared people, with multiple occasions of mass rape and you can say the beginnings of this book predates my journalistic career.”
After visiting both Kashmir and Palestine, Essa saw the similarities between both and began writing about Kashmir for Al Jazeera. At the heart of the book, is the relationship between India-Israel but also very much about India. The “thoughts and the projections that we have been fed with regards to India”.
Acknowledging what India is and the relationship they have with Israel
When it comes to the Palestine-Israel conflict, the mainstream tries not to cover it but people understand there is an issue. However, the same cannot be said for Kashmir and India.
“When it comes to India and we think about how they have treated minorities for decades or how they have conducted this occupation of Kashmir, there’s a blind spot. There’s a refusal to even engage that India could be an ‘evil actor’. When Modi comes to power in 2015, that mask falls off and it allows me to then interrogate this relationship as well as the story of India. The book unpeels the relationship between India-Palestine, India-Israel, how it developed, how we got to this moment. Things don’t happen overnight.”
We believe that India is very much against Israel, which is true. When Israel became a state, India did not recognise Israel until two years later. In the 40’s they rejected the partition plan. In the 50’s and 60’s, things started to turn around.
“We see a number of acts that show the duplicity of the Indian government. In the early 50’s, India co-founds a non-aligned movement. It was supposed to be this collection of third world countries that didn’t take a position on the Cold War. In formulating this movement, India was open to inviting Israel to join this movement even though the third world saw Israel as a colonising force.”
In the 60’s India went to war with China. The intense fighting eventually finds them struggling and Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister at the time, finds himself writing a letter to many ministers around the world asking for help, including David Ben-Gurion, Former Prime Minister of Israel.
“He writes back offering military aid to Nehru. He accepts the aid and says to send the ammunition in ships that are unmarked. That is in 1962. That is all in secret at the time. In ‘65, India and Pakistan went to war with the Israelis’ help. In 1971, India and Pakistan went to war, and it created the country of Bangladesh. Israel helps then as well. Israel became one of the first countries to recognise Bangladesh. This is the kind of deep relationship we are talking about.”
The book takes a deeper look into these relationships and what caused India to leave Palestine behind and become closer to Israel. It also looks at Hindutva, Zionism and the similarities they share. How the two ideologies mirror each other.
Boycotting India – The many ways to do it
Calls to boycott India have come from Palestinian Civil Society and not from those in India itself but it does not mean we cannot act. There are many ways for people to go about making a change.
“We can identify which businesses here are supporting Modi, the BJP and the RSS, paramilitary association and make sure that you don’t engage with them. I personally know companies or organisations that are working with people who are supporters of Modi. They are Muslims and they don’t see any issue with it. If people want to be serious about this, they have to put their money where their mouth is.”
In the current economic situation, Essa understands it is not always possible for businesses to stay away from India. However, it doesn’t mean they can’t also play their part. There are various other things a person can do including not advertising India as a peace-loving nation.
“If you are not going to boycott India and you are going to do things then just don’t make an advert out of it. Don’t go there and perform as if India is a normal place. Don’t report with your limited understanding of India to say things look okay. Rather not. Try not to go to Kashmir and become a tourist there. See the place, come back, and talk about it with some sense. It’s not a blanket thing but there are some ways to do these things.”
Hostile Homelands promises to challenge prevailing narratives and ignite crucial conversations on the India-Israel alliance, the occupation of Kashmir, and the implications for human rights. By engaging in open dialogue, we can strive for a more informed and empathetic world. Through this thought-provoking book, Essa aims to amplify the voices of those affected by the Kashmir conflict and initiate meaningful conversations on a global scale in an effort for justice to be served.
Azad Essa spoke to Inayet Wadee discussing his new book and what more needs to be done from the South African as well as the international community to help those in Kashmir. Listen to the interesting discussion here:
