Shhh…Utter the ‘P’ Word At Your Own Peril

Geeta Seshu examines how online space continued to shrink when it came to any mention of the genocide in Gaza

Despite the chilling reports and images of the genocide against the people of Palestine, especially in Gaza, any mention of the ‘P’ word continues to evoke  incendiary and regressive reactions from both right wing vigilantes and law enforcing agencies in India. The latest targets – activists Shrishti Khanna and Prashant Pundir – expected to be at the receiving end of a barrage of foul and abusive comments but the doxxing and stalking they were subjected to jeopardised their safety and security.

On December 9, 2025, they posted a video about the manner in which Israeli tourists to Himachal Pradesh, a large number of whom are soldiers of the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF),  routinely come to the state to unwind as part of their decompression post-military service. Their video, posted on Instagram, bluntly posed the question: “Where do Israeli soldiers go after killing babies in Gaza” and referred to the manner in which cafes and dhabas in Dharmshala and other areas have adapted menus to the Israeli tourists.

Screenshot of video

The video went viral and was also tweeted by multiple right wing accounts on both ‘X’ and Instagram. In what was clearly a concerted online attack duplicating the same message that the duo were “inciting targeted attacks, similar to the Bondi Beach attack, against Jewish tourists”. Other accounts, including those from prominent right-wing journalists Aditya Raj Kaul and Kamlesh Singh, a news director at India Today, called for their arrest. Some accounts called for violence against them, including rape and death, while others issued calls for ripping off the nose ring one of them wears! Pundir, who identifies as queer, was subjected to homophobic attacks.

While some accounts tagged the NIA and even the Israeli embassy to “take action” against them, others shared personal details of both activists. Their workplace emails were leaked and emails were sent to their respective workplaces. False information was posted that they had lost their jobs as a result of the trolling and several accounts even posted celebratory comments. Complaints to Instagram resulted in the videos being withheld in India, though the video posted by rightwing accounts is still available on ‘X’.

“For some time, we were stunned by the backlash and went quiet. Whatever we put out about the Israeli tourists in Himachal Pradesh is hardly a secret. It is all verified and documented information and in fact, you can see several accounts sharing this information on social media,” they said, talking to Free Speech Collective. Ironically, in a post on Dec 3, 2025, a few days before the post that garnered all the hate, Shrishti spoke of how “speaking about 🇵🇸 in india comes with it’s own layer of policing and hate” and the need to create a safe space that the system would not allow.

Now,the duo have decided to continue to post content, mainly social and political commentary on contemporary events. On December 13, 2025, they posted another video on the music app Spotify  and its links with Israel. On December 15, 2025, they filed detailed complaints with the Mumbai Cyber Police, submitting screenshots and links to the accounts that resulted in the doxxing and stalking and issued death and rape threats. Both of them informed their respective work-places about the personal attacks and threats.

Country-wide attacks against Pro-Palestine protests

The constitutionally protected right to protest peacefully against the genocide in Gaza includes the right to question and comment. However, whether it is the police in Mumbai and Delhi or right-wing vigilantes in Pune or hindutvavadi trolls on the internet, any pro-Palestine protest immediately elicits a vehement reaction. Students have been picked up and detained by police while right wing groups have launched both online and offline attacks on the protestors.

On May 10, 2025, hindutvavadi groups attacked pro-Palestine protestors in Karve Nagar in Pune. The protestors, members of the Indian People in Solidarity with Palestine (IPSP) had gathered in front of a Domino’s pizza outlet in Karve Nagar to draw attention to the company’s support for Israel’s actions in Gaza. The protest was part of a global Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) campaign against companies that directly or indirectly support Israel.

The mob, led by BJP leaders Mahesh Pavale, Amit Jadhav and Sagar Dhame, hit some protestors with a cricket bat and threatened woman protestors with rape. The IPSP alleged that, while police detained the protestors, the attackers were let off.

A similar peaceful protest held in Delhi’s Nehru Place market on July 26, 2025, turned violent when a vigilante mob began attacking the protestors. According to an eye-witness account , the protestors numbered a hundred and were surrounded by the mob. Organisers of the pro-Palestine protest allege that the mob was instigated and spurred on by the police, who questioned the protestors and their right to protest.

Even the courts were unsympathetic to protests against the genocide in Gaza. On June 17, 2025, the Mumbai police rejected permission for a protest organised by All India Peace and Solidarity Foundation (AIPSF) in the city. When the CPI (M) moved court to challenge the rejection, a two-judge bench of the Bombay High Court dismissed the plea. The oral observation of one of the judges, Justice Ravindra V Ghuge, was telling: “Look at your own country. Be patriots. This is not patriotism..Speak up for the causes in our own country.”

The protest was finally held on August 20, after outrage over the judge’s comments and rejection of permission resulted in another round of applications before the Mumbai police and finally, a grant of permission from the court after an assurance that a peaceful assembly would abide by the Draft Regulations of Public Meetings, Agitations and Processions Rules, 2025, under the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951, whereby the protest would be held in a regulated manner and that no provocative speeches would be made.

Hundreds of students held a peaceful protest in Jantar Mantar on October 5, 2025. Organised by BDS India and the Indian People in Solidarity with Palestine (IPSP), which was part of a nationwide movement against Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and the illegal arrest of activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla.

But on October 9, 2025, another protest held by students of Delhi University was attacked by students owing allegiance to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). There were reports that police who arrived on the scene also turned on the protestors, beating them and manhandling women participants.

Barely two days earlier, ABVP members had attacked pro-Palestine protesters at the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), in Hyderabad, Telangana. Here, too, students alleged police bias and high-handedness and as this video report showed, the ABVP mob was emboldened by police support to manhandle students and strip them off the keffiyehs they sported.

A study by Art 14 showed that, in 2024, at least 51 persons were booked in around FIRs registered across India for organising pro-Palestine rallies and for posting pro-Palestine content on social media. Of the 17 FIRs the study detailed, nine were “in states run by the BJP or in a BJP coalition or directly from Delhi; eight by the Congress or a Congress coalition” and charges ranged from disturbing public order to more draconian provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967.

The situation in 2025 has been no better. Right wing groups are emboldened by support from law enforcing agencies that are otherwise mandated to maintain law and order but criminalise the right to protest. And the message emanates from the top. As the well-known academic and anti-nuclear activist Achin Vanaik observed, India’s stance on Israel and Palestine has shifted dramatically and, with the “advancement of neoliberal Hindutva in the last few decades, even the symbolic denouncement of Israeli crimes is fast becoming a thing of the past.”

Unlike street protests, online activism is more solitary and just as fraught with danger. But for activists Shrishti and Prashant, silence is not an option. Back on social media, this time with a video on the plight of platform and gig workers, they are determined to continue to speak out and seek solidarity with others who have supported their views.