Report of the Palestine Solidarity Programme October 7th 2024 | Vineet Tiwari

Police had to bow down before the firm and fearless stand of peace activists

7 October 2024, Indore.

In Palestine, torture, raids, killings of innocents and even bombings are not a new thing. Israel unleashes such deadly attacks now and then on Palestinian people. Children, young women and men, old age people, cattle, tamed animals, olive trees, nothing remains alive with a feeling of certainty. The uncertainty of life is so gruesomely evident in Palestine. But in this new phase of attacks from Israel, it has taken a shape of the genocide. Unarmed common citizens are being killed every day for more than a year. According to some reports, almost one lakh people have died and the same number is estimated of the people buried under the rubbles. More than 90 per cent residential buildings are now in the form of debris in Gaza. Schools, hospitals, nothing is spared. This is genocide and it is not Palestinian people alone, who are on the brink of extinction, it is entire humanity at stake. If the world turns its back to the Palestinians, it will be the defeat of humanity and justice.

To remain human and honest, it is mandatory to stand with Palestine and condemn Israel. This 7th October marked the one year of this ongoing genocide. Demonstrations were held all over the world for unity and solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine. In Indore too, many progressive and democratic organizations gave a call to demonstrate solidarity with Palestine in open public space. They called for immediate ceasefire, stop genocide, and end the Israeli occupation of Palestine. For this, a human chain was to be formed at the Regal Square, the site of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue. But BJP has given a new dimension to this Palestine issue. They have propagated the propaganda that Israel is correct in its stand and Palestinians are Muslims, so they are the troublemakers. Of course, the majority of the people living in Palestine and in the Arab world are Muslims but not only Muslims live there. There are Christians also. Moreover, the problem is the colonial occupation of Palestine, and the apartheid Israel exercises with Palestinian, not the communal one.

Therefore, the Police were instructed by their political bosses that there should be no demonstration in favour of Palestine. In the morning of 7th October, some of the organisers got phone calls from the office of the Asst. Commissioner of the Police (ACP) that you cancel this programme and we are not giving permission to you. A delegation of the organisers went to meet the ACP. The delegation included senior economist and activist Dr. Jaya Mehta, state level and district level leaders of trade union movement AITUC, CITU, INTUC and AIUTUC Rudrapal Yadav, Kailash Limbodiya, C. L. Sarrawat, Rahul Nihore, Pramod Namdev, national secretary of Progressive Writers’ Association Vineet Tiwari, IPTA’s cultural activist and journalist Ravi Shankar Tiwari. The ACP told them that you don’t know how sensitive this issue is. It is a conflicting matter and that too not of our country. You better cancel this and send a whatsapp message in all your groups that we are sorry to cancel this, or it would be better that you don’t own this event and say that we don’t know who has organised it in our name. The organisers argued with the ACP but he was consistent about his stand of no need to put your nose in the foreign issues. Ultimately, organisers demanded to meet his senior officer who was a young IPS. He welcomed and treated all with respect and patience. The same was repeated to the DCP by the organisers. In fact, they also mentioned that our prime minister Narendra Modi met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in New York where PM Modi reassured Palestinian Premiere of India’s ‘unwavering support’ to Palestine last month. They also said that right from the days of India’s freedom struggle, Indian leaders stood firm with the cause of Palestine and every prime minister of independent India remained consistent on this issue. The DCP replied to them very smartly that in your argument itself, there is the reason why you shouldn’t do this. He said that when the PM himself has reassured Palestinian President then there is no need for any public demonstration. In reply, he was told that when Mahatma Gandhi himself supported the Palestinian people then there was no need of reassurance by PM Modi also. The argument continued and finally he said that we have orders from above that this should not be allowed. He said that our intelligence has given us information that with the excuse of your programme, some miscreants are trying to mobilise a huge number of Muslim community people and if it happens then you would be responsible. And then the other community people would also like to demonstrate in favour of Israel, etc. The organisers replied to the police officers calmly, ‘Such risks are always there whenever we organise anything in public. There used to be miscreants who infiltrated the workers’ rallies and sit-ins to disrupt and malign them. Sometimes, even police in plain clothes begin the clash and put the blame on some innocent. But we have been working in this town for decades and we know how to handle such things.

‘No, means no. Not at any cost.’ These were the final words from the DCP and the organisers stood up with joined hands and said in a cold and firm voice, ‘Let us meet in the evening. We expect your cooperation. We will not take it back. Namaste.’

Organisers sat together and discussed a plan of action. In the meanwhile, one of the organisers C. L. Sarrawat received a phone call again from the police asking to find out some middle path for this situation. The police officials requested a change of venue. After discussing it all, the oragnisers agreed to the proposal. The venue was changed from Mahatma Gandhi statue to Palasia square. Some of the organisers stayed back at the earlier mentioned venue so that they could redirect the people who did not see the message of the changed venue. They saw heavy deployment of police force at Mahatma Gandhi statue. Within minutes after starting the demonstration, the police at Palasia square asked the people not to demonstrate here. Again, there was a heated argument and all the women and men were determined not to stop the demonstration whether the Police arrested them. After some time, the demonstrators went to the office compound of the Commissioner of Police. Many peace-loving citizens, women, and social workers gathered over there and they gave anti-war slogans and slogans in favour of peace in Palestine. Through posters, the demands for ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine and maintaining peace, brotherhood and sisterhood in the world were raised. The demands included that the Government of India should break all its trade and strategic ties with Israel. Dr. Jaya Mehta stressed upon the aspect that this is not the issue of Palestinians or Arabs alone, it is the entire humanity which is at stake. If we stop feeling the pain and sufferings of the oppressed people, we will not remain human beings, we will become insensitive objects. To rise for the cause of Palestine is to rise to save humanity. Vineet Tiwari said that the government of India is sending thousands of unemployed Indian youths to Israel. They are ready to go there amidst the war out of desperation and also in the hope of earning big money. But our government should understand that the lives of our young people are not cheap and we should not help Israel in any way.

The speakers in their address at the Police Commissioner’s Office premises condemned the attitude of police and the state government which tried to disrupt the programme calling for immediate ceasefire, stop genocide and peace restoration. Whereas the Government of India was among the first nations to recognize the Palestinian nation. In such a situation, the state government’s intimidating attitude towards those demanding peace cannot be tolerated. Freedom of expression is a democratic right provided to us by the “Constitution of India”, but the present government is hell-bent on crushing that freedom.

Ramswaroop Mantri, Shafi Sheikh, Rudrapal Yadav, Pramod Namdev, Kailash Limbodia, C L Sarawat, Rahul Nihore, Ajit Ketkar, Vivek Mehta, Arun Chauhan addressed the gathering. Vijay Dalal of City Trade Union Council, Ajoy Lagoo, Sharmistha Bannerji, Deepak Aseem, Jawed Alam, Abhay Nema, Atharv Shintre, Shail Shintre, Shabana and many other social and peace activists were present in the programme. The call for the action on 7th was given by AITUC, CITU, AITUC, Employees Congress, Samajwadi Samagam, City Trade Union Council, Progressive Writers Association, IPTA and AIPSO.

(Author: Vineet Tiwari is associated with the Communist Party of India)