Kites flown by activists in solidarity with Palestinian children in Gaza have become the latest reason for police crackdown in Mumbai.

Groundxero Desk

19 SEP 2026

Even as the government of India under Narendra Modi publicly supports Palestinian sovereign statehood and calls for an immediate halt to violence and forced displacements in Gaza, the BJP ruled state governments across the country are criminalizing acts of solidarity to Palestine.

The Mumbai Police allegedly raided a woman activist’s home and detained two other after they participated in a global kite-flying campaign in solidarity with Gaza’s children, This came days after India hosted a BRICS summit that reaffirmed support for Palestinian statehood and opposed the forced displacement of Palestinians.

The Indian People in Solidarity with Palestine (IPSP) has alleged that Mumbai Police on Friday riaded the home of a pro-Palestine and IPSP activist, Harshada Borade — a student and an artist — for flying kites in solidarity with Palestinian children, as part of the Global Gaza Kite Weekend 2026. The organisation said plainclothes police personnel entered the home of the volunteer, Harshada, and subsequently conducted a search without producing a warrant, written notice or other authorisation.

The search continued for more than 9 hours, and the police officials only left the premises after 2:30 AM on September 19, Saturday. In the ensuing period, they searched and photographed her books and literature, posters, and personal belongings.

“More than nine hours – and counting – for ‘searching’ a person’s place of residence without a warrant merely for flying kites in solidarity with Palestinian children!” the Palestine solidarity group said in a social media post on Saturday.

According to IPSP, earlier in the week, Mumbai Police had identified two other volunteers who had participated in IPSP’s Kite Campaign, harassed them and forced them into “complying” with their demands, without providing any notice stating the said need for compliance. They also used intimidation tactics to threaten them and their families.

As per the panchnama, the action was undertaken in response to a September 15 pro-Palestine Kite campaign that Harshada had participated in, which the police referred to as a “protest”. Among the list of items found inside the house, as per the panchnama, were books and quotations by Bhagat Singh and Savitribai Phule. The panchnama also states that the search was authorised by senior police officials only after the police personnel found Harshada’s behavior to be “suspicious” in nature.

The crackdown came days after activists across the world participated in the Global Gaza Kite Weekend, a campaign intended to express solidarity with children in Gaza. The global campaign followed Israeli warnings over kites and balloons being flown by children from Gaza. The Israeli military has said that it would treat kites and balloons flown from Gaza as a security threat on par with drones and act accordingly.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry has documented the enormous toll of the Israeli military assault on Palestinian children in Gaza. Its June 2026 report recorded at least 20,179 Palestinian children killed and 44,143 injured between 7 October 2023 and 7 October 2025. The Commission concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces had deliberately targeted Palestinian children and said such acts formed part of the genocide it had previously found to have been committed by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza.

The Mumbai police action on Palestine solidarity activists has acquired a sharper political significance because of the timing.

On September 12–13, India hosted the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi. The New Delhi Declaration, adopted by the BRICS countries, expressed concern over continuing violence in Gaza, called for an end to policies aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinians from Gaza, opposed demographic or geographical changes to the territory, and reaffirmed support for the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine within the internationally recognised 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The declaration also backed Palestine’s full membership of the United Nations.

The declaration specifically reaffirmed the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination and return and called for the implementation of a ceasefire and full and unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza.

The contrast is difficult to miss: while India’s diplomatic position at an international summit publicly reaffirmed Palestinian rights and opposed forced displacement, solidarity on ground with Palestinian children by activists is now alleged to have triggered police detention and a raid at the home of a woman activists in Mumbai.

In West Bengal, the BJP chief Minister has declared that raising Free Palestine slogan will not be allowed in the state and strict action will be taken against students and youth for raising such slogan.

IPSP has demanded action against the police personnel involved and an end to what it describes as the “witch-hunting” of people expressing solidarity with Palestine.

Feature Image courtest: FB page of IPSP.