Eminent Citizens Urge Defence Minister to Halt Licences to Firms Exporting Arms to Israel

New Delhi: Twenty-five eminent citizens, including former Supreme Court and high court judges, economists, activists and poets, have written to the defence minister, urging him to halt the licence process that allows exporters to send military arms and ammunition to Israel.

Israel has been leading an onslaught described as genocide against Palestine, following an attack by the group Hamas in October last year. Several thousands of Palestinians have died in brutal attacks.

India’s reported arms ‘exports’ to Israel amid the Gaza conflict have sparked controversy.

The letter is signed by former Supreme Court judges Ruma Pal, B. Sudarshan Reddy, and S.N. Variava, former Madras High Court K. Chandru, former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, retired IFS officers Deb Mukherji and Ashok Sharma, retired IAS officers Meena Gupta and EAS Sarma, former Lalit Kala Akademi chairperson Ashok Vajpeyi, author Arundhati Roy, musician T.M. Krishna, CPIM leader Brinda Karat, psephologist Yogendra Yadav, senior advocate Chander Uday Singh, advocates Prashant Bhushan, R. Vaigai, and Mihir Desai, activists Harsh Mander, Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Anjali Bhardwaj, Kavita Srivastava and Vijayan MJ, and development economist Jean Dreze.

India’s purported support – through the grant of licences – to at least three companies for the export of arms and military equipment to Israel, even during this period of the ongoing war in Gaza and after the ICJ rulings goes against India’s obligations under international law and the mandates of Articles 21 and 51(c) of the constitution, the signatories write to Rajnath Singh.