Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance Between India and Israel

by Azad Essa, Linah Alsaafin (Contributor)

'A valuable study, with rich insights' - Noam Chomsky

'Extraordinary' - Ilan Pappe

‘Formidable and timely' - Mohammed El-Kurd

Under Narendra Modi, India has changed dramatically. As the world attempts to grapple with its trajectory towards authoritarianism and 'Hindutva' (Hindu Nationalism), little attention has been paid to the linkages between Modi's India and the governments from which it has drawn inspiration, as well as military and technical support.

India once called Zionism racism, but, as Azad Essa argues, the state of Israel has increasingly become a cornerstone of India’s foreign policy. Looking to replicate the 'ethnic state' in the image of Israel in policy and practice, the annexation of Kashmir increasingly resembles Israel's settler-colonial project of the occupied West Bank. The ideological and political linkages between the two states are alarming; their brands of ethnonationalism are deeply intertwined.

Hostile Homelands puts India's relationship with Israel in its historical context, looking at the origins of Zionism and Hindutva; India’s changing position on Palestine; and the countries' growing military-industrial relationship from the 1990s. Lucid and persuasive, Essa demonstrates that the India-Israel alliance spells significant consequences for democracy, the rule of law, and justice worldwide.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, India, History, War, Middle East, Islam

240 pages, Paperback

Published February 20, 2023

About the author

Azad Essa is a South African journalist and author based in NYC.

Reviews

[poetic interludes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read. I really appreciated how the author breaks down the historical development of India-Israel relations, showing how their alliance didn’t just appear out of nowhere but was decades in the making. The parallels between Kashmir and Palestine are especially striking—Azad Essa does an incredible job illustrating how both are shaped by military occupation, surveillance, and ethno-nationalism (Zionism and Hindutva).

The book also helped contextualize recent events, like Modi’s recent visit with Trump, which further cemented this global far-right axis. It’s a sharp, necessary analysis that connects past and present, showing just how deep these alliances run. Highly recommend.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

My completion of this book coincides, synchronously, with the White House's welcome of Narendra Modi for a visit. I understand the larger context and a more ominous trajectory in this visit than I would have before reading this book. While my many visits to India over the years have made the increasing nationalism, religious intolerance, authoritarianism and colonial agenda in Kashmir clear to me, I did not see the larger geopolitical dynamics.

Through his detailed analysis and comparison of contexts, strategies and dynamics in India's colonization of Kashmir and Israel's of Palestine, and by tracing the political and financial relationships between these two countries and with other global powers, the author paints a picture that defines the ways that fascism takes hold and democracies lose ground while our attention is elsewhere or through deceptive narratives that obscure what's actually happening.

Hostile Homelands is illuminating regarding the alliance between Israel and India and the ways their national and colonial projects are unfolding, but also about global geopolitical dynamics. These two countries with their nationalist ideologies, partitions, forced migrations, ethnic cleansing and genocides are examined in detail as a lens through which we can see the foundations of those movements activating in other parts of the world, often with US involvement or support that is not acknowledged clearly at home.

[jellyfishiii]

genuinely so educational i did not know anything about indian political history before reading this and i feel like i understand so much more now. also hindu nationalists (hindutva!!!) are fucking insane fascists. like that was obvious but it is so much more obvious now. but the author painted such a clear picture of the historical development of indian politics and its growing alliance with israel. also the stuff about kashmir was helpful for me personally bc i also did not know much about it. so much good info (but like also awful to realize) lol i need my parents to read this.

i guess what stands out to me from all of this is india’s continuing use of soft power, cultural exports, and the insane hindutva fundraising and propaganda that is spread in the diaspora is disguising india’s capacity as a settler colonial state (as can be seen in hypermilitarized kashmir).

