Protesting organisations showed their dismay at Israel’s repeated rejection of calls by the international community for a ceasefire
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Many cities across India witnessed solidarity events and protests on Monday to mark the completion of one year of Israel’s genocidal war against the people of Gaza.
Thousands of people attended the solidarity and protest marches in New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and other cities which condemned the brutal Israeli war on Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
At New Delhi’s iconic Jantar Mantar, several left groups such as CPI-ML, AIPWA (All India Progressive Women Association), AICCTU (All India Central Council of Trade Unions), AISA (All India Students Association) and others gathered to condemn Israel’s hegemonistic policies and its intent to decimate the Palestinians.
In a statement, AISA said the protesting left, progressive and women’s organisations noted that the recent attack on Lebanon by Israel was meant to expand its genocidal ambit to entire East Asia. These organisations showed their dismay at Israel’s repeated rejection of calls by the international community for a ceasefire. Through its aggression, Israel has destabilised entire West Asia and pushed us closer to a global conflict, the AISA statement said.
Addressing the event, CPI-ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the struggle in Palestine is also the struggle of the common people of India and pointed out the complicity of the Adani-Modi nexus in funding, financing and arming the Israeli aggression in Palestine. “It is this very nexus that has the blood of the farmers of India and the Palestinian children on its hands,” he said.
In Hyderabad, Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) Students’ Collective organised a ‘Solidarity March’ to protest Israel’s genocidal policy in Gaza. The event, which was held at the campus and participated by the students from various departments, expressed their support for the Palestinian Resistance Movement.
Addressing the gathering, Talha Mannan, a PhD scholar, drew attention to the severe human rights violations in Palestine and the international community’s failure to respond to them. “The oppression against Palestinians has laid bare the hypocrisy of the West, international war laws, human rights organisations, and the United Nations. Over 40,000 innocent lives have been lost in the past year due to Israeli aggression, and more than 100,000 people have been displaced. Despite this, the silence of the international community remains deafening,” he asserted.
Mateen Ashraf, former president of MANUU Students’ Union, also addressed the gathering, emphasising the importance of economic resistance through boycotts. “The least we can do to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian cause is to boycott Israeli products. By doing so, we refuse to contribute to an economy that fuels the Israeli state’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians. Every purchase made from these companies indirectly supports the military and political machinery that is committing atrocities against innocent people in Palestine,” Ashraf said.
He urged students and the larger community to join the global boycott movement as a practical step in opposing Israeli aggression.
The students also brought attention to the challenges they faced in holding the protest. Despite the peaceful nature of the event, the university administration neither granted permission for the gathering nor allowed media personnel inside the campus. The students were subjected to undue pressure and threats from university officials, citing concerns related to intelligence.
The MANUU Students’ Collective strongly condemned this “authoritarian behaviour”, stating that such actions curtail the freedom of expression and stifle student activism on important global issues.
The students reaffirmed their commitment to standing in solidarity with oppressed people across the world, particularly in Palestine, and vowed to continue their efforts to raise awareness about the plight of Palestinians despite administrative hurdles.
In Bengaluru, an event titled Discussion on India-Palestine Solidarity was held by the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) which was addressed by Palestinian Ambassador to India Adnan Abu Al-Hija.
The ambassador shed light on the circumstances leading up to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, stressing that it did not occur in isolation, but was rooted in a long history of oppression faced by Palestinians.
“The Palestinians have endured 76 years of torture, killings and displacement. Gaza has faced 17 years of blockade. In the first 11 months of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, around 250 people were killed in the West Bank,” he said.
