New Delhi (30 January 2008): Indian Muslim organizations staged a dharna (sit-in) yesterday at Jantar Mantar near the Indian Parliament against the blockade of Gaza Strip by Israel. All big organizations were represented by their leaders and activists. The initiative was taken by the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, the umbrella body of Indian Muslim organizations.

Speaker after speaker condemned the inhuman siege of Gaza Strip by the occupying power. They also condemned the silence of the Indian government over this unprecedented cruel event in recent peace time history. SQR Ilyas, editor of Afkar-e Milli Urdu magazine who conducted the event, said that the Gaza blockade is a challenge to all humanity and a clear defiance of the international law. India as a world leader must play its role to end the blockade and ensure justice to the Palestinians.

Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, President of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, said that while we forcefullly condemn the Israeli siege and the Indian government’s silence, we realize that the problems of Gaza will not be over if the siege was lifted as occupation and expulsion of millions of Palestinians who are now living as refugees in umpteen camps even inside Gaza and West Bank, are the real problems. The United Nations, which created Israel, must see to it that its resolutions for solving the Palestinian problem are implemented in letter and spirit.

Dr Tasleem Rahmani, president of the Muslim Political Council, held the UN responsible for the siege and the miseries of the people of Palestine.

Maulana Zeeshan Hidayati, Presidnet of the Safinatul Hidaya Trust, said that it is a matter of shame for India that it is unable to take a moral stand on the Gaza siege. He called upon the people to stand up so that no one is able to do injustice to anyone.

Shahid Siddiqi, member of Parliament and general secretary of Samajwadi Party, questioned why India is standing beside the tormentors who have crossed all limits of injustice. He said that India is supporting Taslima Nasreen in the name of free speech but has no guts to support the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi who has been hounded out by the American Jews from the institute he had founded in the US. Siddiqi said that India is benefiting from the Arab and Muslim countries while supporting Israel. He said that the Indo-Israeli relations are against the interests of India.

Former diplomat and parliamentarian Syed Shahabuddin said that our real complaint is against the government of India which has changed our traditional pro-Palestine policy. Our relations with Israel today are so deep that our tongues are unable to speak the truth. He said that the people in Gaza are being punished because they voted for Hamas during the last elections. People who sing the song of democracy day in and and day out are trying to eliminate the democratically-elected government of Hamas. They have stopped all aid to Palestine and have set President Abbas of Fateh upon the government of Hamas. President Abbas, Shahabuddin said, had no right to dismiss the government of Hamas under the Palestinian constitution while the Palestinian Parliament has the authority to dismiss President Abbas but it is not being convened because it has Hamas majority. He said that the Israeli satellite which India launched recently aims at helping Israel and the US in their war against Iran. The real aim of Israel in Palestine is to expel the Palestinians from their homeland.

Professor Akhtarul Wasey of Jamia Millia Islamia said that when the new government under UPA came to power, we thought that a new beginning will be made but what we have seen during the past four years is that our government is become part of the international conspiracy against Islam and Muslims. He said that the Middle East will not witness peace until Palestinians get back their homeland including Jerusalem. He said that we are not ready to abandon our support to the Palestinians and we will continue to fight against the injustice to which the Palestinians are subjected.

Dr Shahnaz Fatima, an academic and activist from Hyderabad, said that the world’s biggest democracy does not know what is democracy. She said that Israel was a great supporter of the apartheid regime in South Africa and later used that experience and technology against the Palestinians and now India is importing the same. She said that the techniques used in Abu Ghreib and Afghanistan were perfected by Israel in Palestine.

Maulana Asrarul Haq Qasmi, chairman of the Milli Wa Ta’leemi Foundation, said that the champions of human rights are silent today in front of such a complete blockade of 1.5 million people in an open prison. He said that the Indian ethos rejects injustice. We are ready to fight if this ethos is endangered. He said one is aghast to see that our country is making friends with its enemies and making enemies with its friends. He said that if you give milk to a snake today, it will bite you tomorrow. [end]

All-India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat Jamiat Ulama-e Hind Jamaat-e Islami Hind Kul Hind Jamaat-e Ahl-e Hadees MOEMIN Students Islamic Organisation of India Muslim Political Council Majlis-e Fikro Kul Hind Anjuman Himayat-e Islam Majlis Ulama-e Islam Milli Wa Ta’leemi Foundation Shia Conference Momin Conference Popular Front of India Safinatul Hidaya Trust Shah Waliullah Institute The Milli Gazette Afkar-e Milli

Respected Sir,

The Indian civil society, in general and Indian Muslims in particular, are horrified by the unfolding events in the open air prison called "Gaza", housing 1.5 million people, which the Israeli occupying power has condemned to slow death by imposing a complete siege since 20th January 2008. This was the culmination of the policy of throttling Gaza into death unleashed by the occupying power since June 2007.

We ask the Government of India, UN and world powers to immediately take steps to lift the ever-tightening siege of Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces before it is too late. Patients are already dying due to lack of medicines and prohibition on travel outside even for medical attention. People will soon start dying due to lack of food and other essentials.

We note that the last electricity generation facility in Gaza was been shut down on 21st January because of the Israeli denial of fuel and all humanitarian aid while 70 percent of all Gazans are already jobless due to this policy, all factories and workshops have been shuttered due to lack of raw materials as a result of the continuing siege. We demand the Indian Government to ask the UN Security Council to rise to its duty in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis of proportions unseen in recent times.

We also note that the problem in Gaza is the 40-year old occupation and the rejection of the results of the free and fair elections in January 2006 by Israel, Ramallah-based Authority and their western supporters. Moreover, 75 percent of the residents of Gaza are Palestinians made refugees by Israeli armed gangs in 1948. The blame for Israeli war crimes is shared by the UN which created the Jewish State in the first place and has since failed to force its own creation to honour even a single UN resolution. Also to blame are the western forces which blindly support the Israeli occupation and war crimes while blaming the occupied and suppressed victims for using their natural and legitimate right of resistance.

We call upon the UN and world powers to move swiftly to lift the inhuman siege of Gaza and also to solve the Palestinian problem by implementing the UN resolutions in letter and spirit so that the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people since 1948 is brought to an end.

We are horrified that the Government of India has failed to take notice of the crushing siege aimed at humbling a brave people and has failed to condemn the illegal actions by the occupying power which were condemned by Prof. John Dugard, the UN rapporteur in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in his official report to the UN on 18th January 2008 as a "serious war crime" demanding the prosecution of the Israeli political and military leaders responsible for it. Our government has instead intensified its questionable relations with Israel by launching its intelligence satellite which will spy on countries friendly to India. We demand immediate action by our own government and foreign powers, especially the UN Security Council to intervene immediately to avert this crisis manufactured by the Israeli occupation power.

We have staged at sit-in near Parliament House at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to demonstrate our solidarity with the oppressed people of Gaza, to protest against the shameless silence on part of our own government and other world powers and to demand quick intervention to avert the looming crisis of hitherto unseen proportions in peace times.

C/o All-India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat

D-250, Abul Fazasl Enclave, Jamia Nagar,

New Delhi-110025

New Delhi, 29 January 2008