Hyderabad: Students of the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) on Monday, October 7 held a solidarity march marking a year since the Israel-Hamas conflict began.
The students called for an end to the offensive and criticised the United Nations and major powers for their “inaction.”
Addressing a gathering, Talha Mannan, a PhD scholar, highlighted the severe human rights violations in Palestine and the international community’s failure to respond. “The oppression against Palestinians has laid bare the hypocrisy of the West, international war laws, human rights organizations, and the United Nations. Over 40,000 innocent lives have been lost in the past year due to Israeli aggression, and more than 100,000 people have been displaced. Despite this, the silence of the international community remains deafening,” he remarked.
The students also called for a boycott of various brands which are backing Israel in the ongoing conflict.
Mateen Ashraf, former President of the MANUU Students’ Union, also addressed the gathering, stressing the importance of economic resistance through boycotts. “The least we can do to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian cause is to boycott Israeli products,” he said.
A few students said that a boycott would hold people back from contributing to an economy that fuels Israel’s genocidal campaign against Palestinians. “Every purchase made from these companies indirectly supports the military and political machinery that is committing atrocities against innocent people in Palestine,” the students added.
A few students raised concerns over the university management’s apprehension towards the march.
“Although the march went on peacefully, the management did not allow us to address the media. It is essential for us to raise concerns over the situation in Palestine and the management has put restrictions on the protests in the past,” Umar Farooq, the former president of the MANUU students union told Siasat.com