Former IIT Delhi professor V.K. Tripathi has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to impress upon his Israeli counterpart to look upon the people of Gaza as his own.
Tripathi is known for his pamphlets that he distributes across Delhi and other places to promote a Gandhian worldview of current events.
In his letter to the Prime Minister on Thursday, he said: “I wish to request you to put efforts, as an Indian nation caring for human suffering and oppression, to deescalating Israel-Gaza conflict.
“I share the pain of Israeli citizens who fell victim to Hamas attack. I also feel sad for the Palestinian citizens who fell victim to retaliatory attack by Israel. Every man and woman on the Earth has the right to live with freedom, without fear, and have opportunities for dignified living. War, violence and retaliatory violence take away this right of innocent victims, hence are bad. Siege of a region or nation by another state also does the same to an entire population, hence, is bad.”
Urging India to make a moral intervention, Tripathi added: “In eleven days of current escalation, three thousand people have died. Now millions at Gaza are under the threat of mass death. Their lifeline, food, water, electricity etc. has been cut and devastating bombardment looms. Few hours ago, bombardment on a Baptist Hospital in Gaza has killed 500 people and injured 600.
Narendra Modi in Delhi on Thursday. PTI picture
“May I urge you to have Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu visualise the people of Gaza as his own, and stop the bombardment and siege. It shall help Israeli people also to enjoy fuller freedom without the patronage of the gun. It will uplift the soul of India.”
The 75-year-old retired physics professor started distributing pamphlets to stir the conscience of citizens after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992.
After the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and the division of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, Tripathi was roughed up by a passerby in South Delhi while distributing a pamphlet on the disquiet among the erstwhile state’s residents. That was the first physical assault he faced in his years as a pamphleteer. It did not deter him and Tripathi was last seen pamphleteering on the streets of Haryana’s Nuh, soon after the communal riots there earlier this year.
