Hindustan Times ·
The end of hyphenation
This article is authored by Tarun Vijay, former Member of Parliament and founding editor of Namaste Shalom.
On 17 September 1950, in the town of Vadnagar in what was then Bombay state, a child was born who would become the 14th Prime Minister (PM) of India. On that same morning, in that same year, the Government of India signed the note extending de jure recognition to the State of Israel, then barely two years old and fighting for survival.
Narendra Modi and India's formal recognition of Israel share not just a year but a date. Seventy-six years later, the PM born on that date has done more to transform the relationship than any predecessor. He did not merely deepen it. He changed its nature. He lifted a condition that had constrained it for decades, and in doing so made possible what we see today: A Special Strategic Partnership in defence, technology, agriculture, and a shared refusal to be broken.
