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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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
