Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has criticised the Narendra Modi-led central government of maintaining "silence and inaction" over Israel's military campaign in Gaza, arguing that India's response to the conflict was against both its "morality" and "national interest".
Gandhi "the extent of the devastation perpetrated by Israel in Gaza and the genocidal intent underpinning its actions" is documented, citing a report on the Gaza war in an opinion piece published in The Indian Express.
She said the deaths and injuries suffered by children in Gaza showed that "the targeting of children is not incidental, but a deliberate strategy", adding that the destruction of schools and healthcare infrastructure had worsened the humanitarian crisis.
Gandhi said that while the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel was "dastardly" and "absolutely unacceptable", the subsequent Israeli military response had been marked by "wanton cruelty and barbarity".
"Senior Israeli leaders, down from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his senior cabinet colleagues themselves, have called for the 'complete siege' and 'total annihilation' of Gaza," she wrote, alleging that such statements reflected genocidal intent.
{{/usCountry}}"Senior Israeli leaders, down from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his senior cabinet colleagues themselves, have called for the 'complete siege' and 'total annihilation' of Gaza," she wrote, alleging that such statements reflected genocidal intent.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress leader also criticised the role of the United States under President Donald Trump, saying Washington's support had allowed Israel to continue its campaign in Gaza. She said several countries had since recognised Palestine and that international bodies had documented alleged violations.
Turning her criticism towards India's foreign policy, Gandhi said: "India remains a lone voice of silence" despite growing international concern over the situation in Gaza.
‘Stony silence’
She accused the Modi government of ignoring a report by Justice Muralidhar on the Gaza issue, linking it to his earlier criticism of alleged police inaction during the 2020 Delhi riots. "Justice Muralidhar's report, which has sparked renewed conversation and activism against the Gaza genocide, has been met with stony silence from the Narendra Modi government," she wrote.
Gandhi said India had historically stood for "postcolonial solidarity, national sovereignty, and international peace" but had now become "exceptional in our continued indifference" to the suffering of Palestinians.
Highlighting the case of five-year-old Hind Rajab, whose death during the Gaza war drew global attention, Gandhi said the story represented "the unspeakable cruelty" faced by Palestinian children.
She also criticised the delay in clearing a film on Hind Rajab's story in India, saying it was blocked "to defer to Israel's sensitivities" and was cleared only after public pressure.
‘Silence cannot be explained’
Gandhi further questioned the strategic consequences of India's approach towards Israel, arguing that New Delhi was moving closer to Israel at a time when global opinion was shifting.
"The Modi government's silence and inaction are not just morally reprehensible but also inexplicable from a national interest perspective," she wrote.
She added that we have "alienated ourselves from our historical allies in Palestine, Iran, and the larger Middle East" and had allowed Pakistan to occupy diplomatic space that India could have claimed because of its historic ties in the region.
“We have distanced ourselves from global public opinion. And we have let Pakistan, of all countries, itself a state that has and continues to harbour dreaded terrorists, swoop in to claim the space of a mediator - a role to which we would have a natural claim given our historically friendly ties with all players. Our sacrifice of our strategic interest and morality has yielded us nothing but the friendship between Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is now under attack all over the world, including in the USA,” Sonia Gandhi wrote.
Concluding her piece, Gandhi said: "The spirit of Indian nationhood demands that we speak up for our Palestinian brothers and sisters," and argued that the government's continued silence "simply cannot be explained rationally or morally".
Sharing the article on X, several top Congress leaders rallied behind Sonia Gandhi on Saturday. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said Sonia Gandhi's evocative piece calling out "Modi Government's silence" and inaction for Palestinian people is a "stark reminder of how our current foreign policy has alienated our historical allies in Palestine, Iran, and the larger Middle East".
Rahul Gandhi said, "Through her editorial, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi ji calls on India to reclaim its independent foreign policy, uphold humanitarian values, and speak up with moral clarity on Gaza."
Priyanka Gandhi also cited a few lines from her mother's piece, and shared on X, "The calculus of national interest demands that we respond to the global public opinion against the Israeli regime’s genocidal actions in Gaza and its brutal displacement and dispossession of lakhs of Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank. The Modi government’s continued silence simply cannot be explained rationally or morally."