News Brief
Speak For Bangladeshi Hindus Too: Local Shopkeepers At Nehru Place Respond To Gaza Protest With Counter-Demonstration
Pic Via X
A silent protest held at Delhi’s Nehru Place market on Saturday (19 July) afternoon to express solidarity with Palestinians was met with counter-sloganeering from local shopkeepers, briefly turning the commercial hub into a site of confrontation, Indian Express reported.
At around 12.30 pm, around 30 protesters — including academics, artists, and civil society activists — gathered without prior police permission to condemn the violence in Gaza, criticise India’s cooperation with Israel, and highlight the government’s abstention from United Nations resolutions on the conflict.
The demonstrators held placards and Palestinian flags in a silent display.
Economist Jean Dreze, who was among the participants, said that such smaller, decentralised gatherings had become necessary.
“The fact is that we are denied permission to gather outside the Israeli Embassy or the External Affairs Ministry. It is more feasible and creates an impact to do smaller gatherings like this one,” Dreze was quoted as saying by IE.
Harsh Mander, who was a member of was a member of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council during the UPA government, said the protest was aimed at raising public awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
However, within minutes of the Palestinian flags and posters being displayed, a group of men, mostly local shopkeepers and workers, took umbrage at the expression of solidarity, IE reported.
They confronted the pro-Palestine demonstrators with slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai.”
“Ye log Bangladesh mein Hinduon ke paksh mein kabhi kyon nahi bolte? Israel mein jo atankwadi hamla hua tha, woh bhool gaye? (Why don’t these people ever speak about Hindus being killed in Bangladesh? Have they forgotten about the terrorist attack on Israel?),” one of the counter-protester, Anshul, was quoted as saying by IE.
Anshul reportedly repairs and sells mobile phones at one of the many kiosks in the market.
The situation prompted a brief intervention by two police constables.
One of them reportedly stated that the protest lacked official permission and could have escalated.
“All we are asking is that they get permission and come. We will ensure that everything goes smoothly once they have permission… what if the situation had turned even more violent?,” he said, adding that the Kalkaji police station was nearby.
“Kalkaji police station isn’t far… they should have got permission… I got to know only because one of the shopkeepers called and informed me of the suspicious activity,” he added.