[Pearl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very relevant book given the recent times. CANNOT RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH

[Priya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly informative book about the intertwined rise of Hindutva and Zionist ideologies in India, Israel, and across the diaspora, both of which are fueled by Islamaphobia and the “War on Terror”. The author thoughtfully traces the devastatingly oppressive settler-colonial projects of Kashmir and Palestine while interspersing quotes and interviews from grassroots organizers and folks on the ground. As Modi’s ethno-nationalist agenda for a Hindu India grows momentum, India’s policy change from supporting Palestine on the world stage to purchasing Israeli arms should come as no surprise; it’s frightening nonetheless.

[Nausheen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently researched, slightly terrifying, very relevant.

[Sameena H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some really horrifying stuff, an incredibly important read

[Ramzey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essa traces the evolution of ties from Nehru-era contacts to formal diplomatic relations with israel showing India’s escalating defense ties with Israel.


He argues that India’s BJP‑era vill association with Zionism reflects a convergence of ethnonationalist ideologies—religious majoritarianism, demographic engineering, and state violence—fueling Kashmir settlement policies modeled after Israel’s West Bank settlements


Essa draws controversial parallels: demographic re-engineering and securitization in Kashmir compared to Israeli practices in occupied Palestine. Critics question whether the deeper geopolitical and historical contexts are too dissimilar to equate

[Nadav David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve explored this topic before, in the context of a specific campaign, and this book took my understanding and commitment to this intersectional , internationalist struggle to a whole other level! I loved how the author wove both history and current dynamics together, and brought such specific, well researched examples to make arguments about parallels and differences between these ethnonationalist projects. I was especially moved by the analysis of the liberal facades that uphold Hindutva and Zionism, and the exploration of the military industrial complex and its role in the relationship between these regimes and systems. Essa briefly mentions Christian Zionism, but I think could have gone deeper on that.

[samar · Rating 4 out of 5]

a fairly informative primer on the relationship between india and israel, with a particular focus on the similarities between the occupations of palestine and kashmir (and a great introduction to kashmir in general)

[aditi mahajan · Rating 5 out of 5]

an incredibly well researched and written book - but sad, devastatingly so. i hope for a better tomorrow for india, one that acts in accordance to the values we were raised with and not colonial aspirations.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional. Extremely well researched. Important analysis throughout. Anyone concerned with ethno-religious-fascism should read this book. Important critiques of how anti colonial struggles turn pear shaped using a flattening religious identity and the fear of others to build power. Highly recommend.

[Juwayria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone read this TODAY

[Kudrat Wadhwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal book, learned a lot. very fact based and objective.

[Mansi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great overview of India’s relationship to Israel across history and how Hindutva has been shaped by Zionism. The book is very India centric, and not a great introduction to Zionism. But would highly recommend as an introduction to Hindutva, for leftist south Asians, folks interested in worldwide impact of Zionism, or the global rise of fascism and ethno-states. It’s also pretty accessible and a fairly short read. It did leave me curious about digging deeper into a lot of the stories and influences mentioned, but I appreciate the broad overview here and I learned a ton.

[Gaaaauri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is proof of how the ties between India and Israel have only one aim, genocide and occupation. The twin ideologies of Israel and India are backed by the US institutions ensuring that the victims of these ideologies are wiped out.

Through arms deals and support for the acts these nations commit, their position remains free from dissenting powers. Using tactics tried and tested by Israel Palestine, India occupies Kashmir to fulfil their dream of a Hindu ethno-national state.

A story of two occupations (while not similar in story) but following the same genocidal ideologies. A must-read in today's time.

[Maryam · Rating 5 out of 5]

so clear, lucid, and to the point. a critical read especially in our current moment

[hala · Rating 5 out of 5]

every Indian and Indian in diaspora should read this book, especially the last chapter. Kashmir has not and will never belong to India and all Indians standing in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle must also stand in solidarity with the Kashmiri struggle for self determination

[Chetan Hebbar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great points, though I wish more of the claims and statistics had sources I could follow up on.

