Author and political commentator Arundhati Roy issued a sharp critique of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, warning that the situation could escalate into a global crisis.
Speaking at a public gathering, the Booker Prize winner said the world was facing the possibility of a much wider war and criticised the US and Israel for their military actions against Iran.
“I know we’re here today to talk about Mother Mary Comes to Me, but how can we end the day without talking about those beautiful cities Tehran, Isfahan and Beirut, that are up in flames,” The Wire reported Roy as saying.
She described the strikes as “an unprovoked and illegal attack by the United States and Israel on Iran,” linking them to the ongoing war in Gaza.
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‘Iran is not Gaza’
Roy warned that the latest conflict could spiral far beyond the region. “But Iran is not Gaza” she said. “The theatre of this new war could expand to consume the whole world. We’re on the brink of nuclear calamity and economic collapse.”
She also referenced the US’ use of nuclear weapons during World War II, saying the country “that bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki could be ready in itself to bomb one of the most ancient civilisations in the world.”
Roy said she stood firmly with Iran, arguing that political change should come from within societies rather than external military intervention.
“I stand with Iran unequivocally,” she said, adding that “any regimes that need changing…need to be changed by the people, not by some bloated, lying, cheating, greedy, resource-grabbing, bomb-dropping imperial power.”
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Criticism of India’s response
Roy also criticised India’s response to the conflict and accused the government of failing to take an independent stance. “Iran is standing up to them while India cowers,” she said. “I am ashamed of how gutless and how spineless our government has been.”
Critique of global power dynamics
Roy also criticised the broader geopolitical order and India’s relationship with the US, arguing that the country had lost its earlier sense of political independence.
“Long ago we were a poor country of very poor people, but we had pride, we had dignity,” she said. “Today we are a rich country with very poor, unemployed people…We have lost pride, we have lost dignity, we have lost courage.”
She concluded by condemning what she described as India’s growing alignment with Western powers, saying the country had been placed in a “humiliating” position on the global stage. |
