Jerusalem: Anti-Israel, anti-US demonstrations take place across India

More than a crore protestors marched at over a thousand locations across the country on Friday to condemn US President Donald Trump’s decision this month to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

The protestors were brought together by Islamic organisation Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, also witnessing participation from other Islamic, Dalit and Christian outfits, according to Jamiat’s press incharge Azeemullah.

“There were demonstrations in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Kolkata, Vellore, Guwahati, Agartala, Patna, Ranchi, Banaras, Kanpur, Dehradun, Gaya, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad, Surat, Bangalore, Chennai, in addition to demonstrations in other cities,” Azeemullah told National Herald.

He said that Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind’s President Maulana Usman Mansoorpuri led the protest in Varanasi, which was the main center of the coordinated demonstrations.

“There was a huge turnout in Varanasi. That was the main centre of the protest. I believe we have sent out a strong message to the government and the world,” he said, adding that the fact that Varanasi also happened to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency was pure coincidence.

Addressing demonstrators in Varanasi, President of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind Maulana Usman Mansoorpuri called on Centre to issue an “unequivocal condemnation” against the US “in tune with India’s historically held position” on Palestine and East Jerusalem.

“This attempt by the US is to legalise the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel. This is not going to help in the peaceful resolution of the Palestinian issue,” Mansoorpuri also said, according to a press release issued by the organisation.

Azeemullah said that the biggest turnouts were witnessed in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

“There were a total of 422 protests in Andhra Pradesh. Many people turned up to express their solidarity with Palestine in Muzaffarnagar, Amroha and Varanasi too,” he said.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind’s meeting attended by MPs, foreign ambassadors

In the lead-up to Friday’s demonstrations, Jamaat Ulema-e-Hind convened a meeting on Wednesday in New Delhi, which was attended by fourteen MPs from various political outfits and fifteen foreign diplomats, including Ambassadors of Palestine, Iran, Algeria, Turkey and Tunisia.

The meeting was also attended by prominent social activists, including the head of National Confederation of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR) Dr Ashok Bharti, National Integration Council (NIC) member John Dayal and former election commissioner SY Qureshi, among others.

Expressing solidarity with the Palestinian cause, a resolution moved at the end of the meeting asked India to condemn the US and throw its wholehearted support behind Palestine.

Janata Dal (United) MP and party spokesperson KC Tyagi, a participant at the meeting, told National Herald that India should stick to its historic stand on Palestine.

Tyagi further appreciated India’s vote at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, in which New Delhi had voted, along with 127 other nations, against the US and Israel to condemn the decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Azeemullah informed NH that no BJP MP had been invited to the meeting, amid accusations that the party leaders, in principle, are in favour of building ever closer ties with Israel. BJP MP Subramanian Swamy had been critical of India’s UN vote, saying that New Delhi should have sided with the US and Israel.

Azeemullah said that Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind was planning massive protests at the time of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to India next month.