Srinagar: On 16 October 2023, hundreds of people staged a protest at the Rangoli Metro Art Center, next to the Mahatma Gandhi Road metro station in Bengaluru, to express solidarity with the people of Palestine.
Police detained 25 of them, alleging that the Karnataka High Court directions allowed protests and demonstrations only at a local park and that the gathering, by standing on the footpath, hindered public movement and disobeyed the court ruling.
Eleven of the protest organisers were booked under the Indian Penal Code sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 283 (danger or obstruction in a public way ), 290 (creating public nuisance ), 291 (continuance of nuisance after injunction to discontinue), and 149 (unlawful assembly with common object).
The protestors in Bengaluru were not the only ones who received this treatment from the police.
A nationwide crackdown on pro-Palestine protests, filing cases and arresting protesters, has taken place even as the Indian government continues to support Palestine’s full membership at the United Nations, a two-state solution, and condemned the loss of life in Gaza at least six times (here ,here, here, here, here and here) since October 2023.
In 1977, India became the first non-Arab state to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. In 1988, India became one of the first countries to recognise the Palestinian state. India recognised Israel in 1950 but established full diplomatic ties in 1992.
India-Israel relations have grown under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party, which came to power in 2014. Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel in July 2017. At the meeting, seven MoUs were signed between the two countries. Israel is the fourth largest supplier of military hardware to India, while India is Israel’s largest defence supplies buyer.
This bonhomie has coincided with 10 years of unprecedented Islamophobia and anti-Muslim radicalisation by the Hindu right, which has gone unchecked by the government, and a crackdown on freedom of speech and expression.
17 FIRs, 51 Accused
Article 14 has traced 17 FIRs in which at least 51 people have been named and booked for posting on social media or organising or taking part in pro-Palestine rallies in India under various sections of the law, including the stringent provisions of the UAPA, since the outbreak of war between Israel and Palestine.
The criminal cases have become a sensitive topic. Two former police chiefs, and three professors from whom we sought comment, refused to be quoted on the issue.
“The issue isn't with the flag,” said Sajid Yousuf, a lawyer and head of the BJP media department in Kashmir. “The problem is the glorification of terrorism in any form.”
“The children of Israel are as human as the children of Palestine. A selective approach to justice is an act of hypocrisy,” said Yousuf. “Why should the people of India rally for the Palestinian cause when Palestinians don’t hold a single rally in support of India during terrorist attacks? Why be so selective? However, on humanitarian grounds, India has always extended support to Palestine.”
The 17 cases have been registered in Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.
Of the 17 FIRs, nine were filed in states where the police are controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies. This includes states where BJP is in coalition governments and union territories, where the police are under the ministry of home affairs.
The other eight FIRs were filed in states where the Congress Party (INC) and its allies are in power.
Of the 17 FIRs, 14 were for taking part in protests or displaying Palestinian flags, and three were for posts on social media.
According to news reports, at least 18 arrests have been made in these cases.
Of the 17 FIRs, one was filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 (UAPA), India’s counterterrorism law, while the rest are under the various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the criminal code that came into effect on 1 July 2024, and name at least 51 people.
Two of the FIRs, including the one under the UAPA, are open FIRs and do not name any suspects.
These people include a 20-year-old shopkeeper who waved a Palestinian flag during a Muharram procession in Uttar Pradesh, students who took part in a solidarity march on their college campus in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, and a young man from Jammu who distributed pamphlets asking people to use Indian-made products rather than ones from Israel.
“You can't book anyone for protesting against Israel. It's totally unconstitutional,” said Colin Gonsalves, a senior advocate practising in the Supreme Court. “It's part of freedom of speech and expression. These arrests are illegal.”
Since the beginning of the recent war between Hamas and Israel, Israeli airstrikes have led to the displacement of 90% of Palestine’s 2.1 million population, causing widespread devastation and a humanitarian crisis in the region and destroying an estimated $18.5 billion of infrastructure, approximately 62 per cent of all homes in Gaza.
An estimated 40,590 Palestinians have been killed and 92,294 injured.
The conflict began on 7 Oct 2023, when a Hamas attack resulted in the estimated deaths of 1,199 Israelis. Hamas operatives also captured 251 people. In November 2023, during a temporary truce, 105 Israeli captives were released by Hamas in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. 109 of them are still held captive in Gaza as of 21 August 2024. 34 are believed to be dead.
