Forthcoming

Modi, 7 October, and the Gaza War

Editors: P. R. Kumaraswamy and Md. Muddassir Quamar

The 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel and the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip created a broader crisis in the Middle East that threatened to destabilise the entire region. Consequently, regional and global powers were forced to react, respond and readjust their positions amidst the volatile circumstances. The Indian reaction was clear and coherent bearing the hallmark of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. New Delhi condemned the terrorist action of Hamas and rallied behind Israel’s right to defence, and yet, it reaffirmed support to the two-state solution. This book explores India’s nuanced position examining both the government’s stand as well as the response in the media, civil society and intelligentsia. The idea of the book originated from a panel in the international conference on Israel and Israel Studies: The European and International Perspectives organised by the Association of Israel Studies and the European Association of Israel Studies in Prague in July 2024. Subsequently, a special issue of the Contemporary Review of the Middle East was published in December 2024. As the conflict showed no signs of end, the papers presented in Prague and published in CRME are considerably revised, updated, and expanded for this volume with a fresh introduction and a revised the India chapter.

Editors: P. R. Kumaraswamy and Md. Muddassir Quamar

P. R. Kumaraswamy is a Professor of contemporary Middle Eastern studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Md. Muddassir Quamar is an Associate Professor of Middle Eastern studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Contents

About the Contributors

Introduction

P. R. Kumaraswamy & Md. Muddassir Quamar

1. Israel, an Indian Exception Since the Mandate Years
P. R. Kumaraswamy

2. How the Indian Urdu Press Covered the Gaza Crisis
Md. Muddassir Quamar

3. 7 October and the Gaza War in Hindi Newspapers
Anuradha Jangra

4. Kerala's Response to the Gaza Crisis: Politics, Religion, and Media
Irfan Ahmed Nazir

5. A Discourse Analysis of the Arabic Press Coverage of the Gaza Crisis
Lakshmi Priya

6. India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor: Under the Shadows of the Gaza War
Sameena Hameed

7. No More Balancing, a Decisive Indian Shift
P. R. Kumaraswamy

Index