Not going to change your mind much if you're not already politically aligned with Palestinian and Kashmiri causes. The writing gets a bit prosey at times. Felt that it could have been more concise to hit harder.

[Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent case study in public versus private diplomacy. Essa uses archival research, news articles and original interviews to detail some of the backdoor deals between Israel and India, why they might have happened, and how private relationships can shift to more public ones. He also offers descriptions of the formation of each state (Israel and India), nationalist ideology (Zionism and Hindutva), and occupation (Palestine and Kashmir), analyzing their similarities and sometimes their differences. It is meticulously researched and will no doubt be used as an important tool.

I do think this book could have benefitted from a more robust introduction that framed each of the (somewhat disparate) themes together. The threads are there, but they could have been woven in a more strongly articulated way. For example, why is the relationship between India and Israel uniquely important to consider, as opposed to either state’s relationships with China or the UAE? The West Asia Quad could have provided a compelling hook for such an introduction.

[Marcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to get a very clear sense of how intertwined relations between India and Israel are - and how far back they go! - this is an excellent resource. Essa does a terrific job tracing out the parallel histories as well as showing how those histories coalesce around ideological underpinnings. A must read for anyone who is invested in unraveling these ties.

[Fatima Moosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Important and necessary read to understand how oppressive states (legally and illegally) share and transfer methods to control and oppress minorities and vulnerable groups. Moving beyond superficial explanations of violence and attacks to understand the root causes and origins

[Muawiyah Yousuf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scroll through any comment section regarding the Israel-Palestine topic, and you’ll find certain "fine" fellows tripping over themselves to declare their undying love for Israel, parroting lines like:

"Your Indian brothers support you! Love you, Israel!"

"We’re fighting the same enemy. India stands with Israel!"

This bootlicking is beyond embarrassing. But why? On the surface, Hinduism and Judaism have nothing in common. Theologically speaking, they’re worlds apart, irreconcilable. Yet Zionists and Hindutva fanatics march hand in hand, using religion as a convenient mask to push their real agenda: ethnic supremacy.

This book, Kudos to Essa, breaks down the racist foundations of both Zionism and Hindutva, exposing their shared roots, their ideological marriage, and the historical trajectory of this disturbing alliance. It answers critical questions: Did this pathetic love affair start with Modi, or way before that? How is religion weaponized to justify their politics? What are the real “values” binding them together? What tactics do they use? And of course, what have they done and what are they doing to defeat their common "enemy", the Muslim?


This book was very informative and necessary as it sheds light on many critical points. For example, I always thought how far India's come in regards to the Palestinian cause. How did it get to what it is today From being the first non arab state to recognize the state of palestine? Little did I know that that support had no moral basis, but rather was one motivated by political and economic factors.

On a side note, given all the parallels and similarities shown between these two, It just struck me that if there's one field that Hindutva has aced Zionism in, it is the media war. For all it's resources and influence in every major sphere, Zionism is losing the online propaganda war, especially given the whole Gaza genocide that is taking place.

The architects of Hindutva propaganda have taken note. They watch, they learn, and they adapt.

Bollywood has become the mouthpiece of Hindutva. It Poisons the minds of the masses with films and TV shows that subtly (or not so subtly) inject anti-Muslim rhetoric under the guise of patriotism and historical correction.

In these films, Muslims exist in only two categories: the villain and the token. The villain is the stereotypical terrorist—long beard, dark eyes, shouting "Allahu Akbar" before committing atrocities, dripping with misogyny and bloodlust. Then there’s the "good" Muslim—a drinking, dancing, sidekick of the hero who helps him take down the villain. He doesn’t question nor does he challenge the system. His role isn’t to represent Muslims but to serve as a convenient shield against accusations of Islamophobia. This isn’t diversity; it’s psychological warfare, designed to send a clear message: the only acceptable Muslim in India is the one who strips of his Muslim identity.

