From Gaza to Priyanka Gandhi and India's internal politics: Israel is going too far

Indian Express

3 days ago

We are witnessing an unprecedented catastrophe unfold in Gaza. Thousands of men, women, and children have been killed. Entire towns and neighbourhoods have been reduced to rubble. People are being forced to live without food or medicine. The scale of the devastation, the targeting of civilians, and the deliberate and perverse starvation of the people have stripped away any pretence of self-defence on Israel's part and revealed a campaign of collective punishment it is meting out to the Palestinians. This is a defining moment that will be remembered for generations, dividing those who stood on the right side of history from those who enabled or remained silent in the face of large-scale systematic murder and destruction. It is a global moral reckoning on the scale of slavery in human history.
Unlike many other historical catastrophes that were shrouded in secrecy or discovered only in their aftermath, the events in Gaza are unfolding in full view of the world. Every attack, every demolished building, every displaced family is being documented by brave civilians and journalists. This comprehensive record ensures that future generations will have an unvarnished account of what transpired and who stood where. The targeting of media personnel represents another grave concern in this context. Israeli forces have killed journalists, attempting to silence the very documentation that exposes this moral travesty to the world.
A full-blown propaganda campaign has been unleashed by Israeli officials in the face of overwhelming global popular consensus that what is occurring in Gaza constitutes genocide. Member of Parliament Priyanka Gandhi has accurately characterised the situation, on social media, by stating that 'The Israeli state is committing genocide. It has murdered over 60,000 people, 18,430 of whom were children.' She added that Israel 'has starved hundreds to death, including many children and is threatening to starve millions,' calling silence and inaction in the face of these events 'a crime in itself'. This was a valid criticism and most of us have been raising the same concern on all platforms, including Parliament. Our government has deliberately chosen a long silence vis-à-vis what is being done to people in Gaza. This criticism is particularly necessary because the government has not taken any decisive steps to stop the genocide or even say a bold 'No'.
In response to her criticism, Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar defended Israel's actions by stating that 'Israel killed 25,000 Hamas terrorists' and arguing that civilian casualties result from 'Hamas's heinous tactics of hiding behind civilians'. Rather than engaging with the substance of Gandhi's documented allegations, Ambassador Azar chose to launch a personal attack against her, opening his response with 'What is shameful is your deceit' — a classic ad hominem attack that deflects from the serious allegations being raised. A telling indication of the Israeli diplomatic establishment's inability to defend the indefensible.
This pattern of aggressive diplomatic interference is not unique to India. Israel has systematically meddled in the internal affairs of its closest allies, including the United States and the United Kingdom, where powerful lobby groups have orchestrated campaigns that led to high-level political exits. In the US, politicians who questioned unconditional support for Israel have faced well-funded primary challenges, while in the UK, members of parliament critical of Israeli policies have encountered sustained pressure campaigns. This international pattern of intimidation makes it all the more imperative that India stands firm against such hectoring of its democratically elected representatives. The internal dynamics between India's government and Opposition are matters of domestic democratic discourse that should never become a plaything for foreign governments, who may feel emboldened to exploit our political dynamics for their own strategic purposes. Allowing external actors to interfere in the relationship between ruling and opposition parties, no matter how strained, sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the very foundations of our democratic sovereignty. Having said that, given its record of inaction, one does not expect the government to defend one of many bold voices of our Parliament, or censure the Israeli ambassador for his inappropriate conduct.
The whole world knows that silence becomes complicity in the face of such suffering, yet this silence defines the posture of almost all nations. Even words of regret sound meaningless if they lack demands for accountability from the perpetrating nation. However, citizens are rising everywhere against this catastrophe, exposing the hypocrisy and impunity of the so-called world order and rules-based international system for everyone to see. The disconnect between official government positions and the moral outrage of ordinary citizens has never been starker. Across continents, people are taking to the streets, demanding that their governments stop enabling or remaining silent about what they witness daily on their screens. This grassroots uprising represents a fundamental challenge to the established order, where geopolitical interests have traditionally trumped human rights concerns.
We must recognise that Israel has become fundamentally out of step with the moral trajectory of human civilisation. While the world advances on multiple fronts of social progress, Israel's actions represent a dangerous regression to primitive notions of collective punishment and ethnic supremacy. In a world grappling with economic equality, social justice, gender justice, and ecological sustainability, Israel has become a disturbing outlier. While humanity debates how to build fairer societies and protect our planet for future generations, Israel has dragged the world backwards. The fundamental commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' should not need to be relitigated in the 21st century, yet Israel's actions have forced this basic moral question back onto the global agenda.
The current crisis has exposed the fundamental contradictions in the international order. The same nations and institutions that speak of human rights, international law, and democratic values have shown themselves willing to abandon these principles through selective application. This moral inconsistency has not gone unnoticed by a global citizenry that increasingly questions the legitimacy of a world order that fails to protect the innocent while shielding the powerful from consequences.
The calls for accountability must grow louder, stronger, and more united until they can no longer be ignored. Israel should not respond to criticism by blocking dissent, hectoring opposition, or branding truth-tellers as enemies. Our government must send a message to the Israeli state through their officials that India has a long history of standing with oppressed people. In the case of Palestine, our position was shaped by none other than the father of the nation. We as a nation believe in justice and should always demand accountability from perpetrators of crimes against humanity, refusing to allow them to escape responsibility or seek cover.
The writer is Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), Rashtriya Janata Dal