The Palestine solidarity rally, to be organised by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Kozhikode on Thursday, will not just be an expression of concern over the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, but it will be strategically positioned to serve as a demonstration of the party’s influence among the Muslim community, particularly in its standoff with the Sunni religious body, the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulama, and convey that message to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala.
With over one lakh expected participants, including 25,000 women, the rally is poised to become the largest of its kind in the country since the Israel-Hamas war began. IUML leaders, including its State president Panakkad Syed Sadiqali Shihab Thangal, and Congress Working Committee member and MP Shashi Tharoor will address the rally.
The event is aimed at matching or even surpassing the scale of the massive gathering held in Kozhikode in December 2021, organised by the party to protest against decisions made by the LDF government regarding Waqf Board appointments, said party sources.
The objective of the rally, a party functionary said, was to send a clear political message, urging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre to uphold India’s long-standing policy of supporting an independent Palestine and advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza. At the same time, it would emphasise that the CPI(M) leadership cannot turn the Samastha against the IUML. No longer behind closed doors, interestingly, the differences between the IUML and the Samastha are now in the open.
Previously, the Social Democratic Party of India, the political wing of the banned Popular Front of India, and the Welfare Party of India of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, had organised protests in Kozhikode and elsewhere. But they had little impact, said IUML leaders.
Nevertheless, the IUML rally intends to make a bold statement that the Muslim community stands united with the party in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections next year. Perhaps a third seat in north Kerala was within the party’s sights, sources said.
Political analyst and social critic Hameed Chendamangalloor pointed out that geopolitical shifts in the Middle East had its reverberations in Indian politics too. The attack carried out by the Hamas may have temporarily derailed Israel-Saudi normalisation talks. Although other Gulf Cooperation Council nations face their own challenges without explicitly taking sides, both the UAE and Bahrain had signed the Abraham Accords, a U.S. initiative, which are bilateral agreements on Arab-Israeli normalisation.
“Time was when Arab nations considered Israel a mirage, but now they acknowledge it is a reality. The actions of Hamas will have dire consequences for the Palestinians , as Israel stands resolute against its adversaries,” said Mr. Chendamangalloor.
