Limkar added that the demonstration is also an effort to counter the perception that India is aligned with Israel. (Photo by Aryesh Chakraborty)
Holding placards that read ‘Ceasefire Now’ and ‘Free Palestine’, dozens of protesters formed a human chain outside the Pune railway station Sunday afternoon, demanding that India sever diplomatic and defence ties with Israel over its ongoing military actions in Gaza.
Organised jointly by the Indian People in Solidarity with Palestine (IPSP), Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) India, and the Revolutionary Workers Party of India (RWPI), the demonstration was part of a nationwide day of action across cities in India.
“The genocide in Gaza continues despite global outrage. People are being starved and starvation is being used as a weapon,” Swapnaja Limkar, Pune coordinator of BDS India, told The Indian Express.
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“There is still a nation struggling for freedom, and if we don’t speak now, when will we?” she asked. (Photo by Aryesh Chakraborty)
Limkar added that the demonstration is also an effort to counter the perception that India is aligned with Israel. “Zionism and fascism have much in common,” she said. “As citizens, we must show that Indians stand for humanity, not for genocide.”
Lalita T, spokesperson of the RWPI, said the protest was triggered by the recent detention of Freedom Flotilla activists, including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who were stopped from delivering aid to Gaza by Israeli forces.
“We have seen activists attacked and detained simply for trying to deliver food and medicine,” she said.
“We demand that the Indian government sanction Israel, cut all bilateral and defense ties, and press for the release of detained flotilla and Palestinian activists. You cannot say you support Palestine while signing trade deals with Israel- that’s hypocrisy,” she added.
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On the Israel military action that began on October 7,2023, following the Hamas attack, Viraj Khomne, a protester, said, “History did nto start on October 7, Violence has persisted since 1948, when Palestinians were displaced during the Nakba. Today, Gaza is the world’s largest open-air prison.”
For Dikshanti Bhalerao, an educator in Pune, the protest was personal. “I go to school every day and see children learning freely, while in Gaza, schools have been reduced to detritus,” she said.
“Education is a basic right- but those children are denied it. I’m here to stand for them.”
As chants of “From Pune to Gaza – Solidarity Knows No Borders” and “down with Benjamin Netanyahu”, echoed through the crowd, Limkar said the protest was about humanity, not religion. “This is not about Jews versus Muslims: it is about oppressors versus the oppressed,” she said.
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The protest concluded peacefully after one and a half hours, with organisers vowing to continue similar actions as protesters demand India should take a moral stand and cut all ties with Israel.
Aryesh Chakraborty is an intern with The Indian Express.
