‘India, Israel have similar challenges… what we have in Gaza, you have in J-K’

India is a wandering nation that is travelling from one level to the other. It has achieved a 9 per cent annual growth rate that is unmatched. China too has a record of good growth, but the difference is that in India, there is no coercion and India’s movement to such a level has ensured that there is democracy without limiting freedom. While this relationship has grown, we have to take this forward and add technology to it. There are modern irrigation methods using nano-technology and we also have weapons against terrorism and we can really work on these projects jointly to help the relationship grow further.

• So you feel that there is scope for growth.

We feel you have a culture and history that goes as deep as ours. We could add someone like (Mahatma) Gandhi to the prophets we have, and feel tremendous affinity with Indian culture. When I read A Suitable Boy, the feeling was no different from that of a Jewish mother looking for a suitable daughter-in-law.

I also read (Jawaharlal) Nehru’s Letters from a Father to his Daughter, which was banned under the British Mandate and I read an illegally published copy, as well as the autobiography of Gandhi. It inspired us as we fought the British occupation. Today India suffers from terrorism as we do and we have made advances in agriculture, which can help India. So there is great scope for growth in our relationship.

Let me sum up the relationship with a line from the poet Nissim Ezekiel—‘I am alone, you are alone, so let us be alone together’.

• But there are voices in the new government in India that want greater focus on the Palestinian issue and also advocate strong ties with the Arab world. Do you have any concerns?

No concerns at all. Today, both nations have similar challenges, be it facing terror, or the challenges of counter-terror, and what we have in Gaza is what you have in Kashmir. There were times when India was perceived close to the Soviet Union, but all that has changed. Today the two giants of our time, India and China, are trying to find their proper place in the modern world and are centres of economic dynamism. We have no choice but to live off our brains, and the brain is not static but dynamic. So we have to capitalise on our brains and see that this (bilateral) relationship is free and open.

• A major problem, or shall we say hindrance, in the relationship is how we view the Palestinian cause. Do you think that the present proposal by Prime Minister Sharon for unilateral disengagement from occupied territories could help remove this hurdle?

Israel has no choice but to make peace and we have to realise that this reality is stronger than a political party. With due respect to the present persons in government, there are considerations that cannot be ignored. That said, we also have to realise that war can be unilateral but peace is always multilateral. We have to make the Palestinians a part of the peace process because they will come in after we leave (the occupied territories) and we must speak to them. Also, India has greater focus on the Arab world and so do we, so we have to look forward. We can start from the Gaza Strip and then we can start work on the West Bank in the areas of Judea and Samaria.

• But you were also a part of the Oslo peace process. What went wrong in the last few years?

It was the Palestinian leadership. Arafat was an impressive underground leader and an equally unimpressive overground leader. The day the Palestinians understand that, they will benefit immensely.

• There is talk about your party joining the Sharon Government. Are you open to the idea?

We shall not join a government that attacks us but there are necessary policies such as withdrawal from Gaza and a calendar for withdrawal and we have to work with the Government on that. We are opposed to some economic policies and the Government must accept our demands on economics.