<P> India's position on the establishment of the State of Israel was affected by many factors, including India's own partition on religious lines, and India's relationship with other nations . Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi believed the Jews had a good case and a prior claim for Israel, but opposed the creation of Israel on religious or mandated terms . India voted against the Partitioning of Palestine plan of 1947 and voted against Israel's admission to the United Nations in 1949 . Various proponents of Hindu nationalism supported or sympathised with the creation of Israel . Hindu Mahasabha leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar supported the creation of Israel on both moral and political grounds, and condemned India's vote at the UN against Israel . Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar admired Jewish nationalism and believed Palestine was the natural territory of the Jewish people, essential to their aspiration for nationhood . </P> <P> On 17 September 1950, India officially recognised the State of Israel . Following India's recognition of Israel, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru stated, "we would have (recognised Israel) long ago, because Israel is a fact . We refrained because of our desire not to offend the sentiments of our friends in the Arab countries ." In 1953, Israel was permitted to open a consulate in Bombay (now Mumbai). However, the Nehru government did not want to pursue full diplomatic relations with Israel as it supported the Palestinian cause, and believed that permitting Israel to open an embassy in New Delhi would damage relations with the Arab world . </P> <P> From India's recognition of Israel in 1950 to the early 1990s, the relationship remained informal in nature . India's opposition to official diplomatic relations with Israel stemmed from both domestic and foreign considerations . Domestically, politicians in India feared losing the Muslim vote if relations were normalised with Israel . Additionally, India did not want to jeopardise the large amount of its citizens working in Arab States of the Persian Gulf, who were helping India maintain its foreign - exchange reserves . India's domestic need for energy was another reason for the lack of normalisation of ties with Israel, in terms of safeguarding the flow of oil from Arab nations . India's foreign policy goals and alliances also proved problematic to formal relations with Israel, including India's support for the pro-Palestine Liberation Organization Non-Aligned Movement, India's tilt towards the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and India's desire to counter Pakistan's influence with the Arab states . On an ideological level, the dominant political party in India during this era, namely the Indian National Congress, opposed Israel due to their perception that it was a state based on religion, analogous to Pakistan . </P> <P> Although there was no formal relationship for several decades, meetings and cooperation took place between both countries, including figures such as Moshe Dayan . Israel also provided India with crucial information during its multiple wars . After decades of non-aligned and pro-Arab policy, India formally established relations with Israel in January 1992 and ties between the two nations have flourished since, primarily due to common strategic interests and security threats . The formation of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which allegedly neglected the sentiments of Indian Muslims, and the blocking of India by Pakistan from joining the OIC are considered to be the causes of this diplomatic shift . On a diplomatic level, both the countries have managed to maintain healthy relations despite India's repeated strong condemnations of Israeli military actions in Palestinian territories, which are believed by analysts to be motivated by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's desire for Muslim votes in India . </P>

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