Shopkeepers in parts of northern India have decided boycott products made by Israel and US companies to express anger against Israeli aggression in Gaza.
An Al Jazeera video report shows Muslim shopkeepers refusing to stock popular products like Pepsi, Coca Cola, etc. in a show of solidarity with Palestine and its people.
Mohammad Nadeem, a shopkeeper in a north Indian state, says the boycott will definitely affect his income but it will also impact Israel and the United States. “When we boycott this, it will impact their economy in some way, and it has already begun,” he said.
Many locals have also decided not to buy Israeli and US products. The video also features a nine-year-old boy who is clear he does not want any more wars. “After I heard about the genocide in Gaza, I stopped buying these products. Iconic brands which we love have become violent. The money they are making is used to support the Israeli government. I don’t want any more violence,” he told Al Jazeera.
He says that the change is visible when his customers willingly ask for alternatives to the banned products. “The demand that used to exist earlier has also disappeared now,” he said.
Palestine’s Gaza has witnessed deaths of thousands of people, mostly children since October 7 after Hamas attacked Israel prompting the latter to launch a full-scale military operation on Northern Gaza. More than 12,000 people have died and millions injured so far.
Although there has been widespread support for a Free Palestine, the BJP-led Indian government has clamped down on pro-Palestine protests.
