The (Ex) Washington Realist

Protests have erupted in Kashmir against Israel's campaign in Gaza, Reuters reports. Protests occurred in other parts of India, primarily among India's Muslim communities, and, as to be expected, both an anti-Israel but also anti-American focus.

But not good news for India's government, already, as I noted over at NI online, walking a "tightrope" on Gaza--with some political figures calling for a tougher line vis-a-vis Pakistan on the Israel model. And the protests in Kashmir explicitly link the call for "liberation" of Palestinians with liberation for Kashmir as well. The Reuters report quotes Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq calling for "Muslim countries must unite to fight for the liberation of Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Kashmir." I don't think that New Delhi is eager to see Kashmir and Afghanistan--two areas where it has key strategic interests--linked with Iraq and Palestine.

India today announced that it is contributing $1 million to an emergency relief fund for Gaza and also called for an "immediate end to the violence witnessed in Gaza and its environs, so that further casualties amongst civilians are averted." It's in India's interests, certainly, to get the violence in Gaza ended.