On May 16, India’s representative to the United Nations, Ambassador TS Tirumurti reiterated the country’s support for the ‘just Palestinian cause’ at the UN Security Council debate on ‘situation in the Middle East.’ On this international platform, India called for ‘immediate de-escalation’ and a unified diplomatic attempt from other member nations to achieve peace in the region. This support for Palestine, however, seems completely missing in the BJP government-led state actors with police hounding people who are extending solidarity to the cause of Palestine.
On May 20, in the Azamgarh district of BJP ruled Uttar Pradesh, a Muslim youth named Yasir Akhtar was arrested by the local police for requesting people to put up the Palestinian flag on their vehicles and houses, as a gesture of protest against the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza.
The ongoing attacks on Gaza Strip in Palestine in just over a week’s time have killed more than 200 people, including children.
Yasir has allegedly made this appeal through a message he posted on his Facebook page. An officer with the district police said that an FIR has been registered and the youth was arrested so as to prevent any disturbance to peace, Deccan Herald reported.
India has historically supported the cause of Palestine and it is not clear, how an appeal to put up the Palestinian flag would have disturbed the peace in the area, several posts on social media platforms said, demanding the release of the youth.
Few days ago a Kashmiri artist was arrested for making Pro-Palestine graffiti.
Now a Muslim man has been arrested by UP Police because he had asked people in his FB post to use Palestine Flag ?? on their vehicle and house.
No outrage on this? #FreeYasirAkhtar
— Md Asif Khan (@imMAK02) May 20, 2021
In another such instance of arrests made by Indian police against individuals supporting Palestine, 21 people were arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir police on May 15.
20 people from Srinagar and 1 person from Shopian were arrested a day after they had expressed their solidarity with the people of Palestine and protested against the Israeli military’s violence in Gaza.
Mudasir Gul, a Kashmir-based artist who painted a pro-Palestine graffiti saying ‘We Are Palestine’ on a bridge in Srinagar was among those who were arrested. Later on, The Kashmir Walla reported that the police had painted over the graffiti. The artist was detained and illegally kept imprisoned for three days and was released without any charges being filed against him, The Wire reported.
[…] The same, however, cannot be said about the Indian state at its homefront where the members of the ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continue to back Israel and are quite vocal about it on public platforms. Indian citizens who extend support to Palestine are harassed and arrested by the Police. […]
[…] Read: Young Man Appeals to Support Palestine, UP Police Responds by Arresting Him […]