Karpoori Thakur went to Israel in 1959. Nehru encouraged him

News Snapshot:

During the 1950s and ’60s, many Indian leaders from the Congress and other parties actively engaged with Israeli political leaders and community figures. First, by visiting Israel to experience and study the Kibbutz system and democratic-socialist Zionism, as well as maintaining long correspondence with leaders like the former Israel PM David Ben-Gurion. Second, by facilitating and inspiring hundreds of others from Indian socialist camps, grassroots movements, and trade-labour unions to visit Israel. And third, by advocating for full diplomatic relations with the country. Thakur’s search for socialism – not that myopic mixture of Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism –took him to Israel, which was...