A large range of Indian Muslim organisations, Islamic scholars and civil society groups have called on the government to “take decisive action against the ongoing genocide in Gaza,” urging New Delhi to halt all military and strategic cooperation with Israel.
“On behalf of over 200 million Indian Muslims and all peace-loving citizens of our beloved country, we express our unwavering support and solidarity with the people of Palestine,” said a joint statement issued on Friday.
“We appeal to the government of India, international leaders, and people of conscience worldwide to stand against the injustice and take swift action to end the continued Israeli aggression.”
Urging all Muslim-majority nations “to put strong pressure on Israel and the U.S. to halt this catastrophe,” the statement said India must denounce “Israel’s brutal actions, halt all military and strategic cooperation with it, and actively back global efforts to ensure peace and stability in the region.”
It asked India “to champion humanitarian assistance and demand the urgent opening of humanitarian corridors to ensure the flow of essential supplies.”
The appeal came a few days after the Hindu nationalist government of India hosted a meeting with Israeli military officials in New Delhi to explore ways to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation with a “long-term perspective.”
Burgeoning relations
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For decades India took a very cautious approach to its relations with Israel, with full diplomatic relations only being established in 1992.
However, ever since the right-wing Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, came to power in the 1990s, relations between New Delhi and Tel Aviv have grown and expanded significantly, especially in the defence and security sectors.
Israel is India’s second-largest supplier of military equipment (after Russia) and India is Israel’s largest customer for military sales.
The cooperation between the two countries extends beyond the mere hardware sales to include joint research and development (R&D), technology transfers and joint manufacturing initiatives.
Strategic ties between the two include joint military training, intelligence-sharing on counter-terrorism and collaboration on border security and cybersecurity.
Bilateral trade of merchandise (not including military equipment) has also risen massively over the last several years, from around $200 million in 1992 to over $10 billion in the financial year 2022/23.
Currently, India remains Israel’s second largest trading partner in Asia.
Amongst the Indian public, there has been persistent and growing opposition to New Delhi’s “business as usual” approach to relations with Israel.
This has been particularly visible on the streets of the Indian capital since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023.
Student organisations, women’s rights organisations, human rights activists and members of India’s centre and left-wing political parties have all been calling on the Indian government to reconsider its relations with Tel Aviv and to put more pressure on Israel to reach a ceasefire in order to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
Voices from the 200 million plus Muslims of India have been prominent in the movement shedding the spotlight on the Israeli war crimes and demanding justice for the Palestinians in Gaza.
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, over 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed.
The Israeli military onslaught on civilians has devastated the enclave, gutted the health care system, and led to severe food shortages.
