Latest news with #HarshMander
Scroll.in
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Readers' comments: Israel is a reliable India ally unlike Arab countries and Iran
The fact of the matter is that Israel has helped us when the West and our so-called Arab friends ditched us when we faced security threats from Pakistan throughout history, knowing fully well the consequences of doing so (' India claims to be a leader of the Global South – but its strategic silences subvert that assertion '). Wouldn't it be fair to take Israel's side considering how unreliable countries like Palestine or Iran can be? Otherwise, why would organisations like Hamas use hospitals and civilians as shields to hide from the consequences of their cunning and evil attacks. Let us keep in mind that Gaza would not have happened if 1,400 innocent Jews were not killed in the first place. I'm just hoping to get an answer and am very open to being corrected wherever I am wrong. – Adharsh Arjun *** It is unfortunate that Azad Essa dismisses the creation of Pakistan because it was for Indian Muslims and that it did not seek to exclude the minority Hindus and Sikhs (' A new book examines whether Hindu nationalists supported the Zionist project to occupy Palestine '). He also excuses the Pahalgam terror attack and Pakistan terrorist groups in Kashmir. Scroll should criticise the book not for Hindu nationalism but the dismissal and downplaying of Pakistani nationalism. His reasoning that Pakistan was created for Indian Muslims and did not seek to replace minorities falls flat. Pakistan was created as a Muslim country with the promise of minorities being treated well, though that failed to materialise. This is unlike India which was never declared as a Hindu country but has treated minorities well. – Axel Kurian Nazi cinema and Hindutva films I would like to appreciate Harsh Mander's well-researched and thought-out article (' Harsh Mander: How Nazi cinema finds a reflection in Hindutva films '. The article strongly puts forth the message of how modern India is on the throes of being divided in the name of religion. What people in India should be questioning is corruption and not casteist division and religious fanaticism. I would also like to commend Scroll for showing the mettle to publish this article. I look forward to more such articles. – Jes India's Donald Trump tactics Thanks for the important report (' Why Bengali migrant workers in BJP-ruled states are being asked to prove they are Indians '). It was distressing to read. It feels similar to Donald Trump's tactics in the US. Thankfully, it looks like at least the West Bengal government is making some efforts to help. – Varun PD Pigeon haters should stop pollution first These people do not stop cars, trucks and buses from polluting air in cities (' Why India needs to rethink its love for pigeons ').They don't object to airconditioners polluting the atmosphere nor do they care about the burning of crop residue. Chemical pollution in rivers and the sea is a big threat. Construction work, road work and maintenance adds to the pollution. Why blame poor birds? Can one stop poultry farms also? These doctors are not addressing the root cause: poor immunity. Increase immunity through yoga and other exercises and avoid stressful situations. – Arun Kale
The Wire
20-07-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
Delhi: Peaceful Pro-Palestine Protest Met With 'Jai Shree Ram' Chants, Threats in Police Presence
Atul Howale 'The police were completely deferential in allowing them (right-wing mob), even as they threatened to push us. It reveals a deep divide,' says activist Harsh Mander, who was at the demonstration. Protesters hold banners near the HP showroom in Nehru Place as onlookers gather on the first-floor gallery. Photo: Atul Howale New Delhi: A peaceful demonstration was organised on Saturday, July 19, at the famous computer market in Nehru Place, Delhi, in protest of the genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza and in solidarity with Palestinians. Around 12:30 PM, while more than 50 people were peacefully protesting, carrying Palestinian flags and banners, a huge group of right-wing people arrived at Nehru Place to oppose it and started threatening the participants. There was no sloganeering or chanting, nor any other misconduct by the demonstrators, but the protesters still had to face significant opposition. Demonstrating near the HP Computers store, a mob threw mud at the participants from the first floor. Subsequently, a large number of right-wing people started shouting slogans of " Jai Shri Ram", " Har Har Mahadev" and " Vande Mataram". After some time, the right-wing mob grew bigger. Many of them started abusing the participants and threatening them with statements like, "If you want to protest, go and do it in Palestine, not here." A right-wing supporter chants slogans against the demonstrators in presence of Delhi Police. Photo: Atul Howale Indian economist and social activist Jean Drèze, who was part of the peaceful demonstration, told The Wire, 'We did not raise any slogans and started to protest peacefully, but we were stopped from protesting. We are here not only to oppose the genocide in Gaza and demand an immediate ceasefire, but also to expose the complicity of the Indian government and to affirm the right to protest.' He said, 'The current situation, whether the government gives you permission or not, we have a duty to speak out.' 'The government is with Israel because it depends on Israel for technology, especially defence and surveillance technology. It has many commercial ties with Israel. The Palestinians are powerless; they have nothing to offer, so naturally, the Indian government is taking the side of Israel. But we are with the Palestinian people, and the sentiment of the Indian public, I think, is also with the Palestinian people," he added. Many students, university professors, artists, activists, citizens and representatives from other social organisations participated in the Nehru Place demonstration. There was no chanting or any slogans; it was a completely non-violent, peaceful protest. A protester holds a "Free, Free Palestine" banner. Photo: Atul Howale Starting from the centrally-located HP Computers showroom in Nehru Place market up to the Nehru Enclave metro station, a right-wing mob pursued the protesters, chanting slogans and threatening the protesters continuously – all in the presence of the Delhi Police. Around this time, Delhi Police personnel present at the site started asking the people protesting peacefully to leave the area, saying, "You do not have permission to protest here." Soon, the protesters were removed from the protest site. Delhi Police officers confront the peaceful demonstrators at Nehru Place. Photo: Atul Howale Activist Harsh Mander, who participated in the demonstration, criticised the police's double standards. He said, "In India, this protest isn't just about the state's complicit role in supporting Israel. It's also about the silence of ordinary Indians. That is why holding it in an area like Nehru Place was so important.' 