The Punjab state government and several Indian farmers’ unions have publicly expressed solidarity with Iran amid continued US and Israeli attacks and the Indian government’s silence. Last week, the Punjab assembly observed a one-minute silence in support of the Iranian people. During a budget session recording, legislator Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi condemned the attacks that began on February 28, calling a school bombing that killed about 165 children inhumane. Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan urged members to honor the victims with silence.

Sukhi told The Wire that he raised the issue at the state level to alert other Indian states. Despite a meeting between India’s foreign secretary and Iran’s ambassador in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has not issued any formal statement on the war or the killing of Iran’s leader. Meanwhile, thousands of farmers across Punjab protested a recent US-India trade deal, expressing solidarity with Iran. Farmer leader Jagmohan Singh said both the war and the trade pact were anti-farmer.

Student and civil society groups in Punjab, as well as demonstrators in Indian-administered Kashmir, continue protests against US-Israeli aggression and in support of Iran and Palestine.