Arundhati Roy calls on India to halt arms sales to Israel or 'forever be linked to genocide'

The Indian government should halt the sale and export of arms and ammunition to Israel or "forever be linked to the genocide in Gaza", writer and activist Arundhati Roy has told Middle East Eye.

Roy's comments on Friday come as civil society grows ever more weary of India's complicity in Israel's war on Gaza which has already claimed around 40,000 Palestinian lives, injured tens of thousands of others and left the besieged enclave in complete ruin.

Earlier this week, several prominent figures, including Roy, former Indian Supreme Court judges and bureaucrats, sent a letter to India's defence ministry calling for an immediate halt to the issuing of permits to export arms, drones and other explosives to Israel. 

In the letter seen by MEE, over two dozen signatories said the continuation of weapons exports to Israel would amount to a serious breach of international law, given the preliminary findings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). According to Article III of the Genocide Convention, state complicity in genocide is a punishable offence.

The letter, signed by prominent figures like advocate Prashant Bhushan, senior advocate Mihir Desai, and activist Harsh Mander among others, comes just over a month after reports surfaced of several arms transfers from India to Israel - even after the ICJ found it is plausible that Israel has committed crimes that violate the Genocide convention. 

Organisers behind the letter said they believe at least three companies in India had been granted licences for the export of arms and military equipment to Israel during this period.

The letter added that the licences were obtained either from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) or the Department of Defence Production (DDP), which authorise the export of arms and munitions for "military use and dual use purposes".

“The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has clearly ruled that Israel is in violation of obligations under the Genocide Convention and further that Israel is in illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.

“In light of these rulings, any supply of military material to Israel would amount to a violation of India’s obligations under international humanitarian law,“ the letter dated 30 July said.

In June, several UN experts warned that the transfer of weapons and ammunition to Israel may constitute serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian laws. It called for an immediate halt to arms transfers, warning of state complicity in international crimes, possibly including genocide. 

"India is bound by various international laws and treaties that obligate India not to supply military weapons to States guilty of war crimes, as any export could be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law," the letter added.

"India therefore cannot export any military equipment or weapons to Israel when there is a serious risk that these weapons might be used to commit war crimes," the letter said.

In her comments to MEE on Friday, Roy said that though India had been a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights, things have changed.

Referring to the bouquet of weapons sent to Israel from India over the past several months as well as the thousands of Indian construction workers sent to Israel, Roy said that India would have to reverse these decisions or face being in breach of the ICJ.

"India needs to stop the export of weapons to Israel and ensure the return of Indian workers who have been sent to Israel to replace Palestinian workers. If it does not do so at once, it is in violation of the orders of the ICJ," the Booker prize-winning author Roy said.

"It will forever be complicit in aiding and abetting a genocide that is being telecast live for the world to watch," Roy added.

In April, rocket engines, explosive substances, and propellants for cannons were loaded on a ship in India before it headed off to the Israeli port, Ashdod.

In May, another ship from India was refused entry to Spain on account of it carrying explosives en route to Israel.

Earlier in the year, Indian news channel TV9 Hindi reported that Indian-made Israeli drones had been sent to Israel. The Hermes 900 drones, the news channel reported, manufactured in the south-central Indian city of Hyderabad, would help fulfil "Israel's needs in the Israel-Hamas war".

India's military relations with Israel date back to the 1960s, when Israel sent military aid during its war with China (1962) and Pakistan (1965). 

Since India normalised ties with Israel in 1992, military ties have formed the bedrock of the relationship.

However, India-Israel relations have accelerated over the past decade under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India now purchases more Israeli weapons than any country on the planet.

Between 2015 and 2019, India's purchase of Israeli weapons increased by 175 percent.

Moreover, since India and Israel became strategic partners in 2017, Indian companies have begun to co-produce several Israeli weapons, including Tavor X95 assault rifles; the Galil sniper rifles; Negev light machine guns; as well as Hermes 900 medium altitude long endurance drones.

Defence analysts have argued the partnership could lead to the mass production of Israeli weapons in India.

Though the relationships have been welcomed by many Indians who see the deals as an economic opportunity, trade unions have been warning against the spiralling partnerships.

"Israel has been conducting a genocide for months – killing students, teachers, researchers; and destroying schools, colleges and universities. Building academic ties with Israeli universities under these circumstances is morally reprehensible," Akash Bhattacharya, a leader with the All India Central Council of Trade Unions, told MEE earlier in July.

"Besides, these strategic partnerships are pushing Indian universities into the emerging Indo-Israeli military-industrial complex," Bhattacharya added.

India's close friendship with Israel has seen Delhi become one of Israel's most ardent supporters since the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October on southern Israel, and the war on Gaza.

India abstained from the UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in October 2023.

In December, it voted for a ceasefire, but it has since refused to get behind a UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for an arms embargo on Israel.