(This article forms a part of the View From India newsletter curated by The Hindu’s foreign affairs experts. To get the newsletter in your inbox every Monday, subscribe here.)
The rapidly rising death toll in Gaza — of over 8,000 — and Israel’s dreadful move, further intensifying its military offensive, is throwing the entire world into a moral churn. While there is much history and complexity to the Palestine question, the current crisis has laid bare the motivations of a state that persists with its design of violent, brutal occupation, with abject disregard for human lives. Where countries stand at this juncture will say a lot.
In our newsletter last week, we looked at India’s position, both historic and current, on this conflict. We unpacked why despite strong ties with Israel, India finds it important to continue supporting the Palestinian cause. But a more tangible indication of where countries actually stand came last week, by way of the resolution at the United Nations General Assembly on October 27, 2023
Notably, India abstained. All of India’s South Asian neighbours backed the resolution that called for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce”, but India refrained from a vote on protecting Palestinian civilian lives. Its decision, the government said, was taken on the basis that the resolution did not include “explicit condemnation” of the October 7 terror attacks in Israel. The position drew much flak from the opposition and foreign policy commentators.
We continue with our deep dive on the crisis, providing context and analysis. Do check out this three-part podcast series with our Foreign Affairs Editor Stanly Johny.
Meanwhile, India faces yet another, major diplomatic test in Qatar, where eight former Indian Navy personnel, who had been employed by a company in Doha, were handed the death penalty by a local court on October 26 in an alleged case of espionage. Experts believe India has options and must pursue all efforts, including political appeals at the highest levels to ensure the Naval veterans, accused of espionage, are brought back to India.
In an editorial on the subject, The Hindu argued that the government must demonstrate that the lives of the men are indeed a priority for their country and for a government that claims a policy of “no Indian left behind”.
Top 5 pieces we are reading:
- In an exclusive opinion piece in The Hindu today, chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party Sonia Gandhi writes on the war in Gaza that has put “humanity on trial”. “There can be no peace without justice… Peace will come only if the world, led by countries that have the ability to influence policies and events, can restart the process of restoring the two-state vision and make it a reality,” she writes.
- We also had former Vice President Hamid Ansari write for us on ‘The voice of Gaza under occupation’.
- Here, Stanly Johny profiles Hezbollah, the party of God, Lebanon’s powerful Shia militant group that had fought the Israelis in the past and has declared support for Hamas’s ‘right to resist’ the occupation of the Palestinian territories.
- Is India really ready to host the Olympics? Experts Manisha Malhotra and Norris Pritam discuss the question in a conversation with Uthra Ganesan.
- Who is Mike Johnson? Narayan Lakshman writes on the new House Speaker, elected by the U.S. House of Representatives, after more than three weeks of a leadership crisis in the chamber.
