Indian activists protest Board of Peace and demand Modi cut ties with Israel. Photo: IPSP.
By Abdul Rahman – Feb 17, 2026
Protesters demanded the cancellation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Israel next week, accusing his ultra-right-wing government of “double speak” on the issue of Palestine.
Rallies were organized in different parts of India on Sunday, February 15, to protest against the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Israel, as it continues its genocide in Gaza in complete violation of the ceasefire it agreed to in November.
Protesters, under the banner of the Indian People in Solidarity with Palestine (IPSP), demanded Modi cancel his visit and break all ties with Israel. They also expressed their solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The IPSP is a forum of dozens of civil society groups, individuals, and political parties in India, including Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) India chapter and the Revolutionary Workers Party of India (RWPI), among others.
Sunday’s protests were held in the capital, New Delhi, as well as in Mumbai, and in Pune in the western state of Maharashtra; Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada in the south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh; in Hyderabad, Telangana; Patna in the eastern state of Bihar; and Kolkata in West Bengal.
Protesters waved Palestinian flags at the actions and carried banners expressing solidarity with Palestinians and denouncing the imperialist aggression against them. They shouted slogans against the so-called Board of Peace on Gaza, calling it yet another imperialist project.
In various places protesters also burnt the effigies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him a war criminal while chanting the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
Several speakers addressed the protest in New Delhi including professor Madu Prasad and senior journalist John Dayal, among others.
Double speak on Palestine
In Pune, several protesters were injured and close to two dozen of them were arrested. They were only released later after being booked under criminal charges like unlawful assembly.
In a statement, the IPSP and BDS chapter called the arrest and booking of protesters a violation of the basic democratic rights of the Indian citizens. The statement accused the Indian government of engaging in double speak on the issue of Palestine “by strengthening ties with Israel on one hand and officially supporting Palestine on the other.”
“Very clearly it is the fascist BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] government that is hands in gloves with the genocidal Israel, that wants to suppress voices of dissent, while maintaining a facade of being democratic,” the statement claimed.
The IPSP claimed that no amount of repression will stop the people from standing in solidarity with the Palestinians.
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Sever all ties with Israel
Modi is scheduled to visit Israel (for the second time in his 12 years in power) next week, despite strong opposition at home as the ultra-right BJP asserts its pro-Zionist stance.
The Modi-led BJP government has developed strong military and economic ties with Israel in the last decade, while largely maintaining silence over its violations of international and humanitarian laws in Palestine and elsewhere in the region.
“At a time when the ceasefire is being used as an excuse to bomb and vaporize Palestinians and occupy Gaza, the Indian government is choosing to stand with genocidal Israel and its imperialist masters like America and working overtime to benefit the corporations from the occupation of Palestine,” a joint statement issued by the IPSP and BDS chapter said.
Despite agreeing to a ceasefire in November, Israel continues to block the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Violating the provisions of the ceasefire, it has killed over 500 Palestinians in the meantime in almost daily attacks on the besieged territory.
Within India, opposition has already been raised to the so-called Board of Peace announced by US President Donald Trump last year. Critics state that such a Board lacks legitimacy and have called on the Indian government to reject the invitation to join, as countries like Mexico have done.
Major left parties in the country have already issued a statement condemning the formation of the Board and demanding the Indian government to not join it.
Abdul Rahman
Journalist who regularly contributes to Peoples Dispatch based in New Delhi, India.