India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) president Syed Sadatullah Husaini has said that “support for Palestine is in the best national interest of India.”
He made this comment while speaking at the weekly programme at the JIH headquarters here on October 21. Another speaker at the programme was former Member of Parliament K C Tyagi who has been involved with those working to find a peaceful solution to the Palestine issue for decades.
The Jamaat chief, himself a scholar and author of several books on various issues, pointed out that the most important work the people could do, was to create awareness about the Palestinian issue in general public.
Regarding governments obstructing pro-Palestine demonstrations and rallies under pressure from Israel and the US, the Jamaat’s top functionary said that “they (the government) are trying to stop all such events. They have made the conditions in Delhi such that they do not want any public procession or activity in this regard. They can stop these activities but you can convey the real information (about the Palestinian problem) through the media, social media, and by connecting personally with people.”
“As the media is trying to spread falsehood and misinformation on a large scale and trying to create a special impression about the Palestinian problem in the whole country, then in such a situation, we all have a responsibility to ensure that we bring the real facts in front of the people of this country,” he advised the audience.
Describing the conflict “as a violation of our cherished values”, the JIH President said, “People should be told that Palestine is currently the most oppressed nation in the world and Israel is currently the cruelest and most barbaric country in modern history. There is no parallel to the atrocities that it is inflicting on the Palestinians. Israel is a collection of all the evils that the civilized world hates. The basic principles and values on which the modern world has been raised and established, all are being contemptuously crushed in Palestine today, whether it is democracy, freedom, human rights, or racial equality. All these values are being trampled upon in Palestine at the hands of Israel. So the problem of Palestine is not only the problem of one country, it is not the problem of one nation, it is the problem of the entire humanity. If our values are allowed to be trampled in this way, we will bury and destroy what we have achieved in the last two hundred years, along with Gaza.”
Describing the plight of the Palestinians, Mr. Husaini said, “We need to tell the people that six million people are living within the current geographical boundaries of Palestine and an almost equal number of Palestinians have been leading a life of misery as refugees in different parts of the world for the last 75 years. No war has ever produced refugees in such large numbers. And the six-seven million Palestinians living within Palestine, don’t have proper homes and live in small ghettos, as if they are open-air prisons. And even in these open prisons, they are not safe. The homes of Palestinians are bombed every year. Children die every year. Schools and hospitals are bombarded every year. Every year thousands of women and children are locked up and tortured. It has been going on continuously for years and, that too, in front of the eyes of the civilized world.”
“Being silent and a mute spectator to this sounds like the death knell of our entire civilization,” he commented.
Talking about India’s national interest, the Jamaat chief said, “We should also tell the people of our country that supporting Palestine is in our national interest. The issue is not merely that of human rights but also that of our national interest. The values on which we established our nation, and the values on which we fought our war of Independence, are the same values based on which the Palestinian cause be supported. If we don’t support the Palestinian cause, if we don’t support the oppressed people of Palestine then we are rebelling against our country and its values. We rebel against our history. We are rebelling against the praiseworthy legacy of our nation. The people of the country should be strongly informed about all this in a very convincing manner.”
Pointing out the golden opportunity for our country to become the leader of the Global South, the JIH president said, “The developed world will not make our country its leader. America will not make us the leader of the Global South. We have led this group of developing nations for many years. The issue of Palestine had offered a golden opportunity and our country could have led the Global South and become the most powerful voice against imperialism and oppression. It can be done, even today. Those who are losing this opportunity, are working against the interests of the country. We should tell all this to the people of the country in a very convincing manner. Then there will be awareness regarding the Palestinian problem in our country. We have always played a historical role in the Palestinian cause. If we proceed to play a role once again then I think that will be the greatest service we can discharge for the brothers of Palestine in this country.”
Earlier, Mr Husaini thanked KC Tyagi for his valuable inputs regarding Palestine. Praising Mr Tyagi’s efforts, he said, “We are also grateful to you as you are the most powerful voice for Palestine in our country. We see that you continuously try to mobilize and create awareness about the Palestinian issue among the MPs and media. This is our responsibility and you are discharging our responsibility. You (KC Tyagi Sahib) deserve to be thanked by all of us.”
