CPI(M) leader M.A. Baby proposes 'digital satyagraha' in solidarity with Gaza
Urges people to switch off phones, laptops daily for 30 minutes as symbolic protest
New Delhi: Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary M.A. Baby has called for a week-long ‘digital satyagraha’ as a symbolic protest against the ongoing war in Gaza. Beginning Saturday, Baby has urged citizens to switch off all digital devices, including mobile phones and computers, every night from 9 pm to 9:30 pm.
Describing the act as a modern adaptation of traditional Gandhian protest, the senior CPI(M) leader appealed for “30 minutes of digital silence” to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, who continue to suffer amid war and starvation. The digital satyagraha, he said, aims to register dissent against what he termed “a genocide being carried out by Israel in occupied Gaza.”
M.A. Baby’s announcement comes in the wake of a report by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, which listed 48 major technology companies including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM, as entities allegedly profiting from the Gaza conflict. The report is said to have identified over 1,000 corporate actors linked to the war economy.
“In this context, this digital fast is all the more relevant,” Baby posted on social media platform X. He added that refraining from messages, social media, and comments, even briefly, could be a powerful tool of resistance.
A veteran Marxist leader and former Education and Culture Minister of Kerala, Baby has served in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Seen as a close aide and successor to CPI(M) senior leader Sitaram Yechury, Baby’s latest initiative combines ideological consistency with contemporary tools of protest.
The digital satyagraha also aligns with the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which targets corporations allegedly complicit in the Israeli occupation. The CPI(M) leader’s call joins a rising wave of international appeals for a ceasefire in Gaza and greater corporate accountability.
This protest comes at a time when humanitarian aid to Gaza remains blocked, with international agencies repeatedly warning of a deepening crisis in the besieged territory.
Earlier this week, the Maldives government also made headlines by announcing a ban on Israeli passport holders entering the country, calling it an act of “resolute solidarity” with Palestinians.
A digital satyagraha for #Gaza
— M A Baby (@MABABYCPIM) July 5, 2025
A strong statement must be made that we ordinary citizens, too, can do something against the genocide being carried out by Israel in occupied Gaza.
From 9 pm tonight, for one week, every day from 9 to 9:30, we request all those who believe in…
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Chlorine gas leaks at defunct water purification plant in Pune; 24 persons hospitalised
Pune, Apr 30 (PTI): At least 22 residents and two firemen were hospitalised after a chlorine gas leakage at Kondhwa in Pune after midnight on Thursday, fire officials said.
The leak originated from an abandoned tank containing chlorine at a defunct water purification plant godown in the Gangadham area around 1 am, they said.
"Following the leak and the subsequent spread of gas, residents in the vicinity complained of breathlessness. Upon receiving the call, fire teams were dispatched. Several citizens were evacuated, and the leaking tank was patched using safety equipment," a fire official said.
During the operation, 22 residents and two fire personnel complained of breathlessness and were rushed to the hospital, he said.
A man who previously operated the water purification plant at the site said he had dismantled the unit, but the tank containing chlorine appeared to have remained unattended and developed a leak.
"All the affected residents and the two fire personnel are out of danger and currently under observation at Sassoon General Hospital," the official said.
