Hundreds of protests sweep south India in solidarity with Palestine

Residents of Palakkad district in Kerala, southwestern India, hold a demonstration in solidarity with Palestine on Oct. 12, 2023. (Democratic Youth Federation of India)

• Demonstrations held in all districts of Kerala as Israel steps up Gaza strikes
• Protesters say stand reflects their own history of fighting for freedom

NEW DELHI: Protests in support of Palestinians have been held at hundreds of sites across the southern Indian state of Kerala since the launch of heavy Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip last week.
Scores of Palestinian civilians have been killed every day in the bombardment following an attack on Israel by the Gaza-based militant group Hamas that began on Saturday.
Israeli bombs have hit residential buildings, hospitals and places of worship, killing more than 1,530 people, including at least 500 children, the Gaza Ministry of Health said.
More than 2.3 million people living in the densely populated enclave have nowhere to hide from the strikes, the ministry said.
Demonstrations have taken place in all districts of Kerala, the coastal state where support for Palestine has for decades transcended social and religious affiliations.
“In Kerala, we conducted a statewide protest and it took place in 300 centers. We strongly stand in solidarity with Palestine,” Rahna Sabeena, a lawyer who coordinated the protests in Malappuram district, told Arab News.
“The Palestinian people have been denied justice for decades. Israel is occupying Palestine with the help of imperial powers ... We oppose occupation in any land by any country.”
Sarin Sasi, secretary of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, who organized protests in Kannur district, said that Keralites wanted to see the Palestinian nation free.
“Our organization always stands with the people of Palestine, so we protested in all the districts. Thousands of young people came with us to protest,” he told Arab News.
“Kerala is a left-leaning state; we are always with the oppressed, our stand is always with the oppressed ... We stand with the Palestinian people, the right of the Palestinian people to live in Gaza and other places with freedom and security.”
In the state capital, Trivandrum, 20 protests were held on Thursday alone.
Gayathri Babu, a health worker and member of the DYFI, said that local activists have been involved in agitation both on the ground and online.
“We have been writing on social media and various platforms which are available to express our solidarity with the victims in Palestine,” she said.
“Palestine has always been the victim. The protest was to show that we are with the victims in Palestine, the children, women in Gaza ... The war should end so that women and children can breathe in Palestine.”
Participants in the DYFI protests came from all social strata. Babu said that the protests reflected the region’s own history of fighting for freedom.
In the 16th century, Keralites resisted Portuguese attempts to assert control in the region. Two centuries later, Kerala was the scene of the first revolts against British colonial rule of the Indian subcontinent.
“Why Kerala is doing this is because of its history, legacy and resistance that took place in Kerala,” Babu told Arab News.
“It’s about the injustice happening in any part of the world.”