Mahatma Gandhi had said before independence that Palestine is for the Palestinian just as England is for the English and France is for the French: Dr Zafarul Islam Khan
Ghazanfar Abbas, IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, July 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision not to visit Palestine during his trip to Israel – first by any Indian prime minister to the Jewish nation since its creation in 1940s – is not being appreciated by the civil leaders in the country who term his move as betrayal to Palestinians.
“We had hoped that if Mr. Modi would not take up the issue (of Palestine) with Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu (Prime Minister of Israel), at least he would also talk to the government and the people of Palestine so that there was a sense of equilibrium, equity and equality that India is not just with the regime of Israel but also with the government of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian people themselves who have suffered so much since 1948,” said civil rights activist Dr. John Dayal while talking to IndiaTomorrow.net.
He went ahead to say “India must not betray the people of Palestine.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed to red carpet welcome in Tel Aviv on Monday for a three-day visit.
Dr. Dayal also put his views on the growing proximity between India and Israel, particularly during the current regimes in the two countries.
“The growing relationship between this government (Narendra Modi government) of India and the current government (Benjamin Netanyahu) in Israel whose roots we all know does not augur very well either for Israel or for India,” he said.
Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan, Editor, The Milli Gazette, said that visiting Israel and not visiting Palestine by an Indian leader is a digression from the country’s long stand on Palestine.
“Until now, Indian leaders used to go to Israel and also visit Palestine. But he (Narendra Modi) is the first man who is not going to Palestine. This shows his inclination and his thinking which is wrong. I think he is digressing from a very long policy which our founding fathers and later leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and all of them followed,” said Dr. Khan.
“Mahatma Gandhi had said before independence that Palestine is for the Palestinian just as England is for the English and France is for the French. Palestinian people have been displaced and made refugees on their own land. So, this is a matter of Justice and Human rights. Till 1992, our country had followed this line that we will not accept Israel until it makes peace with the Palestinians. Since Mr. Modi came (to power) the relationship has been evolving and now we have entered a kind of strategical alliance. This is very dangerous for our country and it means we have lost our values,” he said.
He said that “India being a very big power now on the world map should use this power and its proximity with Israelis to force them and dictate them something (for Palestine). And I think they will listen to it.”
Supreme Court lawyer Adv. Mehmood Pracha is not much hopeful about any big outcome of PM Modi’s visit to Israel which, he said, has little to offer to a country as big as India.
“Israel as a country does not have anything to offer to India – to a country which is as largely developed as India. So, the crucial question is: What are we going to gain from this visit,” asked Adv. Pracha.
“What impression is coming out of these visits is that we are trying to swim in the dark and trying to fish for an alliance and support for India which is being manipulated by other countries to exploit our condition,” he said.
