No man is an island

Alice, if she had wandered into our wonderland, would have found things getting “curiouser and curiouser”, particularly at the Honourable Bombay High Court. Deploying logic that some may call blinkered, the court peremptorily dismissed a petition by Indian citizens—their political affiliations are immaterial to my point—challenging Mumbai Police’s refusal to allow a protest against the unfolding tragedy in Gaza.

- NAVTEJ SARNA

Calling the petitioners shortsighted, the court, in reported oral observations, then blamed them for looking too far: Gaza was thousands of miles away and should not concern them. Instead, the petitioners were advised to protest local causes such as garbage disposal, illegal parking and blocked drainage. In the honourable court's wisdom, that would be patriotic. By implication, it is unpatriotic to protest against the repeated mass displacement of two million people, the killing of 60,000 civilians, the drip-feeding of humanitarian aid, the cynical cackle of mercenaries shooting at hungry children, near-famine conditions, the bulldozing of homes, hospitals and heritage.