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.

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