India Untold: How An Auschwitz Survivor Helped India Get Israel's Aid In Indo-Pak 1971 War

At a time when the United States and its Western allies openly threw their weight behind Pakistan, a consequential partnership between India and Israel was quietly rewriting the script of South Asian geopolitics.

Despite India's public vote at the United Nations opposing the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in recent years, the historical bond between New Delhi and Tel Aviv has grown roots far deeper than what diplomatic headlines suggest.

India, which long championed the Palestinian cause, only formalized ties with Israel in 1992 during the tenure of Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. But the groundwork for Indo-Israeli cooperation was being laid behind the scenes long before any official handshake took place-especially during times of war and desperation.

How Israel armed India in 1971 war

One such pivotal moment came in 1971, when India waged war against Pakistan to liberate Bangladesh. While the global spotlight remained on open alliances, an unlikely savior emerged from the shadows: Shlomo Zabludowicz, a Polish Jew, Auschwitz survivor, and one of the architects of Israel's formidable arms industry.

Zabludowicz, remembered for his vital role in shaping Israel's defense capabilities, became India's silent emissary in Tel Aviv-negotiating desperately needed weapons when the West had turned its back.

To truly appreciate Israel's intervention, one must revisit the horror that unfolded in early 1971. As Pakistan unleashed a violent crackdown on what was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), Israel raised its voice in rare diplomatic fury.

In a passionate address to the Knesset in June 1971, Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban thundered,“a human tragedy amounting to genocide.” He added,“The Jewish people, which has suffered much sorrow and misery in its history, must be especially aware of and sympathetic to human suffering wherever it may be.”

These words, more piercing than any missile, stood out even as India's staunchest Cold War ally-the Soviet Union-remained diplomatically cautious.

Despite this vocal condemnation, formal ties between India and Israel were minimal. Yet behind diplomatic curtains, a significant operation was underway: to provide India with critical armaments to support the Mukti Bahini-the Bangladeshi guerrilla resistance-and to bolster Indian military strength against Pakistan.

India needed heavy mortars, a category of weaponry the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) had but were reluctant to spare due to previous commitments and domestic constraints.

That's when PN Haksar, the influential principal secretary to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, made a bold move. He reached out to Zabludowicz, a former acquaintance from his diplomatic days in London. At the time, Shlomo was at the helm of Establishments Salgad, a Liechtenstein-based company that had earlier acted as a discreet channel for Israeli arms to India during the 1962 and 1965 wars.

Zabludowicz sprang into action, appealing directly to Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, a visionary leader who foresaw the long-term potential of closer Indo-Israeli ties. She didn't hesitate.

In a classified letter-now preserved at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library-Meir wrote in Hebrew,“I asked you to inform the Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, that we believe she will know how to appreciate our help in the past and our complying with the approach now.”

That message, translated by an Israeli consul in Helsinki, reached Indira Gandhi's desk in September 1971-after the first shipment of arms had already been dispatched. The operation was cloaked in absolute secrecy. There was no public gesture, no press leak, no indication that such a high-stakes weapons deal was being brokered while India still stood publicly aligned with the Palestinian cause.

Military historian Srinath Raghavan meticulously recounts the saga in his seminal work“1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh.” He writes,“Zabludowicz had already spoken to the Israeli government and was 'hopeful of airlifting ammunitions and mortars in September.' He also agreed to send Israeli instructors with the first lot.”

But Shlomo went beyond the call of duty. Not only did he divert weapons originally intended for Iran, but he also persuaded Tel Aviv to release stock directly from the IDF's reserves.“Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir was eager to accede to Indira Gandhi's request,” Raghavan notes.

In return, Meir hoped India would move toward formal diplomatic recognition-but Gandhi, despite receiving the weapons, stopped short of making that leap.

Among the more riveting footnotes in this hidden chapter is a classified exchange between India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Haksar dated August 4, 1971. The memo outlined logistics for airlifting Israeli arms and instructors to aid both the Indian Army and the Mukti Bahini. Meanwhile, Iran-which had earlier assured Pakistan of aerial defense cover-suddenly backtracked, wary of Soviet retaliation.

Despite American President Richard Nixon's brazen attempts to intimidate India-including sending a naval fleet into the Bay of Bengal-India pressed forward. By mid-December, Dhaka had fallen, and a new nation-Bangladesh-was born.

Even when India's foreign policy remained publicly aligned with Palestine, its leadership quietly turned to Tel Aviv-and Tel Aviv answered. For that, much credit belongs to Golda Meir's statesmanship. But it is Shlomo Zabludowicz, the Auschwitz survivor turned arms broker, who ensured that help arrived just in time.

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