Civil society asks Modi government to halt arms exports to Israel

A day after the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, members of Indian civil society, including development economist Jean Drèze, acclaimed writer Arundhati Roy, Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, and CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat, gathered at Delhi’s Press Club to voice their criticism of the Indian government's stance in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Addressing the attendees and the media, Roy declared that the people of India do not endorse the government’s support for Israel, and accused Israel of committing genocide in Palestine, highlighting that the Indian government has not only supplied arms and ammunition to Israel but has also sent Indian workers to the war-torn region.

Roy demanded an immediate cessation of arms exports to Israel and the repatriation of Indian workers. She concluded with a poignant remark, "It seems like America is also occupied by Israel."

Development economist Drèze highlighted the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, emphasising that India has violated the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, which explicitly called on Israel to end its illegal occupation of Gaza. "The assault on the right to food and healthcare is reason enough to demand an immediate ceasefire and the cessation of all cooperation with Israel," he said.

Drèze also criticised the Indian government for failing to contribute to ending these war crimes, accusing it of being a steadfast ally of the Israeli government. He pointed out that India subsidises companies producing military materials for Israel, sends Indian workers to replace Palestinian labour, and suppresses protests against Israel domestically. "Even at the United Nations," Drèze noted, "India has mostly abstained from efforts to pass resolutions aimed at restraining Israel."

Human rights activist and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan reminded the gathering that India is a signatory to the Genocide Convention, the first human rights treaty adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1948.

He accused the Modi government of blatantly violating this treaty and, by extension, the Indian Constitution. Bhushan emphasised that Article 21 of the Constitution protects the life and personal liberty of not only Indian but global citizens, and called for the revocation of arms licenses for companies involved in exporting arms to Israel, demanding accountability for those responsible for these actions.

Karat stated that these issues must be raised in Parliament and demanded that Union defence minister Rajnath Singh address the nation on the matter. On Wednesday, 25 eminent citizens, including former Supreme Court and high court judges, economists, activists, and poets, wrote to Singh urging him to halt the licensing process that allows exporters to send military-grade arms and ammunition to Israel.

They described Israel's actions against Palestine, following a Hamas attack in October 2023, as genocide, noting that several thousand Palestinians have died in brutal assaults.