Withdraw support to apartheid Israel, support Palestinian right to self-determination

By Gautam Mody*

The Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi on 7 October 2023 tweeted: “Deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour.” The New Trade Union Initiative condemn this statement in the strongest terms as it clearly indicates the one-sided position of government against the Palestine peoples struggle for nationhood for close to eight decades.

The Hamas’ actions in Israel have a historical context that the world must take note. Not doing so amounts to erasing Israel’s history of killing Palestinians in cold blood; sustained aggression in, and occupation and annexation of Palestinian territory and denial of the existence of State of Palestine since 1948 with impunity and sustained with the support of the United States and West European governments. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration of state of war is being portrayed globally as Israel’s right to defend itself, while in reality it is an effort to demonise Hamas and justifying Israel’s license to kill.

To suggest that Hamas actions affect innocent civilians in Israel is incorrect. Every adult ‘citizen’ of Israel, man and woman, since the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, is required to serve a fixed-term compulsory service in the Israel Defence Force. The areas of Hamas’ action are Palestinian territory occupied though the use of force by the illegal Israeli settlers who have displaced entire communities, destroyed their homes and livelihoods, restricted their movement and denied access to their own water, land and other natural resources. Israeli settlers are allowed to carry weapons for ‘their protection’, and continually attack Palestinians to expand their settlements further. The establishment and expansion of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory is prohibited under international humanitarian law and amounts to a war crime. Over 600,000 Israeli citizens live in occupied Palestinian territory since 1967, and over 4.9 million Palestinians face daily restrictions on their movement.

The Palestinians have tried the peaceful way for decades despite the violence unleashed on them. The root cause of the present situation arises from the sustained violence against the Palestinian peoples. It is a telling commentary that when oppression and violence crosses a line the oppressed strike back and strike hard. The unity of purpose and determination of Hamas’ action even missed the attention of Israel’s espionage and surveillance machinery which is believed to be the fiercest and sharpest in the world. This conflict can only be resolved if Israel and its western allies want peace, not war, respect freedom, and stop occupation.

We call upon the Government of India to retract its position on Hamas, recognise it as an elected representative of the peoples of Palestine and recognise the right to the unquestioned and unconditional right to self-determination of the Palestinian peoples.

The Government of India must also lead from the front, within the UN system, in ensuring that there is an immediate halt to Israel’s so called ‘right to defend itself’ and clear an UN driven timetable to resolve the Palestine dispute culminating in a country for Palestinian peoples.

---

*General Secretary, New Trade Union Initiative

Comments

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

Pairing not with law but with perpetrators: Pavlovian response to lynchings in India

By Vikash Narain Rai* Lynch-law owes its name to James Lynch, the legendary Warden of Galway, Ireland, who tried, condemned and executed his own son in 1493 for defrauding and killing strangers. But, today, what kind of a person will justify the lynching for any reason whatsoever? Will perhaps resemble the proverbial ‘wrong man to meet at wrong road at night!’

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Dowry over duty: How material greed shattered a seven-year bond

By Archana Kumar* This account does not seek to expose names or tarnish identities. Its purpose is not to cast blame, but to articulate—with dignity—the silent suffering of a woman who lived her life anchored in love, trust, and duty, only to be ultimately abandoned.

Search This Blog