When the United Nations General Assembly voted on a resolution calling for an immediate and permanent end to the war in Gaza, India, along with 19 other countries, abstained from the vote. 149 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 12 opposed, but India’s silence created a storm on the world stage. The opposition party Congress attacked the Modi government at the center, calling it “moral cowardice.” The reactions of international media and leaders also heated up the issue.
It should be remembered that more than 60,000 people, more than half of whom are women and children, have fallen victim to this war due to Israeli attacks on Gaza. When Spain presented a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly to stop this bloodshed, the world raised its voice in its favor. But India, whose foundation was laid on the principles of non-violence and justice, remained a silent spectator on this occasion.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera wrote on X, “This silence is a betrayal of the dreams of our freedom struggle.” He reminded that in 1974, India was the first non-Arab country to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization. In 1983, it invited Yasser Arafat to the Non-Aligned Movement meeting in New Delhi. In 1988, it granted statehood to Palestine. “But why have you turned your back on this issue today?”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge raised questions on the government’s foreign policy. He said, “We once talked about justice and peace. Why is our foreign policy in shambles today?” He asked what changed in the last six months that India withdrew its support for stopping the war in Gaza?
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also called it “shameful” and said, “60,000 lives were sacrificed, and we are silent. This is contrary to the principles of our freedom struggle.
The international media also took India’s silence seriously. Al Jazeera wrote, “Why is India, which once strengthened the voice of Palestine, silent today?” The BBC also discussed the issue, where experts said that the growing closeness to Israel in India’s foreign policy could be the reason for this decision. The New York Times wrote, “India’s silence has brought its moral reputation on the world stage under question.”
Some international leaders also commented on it. The Prime Minister of Spain, whose government presented the proposal, said, “We had hoped that a country like India, whose historical position has been in favor of justice, would have stood with us.”
A South African MP tweeted, “Why is Gandhi’s India silent today? While there is a massacre in Gaza, why is India’s voice missing?”
Some political analysts believe that India’s silence is due to its growing ties with Israel and strategic partnership with the US. India’s defence and technical ties with Israel have strengthened even more than under previous governments. The Modi government gave a new height to this relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel in 2017. But the question is, are these ties at the cost of forgetting India’s moral heritage, which had always claimed to be the voice of the oppressed? The Congress also raised the question of what message India’s silence gave when Israel attacked Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran? Priyanka Gandhi said, “We are celebrating the crimes of the Netanyahu government. This is a betrayal of the principles of our Constitution.”
India has a long tradition of non-alignment and ethical diplomacy in its foreign policy. From Jawaharlal Nehru to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India has spoken of justice on the issue of Palestine. But today, when innocent children in Gaza are being bombed, India’s silence raises questions. The Congress asked, “Have we lost our voice, which once shook the conscience of the world?”
