Thousands took to the streets of Kolkata and other cities in the eastern state of West Bengal in India to denounce ongoing wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, as a part of the celebration marking International Day for Peace and Solidarity against Imperialism and War.

People marched from different points in Kolkata and later merged with the main procession which went through major streets. People carried banners saying “we want peace, not wars,” and expressed solidarity with people facing imperialist wars in West Asia.

The protesters also criticized the government of India for failing to stand against imperialism, demanding immediate corrections in its approach towards rising geopolitical conflicts in the world.

The march, held on Tuesday, September 1, was called by all major left parties in the country, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, among others.

Speaking to the crowd, secretary of the West Bengal CPI (M) Mohammed Salim thanked them for coming out in large numbers to express their solidarity. He called the large turnout a vibrant expression of “internationalism.”

Salim also underlined how the so-called distant wars are affecting the lives of millions of people in India. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, for example, is driving the energy crisis and raising the prices of essential commodities, such as cooking gas and oil.

Salim called out the US support for the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and termed the war against the Palestinian people, a war to retain imperialist control over the region.

He called for even greater solidarity with the victims of wars irrespective of the distance from the actual theater. He argued that all humans share a common cause and that dehumanization of peoples helps further fuel wars.

Wars lead to the diversion of resources from the issues and needs of common people in countries like India, Salim underlined, such as food, shelter, education, employment and healthcare. “War does not solve a problem, war itself is a problem,” he declared.

India needs to revive its anti-colonial tradition

Salim noted how India under its current government has ditched its traditional solidarity with the anti-colonial movements across the globe and has moved closer to Zionist and imperialist powers such as Israel and the US.

He declared that supporting or courting wars or imperialist aggression in any form is being against the people and against the idea of the nation envisaged by the country’s freedom fighters. He called on the Narendra Modi government to make immediate changes in its approach to international politics.

The ultra-right-wing and Hindu-supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ruling India since 2014, is widely considered to have close ideological affinity to Zionism. It has also tried to build closer relations with the US. This has led to various compromises in India’s traditional approach to global politics, including an increased silence on hegemonic policies and wars.

Several other speakers at the rally underlined the atrocities committed during imperialist aggressions all across Asia and elsewhere and called it necessary for India to retain the independence of its foreign policy. Standing in solidarity with all movements against wars and domination is a must for countries like India, they highlighted.

They cited the example of the Free Trade Agreement (FTAs) signed by the Modi government with the UK and the EU and a similar deal it is about to sign with the US as signs of how submissive India has become in front of the bullying of the imperialist powers.

These deals are nothing but examples of submission to dominance. It is a surrender of the interests of millions of Indian farmers to the US and domestic capital, they argued.

From BT News via This RSS Feed.