Several pro-Hamas and pro-Palestine Islamic organisations have been staging protests across the country against the Tata group for past few days. The protests are being organised as part of a national campaign being led by the Indian People in Solidarity with Palestine (IPSP), calling for boycott of Tata-owned products due to the conglomerate’s ties with Israel.
केरल: कोझिकोड में स्टूडेंट्स इस्लामिक ऑर्गनाइजेशन ऑफ इंडिया (SIO) के कार्यकर्ताओं ने ज़ूडियो के बाहर किया विरोध प्रदर्शन, टाटा समूह पर लगाया गाज़ा नरसंहार में सीधे सहयोग करने का आरोप.@sioindia #Zudio #Palestine #India pic.twitter.com/pfx83x2Uji
— Journo Mirror (@JournoMirror) June 5, 2025
On 28th May, a demonstration was staged in Calicut, Kerala, by the Student Islamic Organisation (SIO), the student wing of Jamaat-i-Islami Hind, outside an outlet of Zudio, which is a Tata-owned fashion brand. The protestors, holding placards, raising pro-Palestine slogans and donning Kaffiyehs, called for the boycott of Tata products ahead of Eid.
Protest against ZUDIO by SIO at Calicut by carrying palestine flag. Where these people after pahalgam attack ?. Have you ever seen any protest or campaign against fuckisthan😶…Silent.. Dead.. pic.twitter.com/NMFXmsfUtZ
— The Kerala Girl🪷🕉️( Bharath ki Beti ) (@da_kerala_girl) June 4, 2025
Similar protests were collectively organised by the IPSP and the SIO outside the stores of Tata-owned brands in Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Patna, Vishakhatpatnam, Chandigarh, Rohtak, and Vijayawada.
IPSP woke jokers protesting against Zudio because Zudio is a Tata franchise.
— VINI💞 (@Vini__007) May 30, 2025
Because TATA is doing business with Israel.
These jokers are burdens and contributing nothing in Indian economy so they want to disturb it.
फिलिस्तीन के समर्थन में ये लिब्रांडु आज Tata और Zudio के… pic.twitter.com/Fo3FRvNTKC
The SIO also launched an online campaign urging Muslims not to shop brands like Zudio and Westside for Eid celebrations. The orgaisation also called for boycott of other international brands liks Zara, Adidas, H&M, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Victoria’s Secret, Tom Ford, Skechers, Prada, Dior and Chanel due to their links with Israel.
Why Hamas supporters are boycotting Tata
The Islamist organisations targeting the Tata Group are alleging that it is “enabling a genocide” in Gaza by having long-standing business relations with Israel. The SIO alleged that Tata provides armoured Land Rover vehicles to Israel which are used by the country in patrolling in the “occupied regions of Kashmir”.
SIO Calicut President, Muhammed Shafaque alleged that Tata manufactured missiles used by Israel in Gaza. “There are also reports that missiles used in Gaza were manufactured in Tata factories. Tata, being an Indian brand and still enabling a genocide, is especially disturbing to us,” Shafaque told Timeline
Shafaque claimed that the SIO stands against injustice regardless of international borders.” “SIO has stood with oppressed people everywhere – from Gaza to Black communities in the US. We do not view justice through nation-state borders,” he said. Notaby, the Islamist group did not organise any boycott campaigns against Pakistan after 26 innocent Hindu tourists were killed in Pahalgam by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists. And no such campaign was led by the SIO against Turkey which supported Pakistan’s military action against India.
The nationwide campaign launched by these Islamist organisations against Tata Group and other brands is inspired by the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, a global anti-Semitic campaign launched by the Islamic forces against Israel.
What is the global BDS movement
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, spearheaded by the Muslim Brotherhood, Jamaat and other Islamist organisations, advocates for punitive measures against Israel, including boycotting Israeli products, withdrawing investment, and imposing economic and political sanctions against the country.
The BDS movement was founded by a Qatar-born Palestinian activist named Omar Barghouti in 2005. Over 100 organisations and groups have been associated with the movement, including terrorist organisation Al-Haqq (affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood), and the ‘Popular Front for Liberation of Palestine’. In 2009, the Russell Tribunal on Palestine was established under the BDS movement in Brussels with the objective of constructing a global narrative against Israel. George Soros’s Open Society Foundation reportedly provided $200,000 funds to Al-Haqq in 2009 and another $2 million between 2016 and 2020.
How the BDS movement entered India
The movement made its way into India in 2021 when the Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar, Al-Jazeera, Turkey, and Pakistan launched a campaign against India on the pretext of the Kashmir issue. Consequently, on the lines of the tribunal set up against Israel, the Russel Tribubal for Kashmir was established in Bosnia. The first session of the tribunal was held in December 2021 in Sarajevo and Herzegovina, Bosnia.
The session was organised by the anti-India Islamist organisation, Kashmir Civitas Tribunal in collaboration with the World Kashmir Awareness Forum, the Permanent People’s Tribunal of Bologna (Italy), and Nahla (Centre for Education and Research) Jabir Balkans. After launching the BDS campaign in India, the Kashmir Civitas released a 32-page toolkit in March 2022 laying out a strategy that included boycotting Indian sports, cultural, and academic institutions, pressuring companies to withdraw investments from India, pushing for sanctions on India, banning trade with Indian companies, ending military agreements internationally, and revoking India’s membership in international organisations.
In August 2019, after the abrogation of Article 370 by the Modi government, the AMP issued a statement condemning the abrogation. Later on, AMP founder Hatem Bazian was appointed as a judge on the Russell Tribunal for Kashmir. AMP received support from Pakistan-backed organisations like ‘Stand with Kashmir’ and ‘Sound Vision’, which is affiliated to Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan.
The ongoing boycott calls by Islamist organisations against Tata Group and other brands are a replication of the strategy adopted by these organisations against Israel. And although, such campaigns fail to find support of common people, the government needs to keep a check on the agenda behind them.