There’s also been an increase in the "history" YouTube channels, flooding the platform with revisionist narratives. These channels display themselves as educational, but in reality They just masquerade as unbiased historians while peddling Hindutva propaganda, ensuring that the new generation grows up believing that their history was stolen, their culture was crushed, and their duty is to reclaim it by any means necessary.

[Aqeel Haider · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 by 𝐀𝐳𝐚𝐝 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐚
(The New Alliance between India 🇮🇳 and Israel🇮🇱 )
Azad Essa is an award-winning journalist and author based between Johannesburg and New York City. He is currently a senior reporter for Middle East Eye covering American foreign policy, Islamophobia and race in the US.

The book comprises 5 chapters. I will dissect each of them One by One in detail.
A Story of Two Partitions: this chapter largely discussed the India-Israel foreign policy aspect although India accepted the Israeli state in 1950 their diplomatic relations remained cold over the years while Nehru was in Office. The warmth of diplomatic relations felt in BJP's time mostly after the 1990s. The author describes India's Foreign policy toward the Palestinian cause and Israel. Creating balance during the establishment of Indian democratic credentials.

The Military-Industrial Complex: Indian Military strategic needs and Israel's demonstrated annihilation of Arab Armies during the 1967 War proved to be a turning point. Mossad and Israel initially helped during the 1962 Indo-China War and the 1971 Indo-Pak War. They had a 4.2$ billion trade in 2020 and mostly advanced tech rifles and anti-tank missiles. Technology startup and India investment key for their military-industrial complex. Whether it's DRDO or ISRO.

Hindutva and Zionism: A Story of Kinship
This chapter mostly discussed the ideology of Zionism and Hindutva similarly starting from Valdmir Jabostinky's revisionist Zionism or M.S Golwalkar's ideology of Hindutuva. They have similarities like repressive, ethno-nationalism and brutal.

The India Diaspora and the Israeli lobby in the United States🇺🇸 : This chapter more importantly highlights Indian and Jews diaspora collaboration for each other. Anti-defamation league (ADL) , American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC), Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Campaign (BDS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America(VHPA), American Hindu Anti-Defamation(AHAD), jews defence league(JDL), American Jewish Committee (AJC) and United states India political action committee(USINPAC) pervasiveness in Capitol Hill and US Congress.


I will say must read for all those who are interested Foreign policies of these two countries and rare insight into RSS-Zionism ideologues regimes.

[Andres Guzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

How does the “world’s largest democracy” occupy the most militarized region in the world, while the “only democracy in the Middle East” is engineering apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide?
 
This book traces the history of political, military, and economic relations between India and Israel. If Theodore Herzel is considered the architect of modern-day Zionism, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is his counterpart: the founder of Hindutva.
 
The chapter on the relationship between Hindutva and Zionism is disturbing if you’ve read about the history of Zionism, its founders and their collaboration with Nazi Germany. Ethno-nationalist states tend to work with fascist regimes.
 
The mending of U.S.-Israeli-Indian relations is what I would describe as the settler-colonial Axis that are bent on colonizing indigenous, Palestinian and Kashmiri people. They share weapons, intelligence, armed forces, equipment, tactics, and border management.
 
Borders are a colonial invention to contain an indigenous population and external enemies. Examples include U.S. bordertowns, U.S.-Mexican border, Gaza-Israel border, and the Line of Control border bisecting Kashmir between Indian and Pakistani armed forces.
 
The War on Terror was an expansion of the surveillance state. Muslims and freedom-fighters were vilified as terrorists, while Western civilizations continued their colonizing projects.
 
If Palestine is considered a strategic location between Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Kashmir is the strategic location between China, Central Asia and South Asia. Their trade routes and natural resources are valuable to a colonizing state.
 
The Hindutva concept of transforming India into a Hindu nation-state while colonizing Kashmir, has roots in Israeli occupation of Palestine to create a Jewish nation-state. Two partitions, two occupations.

