India’s abstention

THE UN finally managed to find its voice on the Israel-Hamas conflict in the General Assembly on Sunday after four failed attempts in the Security Council. Like most resolutions on Israel, this one had a relatively smooth sailing — 120 votes in favour, just 14 against and 45 abstentions. What stood out was that barring India, South Asian nations voted in favour of the Gaza ceasefire resolution. Of the 11-member BRICS Plus, India was the sole abstainer. New Delhi also made an abortive attempt in unison with the US and Canada to weaken the resolution that had already been watered down.

Though the resolution is non-binding, it carries political weight. For the umpteenth time, it showed in stark relief the isolation of the US and Israel on the Palestine question. Till this abstention, India had been voting with most of the world on every such resolution. Israel and the US were invariably on the opposite side. India can claim to have taken the middle path this time. But even this challenges its long-standing solidarity with Palestine. The official explanation was that India wanted Hamas to be specifically mentioned in the text. But certainly, the Palestinian people — over 8,000 of them killed so far in Gaza this month and around 2 million struggling to survive — do not represent Hamas.

India’s reluctance to directly oppose the US and its partners does safeguard its current strategy of seeking Western help to expand its trade footprint, procure cutting-edge technology and withstand Chinese coercion. Regardless of India’s explanation, the abstention helped deflect the domestic criticism over the death sentence to former Navy officials in Qatar. Yet, as the conflict enters a deadlier phase, drawing in other countries, only a ceasefire in Gaza will spare the world from its lethal repercussions.