'What was remarkable is how our protest was met by a spontaneous, larger crowd chanting ' Jai Shri Ram' and 'Filisteen Murdabad'. (But) the police were completely deferential in allowing them, even as they threatened to push us. It reveals a deep divide." About half-an-hour later, even as the demonstrators moved to the Nehru Place metro station gate, the police prevented them from even gathering together. The police also stopped the journalists who were reporting on this protest and were not even letting the participants speak with journalists. Police instructs the demonstrators to disperse from Nehru Enclave metro station. Photo: Atul Howale Anjali, a participant in this protest, condemned this action of the police. She said, "We didn't take permission because this wasn't a protest with slogans; it was a peaceful demonstration, which is our constitutional right. Our placards had very simple messages: 'Stop the genocide,' and 'Don't arm Israel with weapons that are going to kill children'.' 'When our flags came out at 12:30 PM, a very, very angry crowd came towards us. They started questioning us, asking, 'Where is the Indian flag?' But when the Indian flag was given to them, they seemed not to care about that at all. They just kept tearing all the Palestinian flags and our peaceful placards. This is the state of how much you can dissent in the country," she said. Like Anjali, activist and academic Nandita Narain also participated in this demonstration. Speaking to The Wire, she said, 'It's very shocking that the Indian government has completely lost its moral stature in the world. We are the country of Gandhi, and Gandhi is held up in such high esteem all over the world, not only for his stand on peaceful resistance but also to stand with the oppressed all over the world.' A protester holds a 'Free, Free Palestine' banner. Photo: Atul Howale 'You can't push the Palestinians out and occupy that land. That is ethnic cleansing. We never imagined that in this day and age, something like this will happen and it will be applauded by so many Western countries, with their eyes shut to the kind of crimes that are going on,' she added. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Indian Express
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Protest against Gaza violence in Delhi met with counter-demonstration
For about half an hour on Saturday afternoon, the Nehru Place market — the go-to destination for repair and purchase of computers, phones and practically every other gadget – was taken over by the spectacle of a protest and a spontaneous counter-demonstration to raise questions on the protesters' 'nationalism'. At 12:30 pm, several protesters held up placards condemning the violence in Gaza, expressing solidarity with Palestinians, condemning the Indian government's 'cooperation with Israel' and its abstention on United Nations' resolutions against the violence. Organisers, including civil society activists, artists and academics, chose to hold a silent gathering of about 30 people. They said that they did not seek either police permission or 'bandobast'. 'The fact is that we are denied permission to gather outside the Israeli Embassy or the External Affairs Ministry. It is more feasible and creates an impact to do smaller gatherings like this one,' said economist Jean Dreze, who was among those leading the protest. Former IAS officer and Karwan-e-Mohabbat founder Harsh Mander saw 'the need for such a protest, not just to criticise the governments of Israel and India but to raise the issue of the suffering in Gaza for the public at large'. 'In Europe and the United States, there have been harsh actions against protesters, including detention and criminal action… Yet, campuses and civil society have continued to raise their voice. We haven't seen that in India. It is, therefore, important that we go to the people.' However, within minutes of the Palestinian flags and posters being displayed, a group of men, mostly local shopkeepers and workers, took umbrage at the expression of solidarity. They began shouting slogans such as 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'. 'Ye log Bangladesh mein Hinduon ke paksh mein kabhi kyon nahi bolte? Israel mein jo atankwadi hamla hua tha, woh bhool gaye? (Why don't these people ever speak about Hindus being killed in Bangladesh? Have they forgotten about the terrorist attack on Israel?),' said Anshul, who refused to give a last name. He repairs and sells mobile phones at one of the many kiosks in the market. Questioning how a protest about the killing of civilians half a continent away became about nationalism and religion, Nandita Narain, a retired professor of Mathematics, St Stephen's College, and former Delhi University Teachers' Association President, said, 'What is the connection between? … Their slogan is a political one, based on an unfortunate ignorance.' Author Achin Vanaik said, 'It doesn't seem like they (the counter protesters) were organised, or had planned this from before… that is also disturbing.' Two constables tried to get the protesters to disperse. 'All we are asking is that they get permission and come. We will ensure that everything goes smoothly once they have permission… what if the situation had turned even more violent?' said one of them. 'Kalkaji police station isn't far… they should have got permission… I got to know only because one of the shopkeepers called and informed me of the suspicious activity,' he added.
