# Indian Professor Observes Fast for Gaza, Celebrates Independence Day

> On India’s Independence Day, 77-year-old professor Bipin Kumar Tripathi fasted at Delhi’s Rajghat, distributing leaflets linking India’s freedom struggle with Gaza’s suffering under Israeli blockade. A former IIT physic…

Published: 2026-09-17 · Desk: Latest · Source: Ittefaq

With a stack of leaflets about Gaza in hand, Professor Bipin Kumar Tripathi was distributing them to visitors at Rajghat, the Mahatma Gandhi memorial in Old Delhi. For him, the site was the perfect place to mark India’s Independence Day while also raising awareness about the mass starvation imposed on Gaza’s 2.1 million people by Israel.

On Friday (August 15), the 77-year-old Indian observed a fast as a form of Gandhian nonviolent protest, hoping to awaken compassion among his fellow citizens for Palestinians.

“I want to stir the conscience because this is our Independence Day,” Tripathi told Arab News. “If we do not kindle the spirit of freedom for others—especially the most oppressed—our independence remains incomplete.”

He added: “I am raising awareness and compassion about the world’s pressing problems and the extreme violence in Gaza. People are dying of hunger… they are being forced to starve.”

Tripathi, a former professor of physics at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, comes from a family of freedom fighters. An activist since 1989, he dedicated his life to social service after retiring in 2013, traveling across the country to spread messages of peace.

His campaigns often involved engaging people in dialogue and distributing leaflets and brochures on key issues, such as the Kashmir conflict and the demand for citizens’ right to question their government.

Over the past month, his focus has been Gaza. He has been handing out flyers in Hindi and English titled “Gaza’s Suffering Must Awaken Us.” These leaflets draw parallels between the struggles of Indians and Palestinians against colonial rule and urge Indians to speak out.

On Friday, Tripathi distributed these leaflets around Old Delhi and at the Gandhi memorial, which he described as “a symbol of martyrdom for humanity.”

“No human being is inferior or superior to another,” he said. “Every person has the right to live with full dignity and freedom. Today I am here remembering India’s freedom movement, our martyrs, our freedom fighters, and the Indian people who participated in the struggle—while also remembering Palestinians who, for 22 months, have been suffering starvation and bombings that threaten their survival.”

Indian civil society groups and opposition parties have been increasingly vocal against Israeli war crimes, while the government in New Delhi has largely remained silent since Israel’s assault on Gaza began in October 2023.

Tripathi urged the Indian government to “change its position, both on Gaza and on Israel.”

By the end of the day, police removed him from Rajghat, saying it was not a place for protests. Similar actions have been taken earlier against pro-Palestinian gatherings in New Delhi.

But Tripathi vowed to continue his campaign for Palestinians, insisting that he wanted Indians to “open their eyes.”

“India’s independence is not just the independence of Indians,” he said. “Those who fought for India’s freedom also cared about the freedom of others. I want people of this country to clear away prejudices and feel the pain of the suffering people of Gaza, because they are no different from us. They are part of the same anti-colonial struggle we once endured. That is why I want our people to care for them.”

Original reporting: https://www.ittefaq.com.bd/747403/%E0%A6%97%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF-%E0%A6%89%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B8-%E0%A6%A5%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%95%E0%A7%87-%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A7%E0%A7%80%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BE-%E0%A6%A6%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%B8-%E0%A6%89%E0%A6%A6%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AA%E0%A6%A8-%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%A8?fbclid=IwdGRleAMPvsJjbGNrAw7sImV4dG4DYWVtAjExAAEeB7lq8dHaSgIW1qvAPvNOEefsN8sgzV1EU6ddEirIxuFuRhmi5tbT9P-Oqxw_aem_Eun0TVSj7uvXtS4Xink0zA
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