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(By Dr. Shujaat Ali Quadri)
The dust of Gaza has once again risen to blind the conscience of the so-called civilized world. After months of relentless bombardment, what remains of Gaza is not a battlefield but a graveyard of humanity. The ceasefire, much celebrated in diplomatic circles, exists only on paper. The bombs still fall, the cries of children still echo, and the world continues to look away.
What Israel is doing in Gaza is not a war; it is a systematic erasure of an entire people a genocide unfolding in real time. Civilian neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, and refugee camps have become targets in the name of “security.” Every missile fired into Gaza carries not just explosives but the silent approval of the global powers that claim to be the guardians of human rights.
No nation has embodied hypocrisy in foreign policy as consistently as the United States. Washington speaks the language of democracy and human rights, yet its actions reveal a darker allegiance to geopolitical interests and the Israeli military machine. America continues to fund, arm, and politically shield Israel even as the world watches children being pulled out from under the rubble.
When a single civilian dies in Ukraine, international outrage fills the airwaves. But when hundreds perish in Gaza in one night, the reaction is a sterile “appeal for calm.” This selective empathy exposes the rotting moral core of the Western-led world order. The question now is not whether America supports Israel’s war; the question is whether it has any right left to speak of justice, freedom, or humanity.
The Silence of the Arab World
Equally tragic is the silence of the Arab world a silence not born of ignorance but of fear, self-interest, and political decay. Most Arab regimes have bound themselves in golden chains of oil contracts, arms deals, and Western protection. The Abraham Accords, once hailed as a “peace breakthrough,” have instead normalized occupation and moral surrender.
Meanwhile, ordinary Arabs have not forgotten Gaza. From Cairo to Amman, from Rabat to Tunis, millions have taken to the streets in solidarity with Palestine. Yet, their rulers remain unmoved. The distance between Arab governments and their people has never been wider. The dream of Arab unity lies shattered under the weight of diplomatic cowardice.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) the world’s second-largest international body too has reduced itself to a platform of empty statements. Meetings, resolutions, and “strong condemnations” have replaced real action. No oil embargo,
no trade restrictions, no diplomatic offensive just the stale routine of outrage without consequence.
The Role India Must Play
In this bleak landscape, the world looks to nations with moral capital and India has plenty of it. The land of Gandhi, the voice of ahimsa, cannot remain neutral in the face of genocide. Gandhi once said, “Palestine belongs to the Palestinians, just as England belongs to the English.” Those words must now echo in India’s diplomacy.
India’s foreign policy, guided by Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam “the world is one family” must translate moral vision into action. New Delhi should lead efforts at the United Nations for a permanent ceasefire and a sovereign Palestinian state. Beyond resolutions, India can extend humanitarian aid, medical relief, and reconstruction assistance to Gaza. Such steps would not only honor India’s civilizational values but also reaffirm its global leadership in justice and peace.
The tragedy of Gaza is not just a Palestinian issue; it is a mirror held up to humanity. It tests whether our global order values human life or only geopolitical convenience. Every demolished home in Gaza, every lifeless child carried through the ruins, indicts a world that preaches morality but practices apathy.
The time has come to choose between silence and conscience, between complicity and courage. History will remember who stood for justice when the world turned away. And if we fail to hear Gaza’s cry today, the echo of our silence will haunt humanity forever.
(Author is the Chairman of the Muslim Students Organization of India and writes on international affairs.)