The elections for India's 16th Lok Sabha, which resulted in an overwhelming mandate in favour of the rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were largely dominated by a clutch of domestic concerns including the state of the economy, unemployment and rampant corruption. As usual, matters of international import were largely ignored, or placed on the backburner. The foreign policy sections of the various party manifestos also did not provide much insight into the political ideology or thinking of the parties.
Curiously, one of the clearest indications of the political thinking of the BJP lay tucked away in a section of its manifesto titled 'Foreign Relations – Nation First, Universal Brotherhood'. According to one crucial statement, "India shall remain a natural home for persecuted Hindus and they shall be welcome to seek refuge here." This belief was clearly reflected in the BJP's political campaigning, as prominent leaders including prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi called for accommodating and settling Hindus who had come from Bangladesh, while at the same time vilifying Bangladeshi Muslim migrants and threatening mass deportation.
The BJP's call for India to be a home for persecuted Hindus immediately brings to mind the Law of Return or aliyah in Israel, according to which Jews, anywhere in the world, can settle in the country and seek Israeli citizenship. While Israel may have succeeded in institutionalising such a policy, it appears bizarre that something similar could even be considered in India, a country with a rich democratic tradition and a diverse cultural and demographic composition.
Israel's creation is rooted in Zionism, an ideology built around establishing a homeland for Jews in the 'promised land' of Israel in the aftermath of centuries of Jewish persecution. Carved out of what was then the British Mandate of Palestine in 1948, the partition that led to the creation of Israel resulted in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Arabs who had been long been inhabiting Palestine. Today, Israel is a small but strong state that continues to pursue a policy of expanding illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly the West Bank. While its control over the lives, livelihoods and mobility of Palestinians is complete, Arabs in Israeli territory are also treated like second-class citizens.