Skip to main content

Retired civil servants slam India’s ambivalence on Gaza, urge principled stand against Israeli actions

By A Representative 
A collective of 110 retired senior civil servants, diplomats, police officers and other top officials has sharply criticised the Indian government’s stance on the Gaza crisis, calling it weak, ambivalent and out of step with India’s historic foreign policy traditions. Writing under the banner of the Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), the former officials said that India’s approach to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza amounted to a “moral failure” and reflected “a disturbing rightward communal shift in governance and society.”
In their letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, the signatories said India’s foreign policy had moved away from its principled opposition to colonialism, apartheid and occupation, and was now characterised by a selective interpretation of national interest. “This is a far cry from the internationalism of India’s freedom struggle, its firm opposition through the UN, NAM and other platforms to imperial machinations, colonialism and apartheid, and its principled position on the Palestinian cause since its inception,” the letter stated.
The officials acknowledged that India had supported UN resolutions in 2023 and 2024 calling for an end to Israeli occupation and greater humanitarian access to Gaza, but noted that New Delhi had refused to condemn Israel’s “disproportionate carnage” or demand an unconditional ceasefire. They cited in particular India’s abstention in June 2025 on a UN General Assembly resolution that called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent” ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza, the release of all hostages and an end to the use of starvation as a tactic of war. “India was only one of 18 countries to abstain, while 149 countries voted in favour,” the group said, describing the decision as “deeply disconcerting.”
The letter also argued that India’s stance was not just a matter of diplomatic choice but part of a broader shift in domestic politics and public opinion. The group pointed to police crackdowns on small solidarity protests, the violent disruption of a Palestine support event in Delhi allegedly with police backing, and a Bombay High Court ruling dismissing a plea to hold a Gaza rally, as examples of how pro-Palestine sentiment was being suppressed at home. “The ambivalence, and general disregard in India for Palestinian suffering in the face of possible genocide, may well be part of a disturbing rightward communal shift in Indian public opinion, governance and judiciary,” the letter said.
The retired officials expressed particular concern over the government’s satisfaction that 20,000 Indians had secured jobs in Israel since a bilateral agreement in November 2023, filling positions vacated by Palestinians due to the war. They said this economic arrangement stood in stark contrast to India’s earlier solidarity with liberation movements. “India’s closet support for Israel has been exposed,” the letter remarked, adding that such actions amounted to complicity in the dispossession of Palestinians.
The CCG contrasted this approach with India’s historic role in championing anti-colonial struggles, opposing apartheid South Africa and standing firmly for Palestinian statehood. They reminded the government of India’s long record in the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and other international forums where it had consistently called for justice for Palestinians. “We call upon the government of India to reclaim its historic leadership in addressing colonial injustices and consider initiatives to pull Israel back from its genocidal course that may result in one of the blackest chapters in the history of humanity,” the letter urged.
The group of signatories includes prominent former officials such as ex-National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, former Home Secretary G.K. Pillai, former Deputy National Security Adviser Vijaya Latha Reddy, former Planning Commission Secretary N.C. Saxena, and several ex-ambassadors and chief secretaries. Their intervention adds to a chorus of international voices urging stronger action on Gaza, but is particularly significant for its criticism of India’s departure from a foreign policy rooted in universalist values.

Comments

Post a Comment

NOTE: Hateful, abusive comments won't be published. -- Editor

TRENDING

The farmer's burden: How oil, war, and climate are rewriting the price of food

By Vikas Meshram   The scorching flames of the Middle East conflict are now slowly reaching the kitchens of ordinary people. The true price of this war is paid in daily markets, vegetable shops, and in the shattered minds of farmers. Expensive crude oil, skyrocketing fertilizer prices, and rising agricultural costs are together creating the conditions for global food inflation — and this crisis is directly tied to what people eat and drink every day.
Post a Comment
»

Economic nationalism under strain as Indian corporates turn to America

By Sandeep Pandey*  U.S. federal prosecutors withdrew a criminal case involving allegations that Gautam Adani had bribed officials in India to secure solar energy projects, stating that they lacked sufficient evidence. Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani also settled a civil fraud case with the Securities and Exchange Commission by paying a fine of around ₹180 crore without admitting wrongdoing. In addition, Adani Enterprises reportedly deposited around ₹2,750 crore into the U.S. Treasury to resolve allegations that it had violated U.S. sanctions on Iran through purchases of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). 
Post a Comment
»

India’s heatwave crisis: How concrete cities are fueling climate emergency

By Rajkumar Sinha*  According to recent studies, urban areas are witnessing a much sharper rise in temperatures than rural regions. The planet is currently heading toward an additional 1.9°C of warming — far beyond the target envisioned under the Paris Agreement . A team of climate scientists associated with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has noted that India’s average temperature increased by nearly 0.9°C during the decade between 2015 and 2024 compared to the early twentieth century (1901–1930). In western and northeastern India, the hottest day of the year has already become 1.5°C to 2°C warmer since the 1950s.
Post a Comment
»