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India Labour Solidarity strongly condemns Operation Sindoor and the subsequent military escalation between India and Pakistan
We stand against India's aggression towards Pakistan through Operation Sindoor, and further escalation from both sides, with civilian casualties including children. This operation was India’s response to the Pahalgam attack, attributed to Pakistan without any credible evidence or independent investigation. The Pakistani state’s response to India's provocation, of indiscriminate shelling and killing of local Muslim and Sikh civilians in Poonch, is similarly abhorrent.
It's important to remember that in war, only the most vulnerable are endangered, leaving the ruling class safe from destruction. Kashmiris, already subjected to collective punishment through occupation, arbitrary detentions, and violence within the Indian state, are now bearing the heaviest burden as casualties of war.
The oppression of Kashmiris has further intensified since the abrogation of Article 370. While the Indian government promotes tourism under the guise of restoring ‘normalcy’, we need to remember that this ‘normalcy’ was maintained by deploying unprecedented levels of military force to silence dissent. The situation in Kashmir is not one of peace — it is a climate of militarised repression. Arrests of journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders continue unabated. The voices of Kashmiris have been systematically silenced, and the land is being usurped under the garb of development. We agree with the Kashmiri diaspora that the source of all violence in a settler-colony is ultimately the settler colonial state.
The Indian state's neoliberal ‘development’ agenda, aggressive military interventions and rising jingoism - both within its borders and beyond - have created a series of current crises across the country, and war drums conveniently drown these out:
Operation Kagar in Bastar: The Indian government has deployed over 25,000 armed personnel in a massive military campaign to encircle members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in Adivasi territories of central India. These lands, rich in minerals, are being opened to corporate plunder under the guise of counterinsurgency. Peace talks have been repeatedly offered by Maoist representatives and civil society, and repeatedly ignored.
The RSS-led 'Chalo Manipur' march: This march into Kuki-majority areas, disconnected from the rest of Manipur, is a deeply provocative move. It aims to inflame ethnic tensions and push forward the violent agenda of Hindutva consolidation.
Ongoing farmers’ protests in Punjab, led largely by Sikh farmers, continue to be met with repression and media blackouts. These protests are a challenge to corporate agriculture and the Hindutva project. We see the same pattern of militaristic rhetoric dominating national discourse, where legitimate dissent is drowned out and marginalized. The state is refusing to acknowledge the widespread unemployment faced by young adults, the inhuman living conditions of landless labourers, and increasing suicides due to the debt of small farmers.
Targeted Demolitions of Slum areas without due process or compensation provided to the victims.
Removing the autonomy of Muslim (WAQF) Community properties from the community
Mob lynchings and social, economic boycott of minorities.
Curbing of Press Freedoms and Right to Protest/ freedom of expression and thought of Students, Journalists, and Grassroots Organizers languishing in jail.
It is also important to note global alignment between Hindutva and Zionism - with India being the largest purchaser of arms from Israel. Between 2018 and 2022, India accounted for up to 41% of Israel's total arms exports and Israeli companies like Elbit Systems have partnered with Indian firms such as Adani Group to co-manufacture drones like the Hermes 900. India also exports weapons to Israel - notably, fragments of a missile bearing a “Made in India” label were found at a UN shelter in the Nuseirat refugee camp, following an Israeli airstrike in June last year. Similarly, there are reports from Pakistan where drones made by Elbit Systems are being used as part of Operation Sindoor.
While India has its distinct casteist Islamophobia and Brahminical anti-democratic impulses, India's recent increased militarisation, Islamophobia, airstrikes dressed up as precision, civilian casualties rendered invisible, use of pinkwashing (i.e., women soldiers deployed for international optics) - all seem similar to the Zionist playbook. We also express our alarm at the total consensus across India's political spectrum - with BJP, Congress, and "left" parties like CPI and CPI(Marxist) lending support to war-mongering narratives.
On Pakistan’s side, the situation is no better. The Pakistani state has also resorted to brutal repression in Balochistan, where insurgencies reflect similarly legitimate demands for autonomy and justice. Using the same colonial narratives as India in response to recent attacks on their troops, the Pakistani military has blamed India rather than reckoning with its failures of governance and democratic accountability. Furthermore, Pakistan's top court has recently approved the trial of civilians in Military Courts.
We say clearly:
No to war between India and Pakistan.
No to militarised nationalism and state repression.
Yes to the voices of the people — in Kashmir, Bastar, Manipur, Punjab, and Balochistan.
Yes to diplomacy and political resolution rooted in justice and accountability.
We must seriously consider the acceleration caused by war to climate change.
The working classes of South Asia have no interest in war. Our interests lie in solidarity, in survival, and liberation, not in the violence of borders drawn and redrawn by empire.
In solidarity,
India Labour Solidarity
May 2025
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