India and Israel are two Asian countries and both share an extensive relationship in terms of trade, economy, military and fight against terrorism. Both the countries achieved independence after the Second World War and during the initial days of independence, there were very less diplomatic relations between them. India feared having a full-fledged relationship with Israel may hamper its relations with other Arab nations. The Indian National Congress even opposed the State of Israel because it believed that it was a country formed on the basis of religion, similar to Pakistan.
Today the relationship between them has strengthened and India is the largest buyer of Israeli military equipment. Apart from these trade relations both share a common history and there are many similarities between India and Israel. These two countries are on the same platform as the fight against terrorism and hostile relationship with neighboring countries. In this article, we will cover the points that show the similarities between India and Israel and why both these countries should work together to eliminate their enemies. There are many similarities between India and Israel in terms of history, religion, and politics and here we will look into them.
A similarity between India and Israel
- The name of both the countries began with the letter “I”. Both the countries follow the Democratic System of Governance.
- Both India and Israel achieved Independence after the end of Second World War. Both the countries were colonized by Britain. India got independence on 15th August 1947 whereas Israel declared its independence on 14th May 1948.
- During the days of their independence both the countries witnessed an exodus of Human Population from one place to another. Thousands of Jews, from around the world and especially from Europe migrated to Israel and similarly millions of Hindus from Pakistan migrated to India leaving behind their ancestral land and Property.
- Both India and Israel were partitioned by British on religious lines. India was divided into India (Hindu Majority) & Pakistan (Muslim Majority). Similarly, Israel was divided into Israel (Jewish Majority) & Palestine (Muslim Majority).
Map of India & Israel.
- The most notorious neighbor of both the countries is Pakistan and Palestine (both the name start with P). Both these neighbors are busy in promoting terrorism, infiltration, and disturbance of peace talks.
- In their early days of independence both the countries were engaged in war with their neighbors. India fought with Pakistan on Kashmir issue within one month after independence (First Kashmir War in 1947) and Israel fought with Arab countries the very next day after independence (First Arab–Israeli War in 1948).
- 73% population of Israel). The second most followed religion in both these countries is Islam.
- Both India and Israel have fought three major war with Pakistan and Arab countries respectively (excluding small border skirmishes). In all these three wars both the countries defeated their enemy by a heavy margin and even changed the geographical structure of that area. If you will clearly notice you will find there is a difference of only one year or two when these incidents happened in these two countries.
- The main population of both the countries is formed by a single religious group. Hindus constitute the main population of India (95% of world Hindus lives in India and constitute 80% population of India) whereas Jews constitute the main population of Israel (50% of world Jews lives in Israel and constitute 73% population of Israel). The second most followed religion in both these countries is Islam.
Historical and Religious Similarity between India and Israel
- Many religions of the world originated from India and Israel. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism originated in India similarly Judaism and Christianity originated in Israel. Both these countries host many important religious shrines of these religions.
The City of Jerusalem and City of Varanasi are oldest inhabited cities in the world.
- Both the countries share the oldest history the mankind has ever seen. The City of Jerusalem and the City of Varanasi are one of the oldest and continuously inhabited cities of the world. The primary religion of both the countries i.e. Hinduism and Judaism is the oldest religion of the world and their religious texts i.e. (Mahabharata & Gita in Hinduism) & (Hebrew Bible in Judaism) are some of the oldest text written in the history of Mankind.
- India and Israel have faced foreign invaders from time to time and both the countries were ruled by Muslim rulers for centuries. India was ruled by Mughals for nearly 300 years and Israel was ruled by Ottoman Turks for 400 years.
- The history of both the country mentions one great king who united the scattered provinces into one great nation. King David is viewed as a righteous and effective king in the History of Israel. Similarly, King Bharat is a very important figure in the history of Bharat (Hindi name of India).
- The main religion practiced in India and Israel i.e. Hinduism and Judaism don’t carry out the forceful conversion.
- The religions that originated in India and Israel went on to become major religions of the world but those religions were followed by minimum population in their parent country. For example, Christianity originated in Israel and it is the largest religion in the world but Christianity is not a major religion in Israel. Similarly, Buddhism is another major religion of the world originated in India but Buddhism is not a major religion in India.
- Religion originated from these two countries have historical similarity. For example, Christianity originated from Judaism and Jesus Christ was a Jew by birth. Similarly, Buddhism originated from Hinduism and Gautama Buddha was Hindu by birth. Both these religions went on to become major religion of the world once it was patronized by the kings then. Constantine the Great allowed Christianity to flourish and he also converted to Christianity in the same way Ashoka the Great accepted Buddhism as his new religion and helped Buddhism to spread in Asia.
- In both, countries festivals play an important role and both India and Israel celebrate “Festival of Light”. In India Diwali or Deepawali is celebrated as the festival of light. Similarly in Israel Hanukkah is celebrated as the festival of Light.