Arab News
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Indian activists take Palestinian solidarity protest into major New Delhi market
NEW DELHI: Indian activists gathered for a Palestinian solidarity rally in one of New Delhi's busiest commercial areas on Saturday, looking to raise public awareness of — and educate citizens on — Israel's war crimes against the Palestinian people. Though support for Palestinian statehood was once an integral part of Indian foreign policy, the Indian government has moved closer to Tel Aviv in recent years and has largely remained quiet since Israel launched its deadly assault on Gaza in October 2023. New Delhi has been supplying Israeli forces with weapons and signed an agreement to send thousands of workers to Israel to replace their Palestinian counterparts. Indian civil society and students have taken to the streets in solidarity with Palestinians and protest against the government. On Saturday, protesters carried Palestinian flags, 'Free Palestine' posters, and placards that read 'Stop the Genocide' in Nehru Place, a prominent commercial hub in the Indian capital, as they sought to engage passersby in conversation and spark awareness of Israel's onslaught on Gaza. 'Coming to a place like this is really an attempt to take the protest (to) ordinary Indians, because it is their hearts and minds that we wish most to access … We want to create consciousness among ordinary Indians,' Harsh Mander, Indian human rights and peace activist, told Arab News. 'There has been a repression of pro-Palestine voices all across Europe and North America, but there has been significant pushback and resistance in other countries. India has not seen that kind of societal pushback to the government's open complicity with the … Zionist project of the Israeli government,' Mander continued. Organized by the Indians for Palestine movement, Saturday's protest moved away from the usual demonstration site of Jantar Mantar in the center of New Delhi. But it was also met with resistance, with some participants becoming the target of harassment from market visitors. 'The choice of Nehru Place as a site was symbolic — an open, public market square frequented by working-class people, students, and office-goers alike. It was meant to reclaim democratic space in a city where protest is now virtually criminalized,' organizers said in a statement. 'Despite everything, the message of the gathering remains clear: There are Indians who stand — and will continue to stand — with the people of Palestine.' Members of Indian civil society are aiming to educate people about the situation in Gaza to counter a lack of awareness, said Pamela Philipose, a journalist and senior fellow at the Indian Council of Social Science Research. 'Let me tell you, almost 90 percent of the people (in Nehru Place) would not have heard about Gaza, and the 10 percent who had would not have known what is happening in Gaza; that people are dying, that people are hungry, that there is a cruel state called Israel that is attacking them … they don't know any of this,' she told Arab News. 'And this is educating them. A protest is always an education. That's what we believe.' Israel has reportedly killed more than 58,700 Palestinians and wounded over 140,000 others since October 2023. The true death toll, though, is feared to be far higher, with research published in The Lancet medical journal in January estimating an underreporting of deaths by 41 percent. The study adds that the reported death toll does not include deaths caused by starvation, injury and lack of access to health care, caused by the Israeli military's destruction of most of Gaza's infrastructure and the blocking of medical and food aid. 'It is extremely important to protest because the atrocities that are going on in Gaza are unprecedented in the history of the world. It is as bad as, if not worse than, what happened in Nazi Germany,' Nandita Narain, a retired professor from Delhi University, told Arab News. 'If we don't protest today, we have lost our humanity. Humanity can only survive if human beings stand up for each other … India has already suffered colonial rule. We should understand better than everybody else how you must support those who have been subjected to brutal occupation by imperialist powers.' -ENDS-
Scroll.in
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Video: Hindutva in the diaspora
Play How are Hindutva ideas are being promoted and normalised abroad, particularly through religious, cultural and political organisations? How does this affect diaspora communities and politics in India? In this episode of the discussion series on the state of the republic, peace activist and author Harsh Mander explores these questions and more with historian Edward Anderson, and Sunita Vishwanath and Pranay Somayajula from the Hindus for Human Rights advocacy group. The conversation also addresses whether sections of the diaspora are funding or supporting political and ideological campaigns in India, and how these networks operate. The guests reflect on how diaspora Hindutva aligns itself with local political parties in their respective countries, and how it intersects with lobbying, and community mobilisation. They also discuss the challenges faced by those in the diaspora who oppose Hindutva and advocate for secularism and human rights.