Pro-Palestine Protests Not Allowed
Pro-Palestine protesters across the country have been facing harassment and restrictions for speaking out against Israel’s actions.
On 10 July 2024, a 20-year-old shopkeeper, identified as Sahil alias Badshah, was arrested by police for allegedly waving a Palestinian flag during a Muharram procession in Aurai, Bhadohi district, 280 km south-east of Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow.
Badshah was charged under section 197 ( imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) of the BNS, which was enacted in December 2023 after a video surfaced on social media showing people waving Palestinian flags and chanting pro-Palestine slogans during the procession.
During another Muharram procession on 15 July 2024, in Srinagar, anti-Israel and pro-Palestine slogans prompted police to register an FIR under sections 223 (disobedience of order promulgated by a public servant) and 152 (endangering sovereignty, integrity & unity of India) of the BNS, and section 13 (punishment for unlawful activities) of the UAPA.
“Our prime motive has been to facilitate all the Muharram processions. We were in touch with organisers and volunteers to ensure smooth passage of all Muharram processions,” said V K Birdi, inspector general of police (IGP) Kashmir. “But some mischievous elements took law in their hands on 8th Muharram forcing us to act.”
On 9 October 2023, the Uttar Pradesh police registered an FIR under sections 153A (creating hatred between different groups), 505 (breach of peace) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC against four students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) for participating in a pro-Palestine procession in the university campus.
Mrigank Shekhar Pathak, the superintendent of police for Aligarh city, said in a statement on the protest that the “students did not have permission to organise such a protest march, which focused on an international issue and involved using provocative and objectionable slogans.”
The Deccan Herald reported that the FIR says the students marched in “support” of a “terrorist group”.
On 15 July 2024, three people were arrested for allegedly waving a Palestinian flag during a procession that police claimed did not have the permission of district authorities in Nawada district, Bihar.
The same day, Swarn Prabhat, the superintendent of police in Gopalganj, Bihar, issued a video statement saying that "controversial items like Palestinian flags" are “completely banned”.
In two similar incidents, on 13 July and 15 July 2024, the Bihar Police arrested and booked five Muslim men for waving a Palestinian flag during a procession held ahead of Muharram.
On 19 July 2024, Hindu right-wing leader Ashok Paliwal, in a viral video, called Indian supporters of Palestine “anti-nationals” and called for people waving Palestinian flags in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district to be killed.
The following day, Madhya Pradesh police detained four people for displaying Palestinian flags during the Muharram procession in the city.
Many other protest marches have also been targeted, such as the yearly Youm-Ul-Quds procession, where Shia Muslims voice support for the Palestinian cause. The Anjuman-e-Islamia, a Shia local committee in Pandrethan Srinagar, alleged that this year, police authorities directed them not to hold any rallies on the day.
“Holding a pro-Palestine rally has been banned by the authorities. Whoever takes it out shall be dealt with as per law. FIRs will be lodged against the person,” read an Islamia handout accessed by Article 14. “Anjuman Islamia won't take out any procession.”
Other Islamic preachers who lead prayers have accused the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board of pressuring them to remain silent on the Palestine issue in order to curb anti-Israel protests.
The J&K Wakf Board chairman, Darakshan Andrabi denied the allegations. “ We haven't issued any order regarding this, our work is to deal with dargahs and shrines,” she said.
Multiple mosques and imambaras (religious congregation halls for Shia ceremonies) in Jammu and Kashmir were locked for Friday prayers in October 2023 including the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar.
Shia religious clerk Aga Syed Mohammad Hadi, who leads the friday prayers at the imambara in Bemina, Budgam, said that the authorities also placed him under house arrest and stopped him from leading the congregation prayers on multiple days in October and November 2023 to prevent him from expressing solidarity with the people of Palestine.
He said he wanted to protest the “naked aggression of Israel” and that the police had said that “even speaking (about Palestinians) inside the mosques is not allowed”.
Police initially allowed us to condemn Israel’s atrocities inside the mosques. But they said even speaking (about Palestinians) inside the mosques is not allowed,” Hadi said. “They said we can only pray for Palestine that too in Arabic, not in the local Kashmiri language.”
The Indian Govt Stance
On 7 October 2023, after the Hamas attack on Israel, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X, “Deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour”.
Five days later, the ministry of external affairs (MEA), in a weekly press briefing, said that India abides by its ‘long-standing’ position on a two-state solution.
