Asserting that Israel's military campaign in Gaza amounts to "genocide", Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday slammed the Modi government for being a "mute spectator to this affront to humanity", and said this was a "cowardly betrayal of our constitutional values".
She also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "shameful silence" in the face of Israel's relentless and devastating assault on the people of Gaza is "deeply disappointing", as well as the height of "moral cowardice".
In an article published in the Hindi daily 'Dainik Jagran', Gandhi urged the prime minister to speak out "clearly, boldly and forthrightly" on behalf of the legacy that India has long represented.
She said nothing can justify Hamas' barbaric attacks on innocent men, women and children in Israel on 7 October 2023, or its continued holding of Israeli hostages thereafter.
She said these must be condemned repeatedly and unreservedly.
"But as members of the international community - and more so as human beings - it is our responsibility to acknowledge that the Israeli government's response and reprisals against the civilian population of Gaza have not only been egregious, but downright criminal," she asserted in her article in Hindi titled 'Gaza sankat par mookdarshak Modi sarkaar'.
Over the past nearly two years, more than 55,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed, including 17,000 children, Gandhi pointed out.
Most residential buildings in Gaza have been razed to the ground through relentless aerial bombardment, including hospitals, she said, adding that the social fabric has been completely shattered.
"The events since October 2023 have been disturbing, and in recent months the situation has become even more heart-wrenching. We have seen how humanitarian aid has been weaponised as part of a dastardly strategy. The Israeli Defense Forces have imposed a military blockade on Gaza, deliberately and cruelly blocking the supply of medicines, food and fuel to the population," the former Congress chief said.
"The wanton destruction of infrastructure and the unbridled massacre of civilians have led to a man-made tragedy - made worse by the blockade. This strategy of forced starvation is undoubtedly a crime against humanity," Gandhi said.
In the midst of this devastation, Israel has either outright rejected or blocked humanitarian aid from the United Nations and other international organisations, she asserted.
"In a perversion of every idea of humanity, armed soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces have ruthlessly fired on hundreds of civilians who were trying to gather food for their families. The United Nations itself has expressed grave concern on this issue - and even the Israeli Defense Forces have had to admit this horrifying truth," Gandhi said.
"According to almost all objective assessments by experts on Israel's ongoing military occupation of Gaza, it is a campaign that amounts to genocide and aims to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip of Palestinians," she said.
Its scale and consequences are reminiscent of the Naqba tragedy of 1948, when Palestinians were forced from their homes, Gandhi said.
All this atrocities are being carried out to serve some of the most nefarious objectives - ranging from a colonial mindset to the selfish interests of a few "greedy" real estate tycoons, Gandhi claimed.
She asserted that the ongoing crisis has exposed one of the most serious weaknesses in the international system.
"UN General Assembly resolutions demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza have been completely ignored. The United Nations Security Council has failed to impose sanctions on the Israeli government for its attacks on civilians in Gaza and the large-scale destruction of its infrastructure," she said.
The International Court of Justice's order of 26 January 2024 -- directing Israel to prevent acts of genocide and to provide essential services and humanitarian aid to civilians -- has also been completely ignored, Gandhi said.
Israel's direct and indirect support from the US not only encouraged these actions, but also made them possible, she added.
Gandhi opined that when international laws and institutions have become "virtually defunct", the fight to protect the interests of the people of Gaza is now left to individual countries.
Despite the risk of backlash, South Africa has taken the bold step of taking Israel to task at the International Court of Justice, and Brazil has now joined the effort, she noted.
France has decided to recognise the Palestinian state, and countries like Britain and Canada have imposed sanctions on Israeli leaders who have promoted aggression in Gaza, she said.
Even within Israel itself, the voices of protest are growing - a former prime minister has acknowledged the reality of Israeli war crimes in Gaza, she said.
"Amidst this humanitarian crisis and the rising global consciousness around it, it is a national shame that India has remained a mute spectator to this affront to humanity," Gandhi said.
"India has long been a symbol of global justice. We are the country that inspired global movements against colonialism, raised its voice against imperialist domination during the Cold War era, and led the international struggle against apartheid South Africa," she said.
"At a time when innocent human beings are being brutally slaughtered, India's abdication of its values is a blot on our national conscience, a disregard for our historical contributions, and also a cowardly betrayal of our constitutional values," Gandhi said.
She pointed out that the Directive Principles of State Policy clearly require the government to take effective steps to "promote international peace and security, maintain just and honourable relations between nations, foster respect for international law and treaty obligations, and encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.
"But Israel's blatant disregard for basic concepts of international law, human rights and justice -- and our current government's moral cowardice in the face of it -- is tantamount to a dereliction of our duties to our constitutional values," she said.
India has always been a supporter of the 'two-state solution' and a just peace between the people of Israel and Palestine, she asserted.
Gandhi recalled that in 1974, under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, India became the first non-Arab country to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
In 1988, India was among the first countries to officially recognise the State of Palestine, she noted.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shameful silence in the face of Israel's relentless and devastating assault on the people of Gaza is deeply disappointing. It is the height of moral cowardice. The time has come for him to speak out clearly, boldly and forthrightly on behalf of the legacy that India has long represented," she said.
The Global South is once again looking to India for leadership on an issue that today shakes the collective conscience of all humanity, Gandhi said.
