SRINAGAR – From Western capitals to Muslim states, protest rallies over the Israel-Hamas battle have made headlines. But one place identified for its vocal pro-Palestinian stance has been conspicuously quiet: Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Indian authorities have barred any solidarity protest in Muslim-majority Kashmir and requested Muslim preachers to not point out the battle of their sermons, residents and non secular leaders advised The Associated Press.

The restrictions are a part of India’s efforts to curb any type of protest that might flip into calls for for ending New Delhi’s rule within the disputed area. They additionally mirror a shift in India’s overseas coverage underneath populist Prime Minister Narendra Modi away from its long-held help for the Palestinians, analysts say.

India has lengthy walked a tightrope between the warring sides, with traditionally shut ties to each. While India strongly condemned the Oct. 7 assault by the militant group Hamas and expressed solidarity with Israel, it urged that worldwide humanitarian legislation be upheld in Gaza amid rising civilian deaths.

But in Kashmir, being quiet is painful for a lot of.

“From the Muslim perspective, Palestine is very dear to us, and we essentially have to raise our voice against the oppression there. But we are forced to be silent,” mentioned Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, a key resistance chief and a Muslim cleric. He mentioned he has been put underneath home arrest every Friday because the begin of the battle to maintain him from from main Friday prayers on the area’s principal mosque.

Anti-India sentiment runs deep within the Himalayan area which is split between India and Pakistan and claimed by each in its entirety. In 2019, New Delhi removed the region’s semiautonomy, drastically curbing any type of dissent, civil liberties and media freedoms.

Kashmiris have lengthy proven robust solidarity with the Palestinians and infrequently staged giant anti-Israel protests throughout earlier combating in Gaza. Those protests typically changed into avenue clashes, with calls for for an finish of India’s rule and dozens of casualties.

Modi, a staunch Hindu nationalist, was one of many first international leaders to swiftly categorical solidarity with Israel and name the Hamas assault “terrorism.” However, on Oct. 12, India’s overseas ministry issued an announcement reiterating New Delhi’s place in help of building a “sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine, living within secure and recognized borders, side by side at peace with Israel.”

Two weeks later, India abstained in the course of the United Nations General Assembly vote that known as for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, a departure from its ordinary voting report. New Delhi mentioned the vote didn’t condemn the Oct. 7 assault by Hamas.

“This is unusual,” mentioned Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center’s South Asia Institute.

India “views Israel’s assault on Gaza as a counterterrorism operation meant to eliminate Hamas and not directly target Palestinian civilians, exactly the way Israel views the conflict,” Kugelman mentioned. He added that from New Delhi’s perspective, “such operations don’t pause for humanitarian truces.”

India’s overseas minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, sought to justify India’s abstention.

“It is not just a government view. If you ask any average Indian, terrorism is an issue which is very close to people’s heart, because very few countries and societies have suffered terrorism as much as we have,” he advised a media occasion in New Delhi on Saturday.

Even although Modi’s authorities has despatched humanitarian help for Gaza’s besieged residents, many observers considered its ideological alignment with Israel as doubtlessly rewarding at a time when the ruling social gathering in New Delhi is getting ready for a number of state elections this month and essential nationwide polls subsequent 12 months.

The authorities’s shift aligns with widespread help for Israel amongst India’s Hindu nationalists who kind a core vote financial institution for Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party. It additionally resonates with the protection by Indian TV channels of the battle from Israel. The reportage has been seen as largely in keeping with commentary utilized by Hindu nationalists on social media to stoke anti-Muslim sentiment that previously helped the ascendance of Modi’s social gathering.

Praveen Donthi, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, mentioned the battle may have a home influence in India, in contrast to different international conflicts, as a consequence of its giant Muslim inhabitants. India is residence to some 200 million Muslims who make up the predominantly Hindu nation’s largest minority group.

“India’s foreign policy and domestic politics come together in this issue,” Donthi said. “New Delhi’s pro-Israel shift gives a new reason to the country’s right-wing ecosystem that routinely targets Muslims.”

India’s foreign policy has historically supported the Palestinian cause.

In 1947, India voted against the United Nations resolution to create the state of Israel. It was the first non-Arab country to recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization as the representative of the Palestinians in the 1970s, and it gave the group full diplomatic status in the 1980s.

After the PLO began a dialogue with Israel, India finally established full diplomatic ties with Israel in 1992.

Those ties widened into a security relationship after 1999, when India fought a limited war with Pakistan over Kashmir and Israel helped New Delhi with arms and ammunition. The relationship has grown steadily over the years, with Israel becoming India’s second largest arms supplier after Russia.

After Modi won his first term in 2014, he became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel in 2017. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, travelled to New Delhi the following year and called the relationship between New Delhi and Tel Aviv a “marriage made in heaven.”

Weeks after Netanyahu’s visit, Modi visited the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, a first by an Indian prime minister, and held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. “India hopes that Palestine soon becomes a sovereign and independent country in a peaceful atmosphere,” Modi said.

Modi’s critics, nevertheless, now draw comparisons between his authorities and Israel’s, saying it has adopted sure measures, like demolishing homes and properties, as a type of “collective punishment” in opposition to minority Muslims.

Even beyond Kashmir, Indian authorities have largely stopped protests expressing solidarity with Palestinians since the war began, claiming the need to maintain communal harmony and law and order.

Some people have been briefly detained by police for taking part in pro-Palestinian protests even in states ruled by opposition parties. The only state where massive pro-Palestinian protests have taken place is southern Kerala, which is ruled by a leftist government.

But in Kashmir, enforced silence is seen not only as violating freedom of expression but also as impinging on religious duty.

Aga Syed Mohammad Hadi, a Kashmiri spiritual chief, was not in a position to lead the previous three Friday prayers as a result of he was underneath home arrest on these days. He mentioned he had needed to stage a protest rally in opposition to “the naked aggression of Israel.” Authorities did not comment on such house arrests.

“Police initially allowed us to condemn Israel’s atrocities inside the mosques. But last Friday they said even speaking (about Palestinians) inside the mosques is not allowed,” Hadi mentioned. “They said we can only pray for Palestine — that too in Arabic, not in local Kashmiri language.”

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