On 27 March 2024, India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar, while on a visit to Malaysia, said, “There is an underlying issue of the rights of the Palestinians and the fact that they have been denied their homeland.”
Yet, Bharatiya Janata Party member of parliament from Aligarh, Satish Gautam, criticised the solidarity march in AMU that led to the arrest of four students, saying, “It appears that students of Aligarh Muslim University tend to engage in such activities that foster negativity in the nation.”
“While our Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anti-terrorism policy receives worldwide applause, it seems that AMU is still stuck in the times when its students used to become terrorists and were dealt with by the armed forces,” said Gautam.
Social Media Posts & Pamphlets
A*, a 29-year-old student, was summoned to a police station in Srinagar on 13 March 2024, the same day he uploaded photos of a protest in Bemina, southwest Srinagar, to Facebook.
The photos were of dummies of dead bodies representing the Palestinians who Israel had killed.
“The police officer asked me, ‘Who are you to upload a pro-Palestine post? Shall we lodge an FIR against you?’ They snatched my phone and deleted all the pictures related to the protest,” A said. “I was released from the station after five hours of questioning with proper counselling not to upload any such content in future.”
On 17 May 2024, the police at the Peer Mitha police station in Jammu, booked a 27-year-old student, Aqib Javed, under section 153B (publishing statements that promote disharmony or hatred between different religious, racial, language, or regional groups) of the IPC.
According to the police report, accessed by Article 14, submitted before the court of 1st Additional Sessions court, Jammu, the FIR was registered against Javed as he “was distributing posters which stated to boycott Israeli products and use only Indian products for the sake of Palestine”.
In the report, they alleged that Javed had “made a hateful speech before Friday prayer regarding products made/produced by a certain community”, and the material he was handing out “could have promoted disharmony or hatred between different languages, religions, and regional groups”.
“Advocating for the boycott of Israeli products through peaceful protest and expression of solidarity with oppressed communities is a right protected under the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the Indian Constitution,” said Javed’s lawyer, A. B Bhat.
“The posters distributed by my client were meant to raise awareness about human rights violations and not to promote disharmony or hatred between different groups,” said Bhat. “But I fail to understand how the police have booked my client. “
No Restrictions On Support for Israel
As Indian authorities crackdown against pro-Palestine voices continued, pro-Israel rallies, primarily organised by Hindu right-wing groups, have taken place across India.
On 11 November 2023, the Virat Hindustan Sangam, a right-wing cultural organisation founded by former MP Subramanian Swamy, organised a rally in Pune, Maharashtra, in solidarity with Israel.
A pro-Israel march was held in Ahmedabad on 17 October 2023, while a Ganga Aarti, a ritual that involves offering prayers to the river Ganga, was performed in Varanasi on 13 October 2023.
Slogans in support of Israel were also raised.
Members of the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu nationalist organisation, counter-protested the AMU rally on 9 October 2023 that saw the four Palestinian supporters arrested, chanting, “Down with Palestine, down with Hamas."
An outpouring of support for Israel was seen on social media in India, some even offering their services to the Israeli forces.
Israel's ministry of foreign affairs, on 7 October 2024, posted “Thank you, India” on X while sharing a screenshot of the hashtag 'India Is With Israel' which had been trending on social media in India.
Worldwide Crackdown On Pro-Palestinian Voices
Karim A A Khan, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, on 20 May 2024, issued an arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, Yoav Gallant, the defence minister of Israel, and several Hamas leaders.
Yet, many of the demonstrations held around the world in support of Palestine, including in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and Australia, have seen protestors arrested or detained.
On 27 April 2024, police detained 200 students who held pro-Palestine demonstrations at Northeastern University, Boston, Arizona State University, Phoenix, and Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
On 7 May, NBC News reported that more than 2,600 students had been arrested across the U.S. during the demonstrations.
On 25 April 204, a student of Indian origin, Achinthya Sivalingan, was arrested, along with Hassan Sayed, another student, during pro-Palestine protests at Princeton University in New Jersey, United States. Both students were charged with trespassing and barred from the campus, pending disciplinary processes.
Students from universities in the UK, Canada, Australia and Europe also joined the campaign to support Palestine.
On 21 July 2024, Anadolu English, a Turkish news website, reported that German police harshly cracked down on pro-Palestinian demonstrators, detaining many in Berlin.
*Name concealed to protect identity.
(Mubashir Naik and Irshad Hussain are independent journalists based in Jammu & Kashmir.)
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