[Awiee · Rating 5 out of 5]

India and isreal are like 2 cousin brothers, one colonized Palestine and other colonized Kashmir.
When isreal was born in 1948 and india just got it's independence a year prior, both the nations didn't hold any strength or international sway. Both of them were looking for allies and to maintain a political goodwill while trying to maintain their occupation.

Thing about colonizing a land is that you have to actively work towards increasing your military strength to fight others in the region over that land and to actively suppress rebellion in the occupied land.
Here both worked together to achieve that. While isreal developed it's own military weapons to defend itself against other arab counties in the region( guess over what issue- Palestine) and continue to suppress independence militancy in Palestine, it also provided weapons to india to fight against pakistan and china( guess over that issue- Kashmir). India's purchase of weapons from Israel helped transform the country from merely manufacturing weapons for its own use to becoming an arms exporter, contributing to the emergence of a military-industrial complex.

There's also an entire chapter on how isreali and indian diaspora operate in US and how they have also worked together and have been holding significant power in the governmental decision making and have worked together to whitewash the global image of two ethnonationalist nations.

In the initial chapters, it always sheds light on the zionist movements before creation of isreal. It's absolutely a must read

[Rizwaan Sabir · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly researched book on the historic and growing relationship between Zionist Israel and Hindutva India.

The book details how India, despite its public support for Palestinians, has historically maintained strong military ties with Israel, relying on its technology and expertise to execute a genocide against Muslims in various Indian states as well as the occupied people of Kashmir in an organised ethnic cleansing campaign inspired by Israel’s settler-colonial occupation of Palestine.

The book thus clearly illustrates some striking similarities between Zionism and Hindutva, showing how both ideologies use comparable rhetoric & propaganda to justify genocide and ethnic cleansing in the name of ‘Judaization’ in Palestine and ‘Hinduization’ in India while hiding behind claims of being “the only democracy in the Middle East” and “the world’s largest democracy”.

Packed with powerful, well-researched, and clearly written ideas, this book is both insightful and enlightening and a really important and timely piece of work. This is especially the case since India’s rivalry with China and its economic rise often means that its atrocities against Muslims and Kashmiris organised along a violent Hindutva ideology that has taken inspiration from both Nazism and Zionism, is overlooked, especially in western capitals.

[Sadaf Saleem · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are unaware of the deep friendship between Israel 🇮🇱 and India 🇮🇳 , this book is an absolute MUST READ.
Azad Essa explores how
- Israel has always supported India in its “wars” with its neighbors, with weapons and surveillance tech (both tried and tested on Palestinians),
- Hindutva and Zionism have dangerous parallels
- far-right Hindus under Modi find inspiration in the unchecked barbarity of Israel and feel emboldened to follow the ‘Zionist model’ in Kashmir.

The unholy alliance between the extremist and fascists in both states is no secret. They are united in their hate towards Muslims and minorities, harass and attack anyone who questions them and conveniently avoid any serious dialogue by labelling their critics as “anti-Semitic” and “hinduphobic”.

If you haven’t already read it, start 2024 with this important book.

[Syed Faraz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am actually stunned by this book, there were things we knew but were never able to connect the dots to see the whole picture . The picture is wide open now .

Love the flow of the book , the similarities of partitions , the military-industry coalition, the doctrine kinship , the Kashmir issue.

The word “diaspora” was actually used for the spreading (or scattering) of Jews throughout the world post destruction of the 2nd temple . But the use of the word “diaspora” to explain the similar purpose of Hinduvuta followers was amazing to read .

Kudos to the writing this .

[Vivek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very solid intro to the relationship between India and Israel, but the title is a bit misleading, as it very heavily focuses on India, without a lot of information or context around Israel. This worked fine for me, as that’s really what I was looking for. But if you don’t know much about Palestine and Israel, you won’t find that here. I expect many more people will be looking to this book to make sense of the growing fascism in both countries.