By TwoCircles.net staff reporter,
New Delhi: To condemn the Israeli aggression in Gaza and press the Indian government to use its contacts to bring peace in the region, India’s major Muslim organisations and leaders of a number of secular and leftist forces and student organisations held a protest rally today in New Delhi.
Leaders of the Muslim and Christian communities and many secular and student organisations lashed at the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip which they described as genocide of an impoverished and unprotected civilian population which has been braving unjust Israeli blockade for the last two years as a punishment for exercising its democratic rights.
Speakers said that the basic issue in Gaza is the occupation and blockade and not the symbolic home-made rockets which are in any case part of the legitimate resistance of occupation sanctioned by the international law. Speakers condemned Arab and Muslim countries for not standing up to support the Palestinians at this juncture. They strongly condemned the US support to this aggression. Speakers called upon the UN and Arab League to come forward to help the besieged Palestinians of Gaza who are being mercilessly killed and maimed by the Israeli occupation forces.
The organisers sent a memorandum to the Indian Foreign Minister, the Arab League general secretary, the OIC general secretary as well as to the Head of the UN mission at Delhi demanding urgent action to save the Palestinian population in Gaza.
The rally was organized by the Coordination Committee of Indian Muslims, an umbrella body leading Muslim organizations in the country.
Several leaders of these organizations addressed the rally. They included Mujtaba Farooq, Secretary, Jamaat-e Islami Hind, and Coordinator, Coordination Committee of Indian Muslims, Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan, President, All India Muslim Majlise Mushawarat, Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani, Secretary, Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind, Maulana Abdul Wahab Khilji, Secretary, All India Milli Council, Dr. S.Q.R. Ilyas, Member, Central Advisory Council, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Mohammad Adeeb, Rajya Sabha MP and social activist Dr John Dayal.