Priyanka’s Palestine Pivot: Tote, Keffiyeh & Defiance

Final Up to date:June 16, 2025, 11:18 IST

For the Wayanad MP, Palestine represents a broader resistance in opposition to misogyny, meekness, and conformity

When Wayanad MP Priyanka Vadra carried a fabric bag bearing the phrase ‘Palestine’, it was a deliberate political assertion—one which her celebration has now adopted as an emblem. The controversy surrounding the tote had barely subsided when one other picture emerged: Vadra carrying a keffiyeh, the standard Arab headdress, throughout a gathering with the Palestinian embassy’s chargé d’affaires.

Unfazed by accusations from the BJP of appeasement politics, Vadra and her celebration maintained their stance, framing their place as one aligned with fact and justice. It’s due to this fact unsurprising that one of many strongest condemnations of the federal government’s stance on the Palestine challenge has come from Vadra.

India’s abstention from a decision on Gaza drew sharp criticism from Vadra, who labelled it a shameful act by the Narendra Modi authorities. “India has at all times stood with peace, justice and human dignity,” she asserted, including that the nation’s silence was unacceptable.

Whereas her phrases for the Modi authorities have been undeniably sturdy, sources recommend that criticism of the prime minister alone isn’t the driving power. Vadra has cultivated a political picture centred on championing the reason for the weak and victimised. Observers of her debut into politics—each energetic and passive—be aware her constant advocacy for the marginalised, whether or not ladies, the poor, or youngsters. This sample is obvious in her response to the distressing photos rising from Gaza and her condemnation of assaults on minorities in Bangladesh.

Intertwined with that is her defiant response to those that questioned her selection of bag, asserting her proper to put on what she chooses. The bag, by the way, additionally featured a watermelon, an emblem of protest in Palestine. For Vadra, Palestine represents a broader resistance in opposition to misogyny, meekness, and conformity.

Pallavi Ghosh

Pallavi Ghosh has coated politics and Parliament for 15 years, and has reported extensively on Congress, UPA-I and UPA-II, and has now included the Finance Ministry and Niti Aayog in her reportage. She has als…Learn Extra

Pallavi Ghosh has coated politics and Parliament for 15 years, and has reported extensively on Congress, UPA-I and UPA-II, and has now included the Finance Ministry and Niti Aayog in her reportage. She has als… Learn Extra

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