New Delhi: Wearing the Palestinian keffiyeh and shouting pro-Palestine slogans, activists, political leaders and residents from across Delhi gathered at Jantar Mantar on the first anniversary of Israel’s war in Gaza Monday, demanding an end to bloodshed in Gaza and other parts of West Asia.
The protesters waved around placards that read “Save Palestine, Stop Genocide” and “Palestine will be free” as they shouted slogans in support of Palestinians and called for Israel to be held accountable for the killings and displacement of thousands of people in Gaza.
“One year of the ongoing genocide of Palestinian people! One year of brave Palestinian resistance,” read a poster circulated by Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU).
The protest was collectively organised by more than 40 organisations, including several Left groups and those created in solidarity with Palestine over the past year. These included the Indo-Palestine Solidarity Network (IPSN), India Palestine Solidarity Forum (IPSF), Indians for Palestine, All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), Students’ Federation of India (SFI), and All India Students Association (AISA), among others.
Several political leaders were also in attendance. Prominent Communist Party of India (CPI) leaders D. Raja and Annie Raja talked about India’s role in the ongoing war in Gaza while speaking to ThePrint.
Annie Raja said that, on one hand, the Modi government has claimed that India supports Palestine, but “their statements and their actions are not actually matching”.
“For example, the defence trade and other trade between India and Israel that is going up every year has actually emboldened the Israeli imperialist forces to attack and kill the innocent people of Palestine. India is abstaining from the UN (United Nations) resolution also,” she said.
While the ongoing war is currently getting media attention, Raja said that this was actually an old issue and that Palestine has been dealing with the “imperialist” Israel and the US for a long time.
“Nobody is taking any account of 1948 to 2023. You want to talk of incidents which suit you, and your interest, not the other parts. It is a great injustice. Since 1948, Palestine has been struggling to safeguard its self-determination and independence, and because of the strong resolve of Palestinians, they have had to sacrifice thousands of children, young people, and their women in Palestine,” she said.
D. Raja said that the CPI is calling for the war to be stopped at all costs.
“With anguish and agony, we demand that Israel should stop this war, should stop this genocide. And the Palestinian people have their own right to have their own homeland. Nobody can stop that,” he said.
He contrasted India’s history of supporting the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) with its abstentions today on United Nations resolutions related to Israel. “What is the stand of India today? India is succumbing to the pressure from the US. This is what the Modi government should understand,” he alleged.
‘Solidarity with the people of Palestine’
Mohammad Ali, a PhD student at Delhi University, attending the protest, told ThePrint, “Peace-loving people across the world are on roads today. They are in solidarity with the people of Palestine.”
Vishal, an artist volunteering with Indians for Palestine, said, “People are protesting here today with their slogans and music, we are protesting with colours and chalk. A community is fighting against brutal bombardment on their land, from attacks on their hospitals to killing of young children.”
He added, “What started on 7 October has led to a targeted bombardment for wiping out an entire generation.”
Toward the end of the protest, demonstrators also narrated poetry and performed a small skit that showed displaced Palestinians leaving their homes with suitcases and bags in their hands. One of the women protesters held a doll wrapped in a white cloth with blood stains on it to represent the killings of babies in Gaza.
One protester recited an Urdu couplet. “For Palestinians, there is only one thing: Kitab saada rahegi kab tak, kabhi to aaghaz-e-baab hoga jinhon ne basti ujaad dali, kabhi toh unka hisab hoga (how long will pages in the book remain blank, one day it will be justly inked… those that demolish homes today, will be held accountable one day),” he said to ThePrint as Jantar Mantar resounded with the sounds of slogans in support of Palestine.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
The Delhi Police must take note of this event and create a list of everyone who participated. The intelligence agencies must check and vet the bonafides of each person on this list. If found involved in terrorist activities, directly or indirectly, strict and exemplary punishment must be meted out.
India is most unfortunate to have such people. They are nothing but a burden on the nation.