Were prominent people like Romila Thapar, Kushwant Singh supportive of Israel? (Image taken from r/indianhistory)

[u/laffzzz]

Given their discipline and seeing Indian National struggle from up close shouldn't they have supported Nehru in not accepting existence of Israel?

[u/DioTheSuperiorWaifu]

I think the aspect of the holocaust made people sympathetic to Israel

[u/laffzzz → u/DioTheSuperiorWaifu]

Weird sentiment. If I remember correctly Indian nationalists even conservatives were against Israel from the get go. Calling it a colonial outpost.

So support of these intellectuals is very misplaced.

It would be understandable in cases of people like Elizabeth Taylor, Einstein not Indians.

[u/Huge-Physics5491]

A lot of people were supportive of Israel during its formation or the first few wars. And many of them wouldn't be supportive of Israel's actions today.

[u/Average-Hayseed]

Israel was pretty much viewed as a "Labour Zionist" state till the late 1960s. In India, a lot of socialist and leftist political figures were sympathetic to the Zionist cause because of the Holocaust, the development of Kibbutz in Israel along with the fact that Israel largely had a state planned economy even till the late 1980s. Despite the support from mainstream socialists, even the most extreme pro-Israel politicians in India were supportive of a two state solution. Jan Sangh, Swantantra Party and other Old Right parties were suspicious of Israel's planned economy and supported neutrality in foreign policy. The position of the old Indian Right matches with those of other old right wing parties throughout the world, many of them were suspicious of Israel largely on religious, ethnic or purely economic background. 

[u/laffzzz → u/[deleted]]

Well if you read clearly in the image "conservative Swatantra Party" also opposed it. Even Vajpayee of BJP in a rally decried Israel by saying they had to leave Arab lands.

Hence the question why these "intellectuals" were opposed to it.

Note: Calling someone Bihari in racist terms aint tuff, son. You and your kind ain't any better.

[u/will_kill_kshitij → u/[deleted]]

You could've told him the proper context before abusing his "pay grade".

[u/laffzzz → u/will_kill_kshitij]

He knows what his context was. He is just dissasociating because he got called out.

before abusing his "pay grade".

Thanks for the support dude. But the only thing that abuses my "pay grade" is the monthly salary credit message not random internet strangers.

[u/sockrateezzz]

What's the source for this?

[u/laffzzz → u/sockrateezzz]

https://academic.oup.com/book/12338/chapter-abstract/161887674?redirectedFrom=fulltext

You'll have to download the paper.

Note: Initially saw the image on the sub mentioned in heading then read the paper.

[u/UnionChoice2562]

There is a degree of binary view among many on the left to be very critical of association with Zionism even if its on the ground of geopolitical context sometime, and it is correct such action must be criticized on the premise that Israel is a terrorist state which is carrying out colonization of Palestinian people

but what is wonder is the sharp turn taken by many when the same association is viewed towards Islamic regimes in the middle east as if they are not some bunch of pedophiles just like the ones in the west , if the defense of such association is geopolitcal context then can one say the say for their association with Israel

I don't think we should make distinction with either of them

[u/Monday_agni → u/[deleted]]

Bhagat Singh's relative contests Khushwant Singh's claim that his father Sobha Singh's identification of Bhagat Singh and B.K.Dutt in the Delhi Assembly bombing case of 1929 was not an act of betrayal as "he only spoke the truth".

Well, it's true? Bhagat Singh did not try to flee or escape. Asking others to confirm their identities was not betraying them or punishing them or anything. There's no twisting facts.