‘War in West Asia and India’ - Report of Lecture organised by PUCL Pune
Apr 28, 2026Relevant State Maharashtra
(Prepared by Sayali Paranjape, Manjiri Sule & Milind Champanerkar)
‘Winning this Asymmetric Warfare is impossible for the U.S.’ – Kumar Ketkar
“America and Israel imposed an asymmetric war on Iran, but because of the unparalleled resistance by Iran, America has been unable to win. Whether ultimately Iran would win or not is a different issue, but what is more important is that Iran would not let Israel and the U.S. win.” said senior journalist and former Rajya Sabha Member Kumar Ketkar.
He was speaking at a lecture programme titled ‘War in West Asia and India’ organised by PUCL Pune, at Gandhi Bhavan Hall, Pune on 28th April, 2026. The other speakers included Feroze Mithiborwala, a political analyst regarding West Asia affairs, Mohammad Satranjiwala and Mateen Mujawar, two Pune-based social activists working in educational and health fields.
Milind Champanerker, the General Secretary of the PUCL Pune chapter, in his introductory speech outlined the objective behind organizing the lecture programme on the subject. He said, “On 28th February Israel and the U.S. brazenly attacked Iran. Now exactly two months after that attack i.e. on 28th April (while the war is not considered to be conclusively over) PUCL felt it necessary to hold the lecture programme to discuss the blatant violation of human rights.”
He further said that on one hand, a large segment of the population held deep resentment against America and Israel, on the other hand, the ruling dispensations chose to remain ‘silent’, which was the same scenario as in India. He further said that in such a situation it was felt necessary that civil society should discuss the blatant human rights violations and about the possible ways to restore peace in West Asia and hence this lecture programme.
An asymmetric war
Kumar Ketkar said, “Even though US President Donald Trump made the arrogant boast of wiping out Iran and the Persian civilization, a multicultural, multilingual civilization spanning thousands of years cannot be destroyed by bombs.”
While explaining the concept of ‘asymmetric war’, he said, “If the Cold War between America and Russia had turned into a direct conflict, both the countries possessing equal power in terms of weapons and resources, it would have been considered a ‘symmetric’ war. When America attacked Vietnam, Vietnam had virtually nothing, yet they mounted a fierce resistance based on guerrilla warfare. That was an asymmetric war.” He further said, “Similarly, the war imposed on Iran by America and Israel is clearly asymmetric. Nevertheless, Iran countered the hegemonic America and Israel through drones, modern warfare tactics, and indomitable resolve.”
Ketkar said, “The understanding of Iran among Indian mass media and the middle class is extremely inadequate. They have no idea that Iran has one of the highest rates of higher education, especially in science education. Unfortunately, the Hindutva-leaning middle-class views this merely through the lens of Hindu-Muslim issue.”
Iran’s preparation for decades to face ‘anticipated’ war
While drawing attention to the preparation for the war by Iran, Ketkar said, “Ever since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, Iran had anticipated that America would attack them sooner or later. Iran is a country of high mountain ranges. Their weapons factories and laboratories are not located on flat plains, but hidden within these mountains. Moreover, America and Israel completely failed to gauge the capabilities of the missiles and drones developed by Iran. Iran has demonstrated that a superpower can be strongly fought through sheer determination.”
Historical reasons and nature of the war
Another chief speaker Feroze Mithiborwala, the analyst of geopolitical developments in West Asia said, “The war is not something limited only to Israel’s president Netanyahu. America and Israel had devised a simple plan that if a bomb was dropped on Ayatollah Khamenei, the whole of Iran would take to the streets and control over them could be established, but this calculation went completely wrong.”
Mithiborwala pointed out that this is a battle between the Petro-dollar and the Petro-yuan (Chinese currency). He also made a point that this is a battle between a unipolar world led by America and NATO, and a multipolar world led by BRICS.
Imperialism and religious aspects
Mithiborwala asserted, “One cannot ignore the religious aspects. This is not only for oil. Israel is more religious than Iran. Jewish Zionist terrorism is equally serious. It is necessary to understand their extremism and Christian extremism. Netanyahu’s belief in the ‘Second Coming of Jesus Christ’ and the arrival of the ‘Jewish Messiah’ are important facets of this war.”
He further said, “To understand the developments in West Asia, one must understand Israel’s agenda. We cannot just think in terms of American imperialism and capitalism. Religion and capitalism are interconnected. It is Zionist Capitalism that is driving America. Israel has the agenda of ‘Greater Israel’ i.e. seizing parts of Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, as well as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. In Gaza, the war is being fought using AI, with the help of Palantir technology.”
He further said, “Iran had warned that if a war broke out, it would blow up all the American bases in the countries surrounding Iran and they have actually translated that into action.”
Regarding the ceasefire, Mithiborwala said, “Iran is not interested in a temporary ceasefire; Iran wants a non-aggression pact passed by the United Nations Security Council ensuring that Iran will not be attacked in the long run. They also want the removal of sanctions imposed by America and a guarantee that there will be no war in the entire region.”
‘Gaza’ factor and Iran’s Humanitarian view
Drawing attention to the aggression on Gaza, Mithiborwala said, “Since becoming a republic, Iran has never taken a position limited only to itself. It has stood by non-Shia Palestine and many non-Muslim countries as well. Contrarily, Iran does not have much of a relationship with several Muslim nations.”
Mateen Mujawar and Mohammed Satranjiwala, social workers working in fields like education and health for the Muslim community, were also invited as speakers to this program. Both of them expressed insightful thoughts regarding the reactions generated within the Muslim community due to this war.
Need for United voice of Majority-Minority communities
Mateen Mujawar, who works in the field of education, clarified, “Since violence caused by war is not acceptable to any religion, there is obviously a negative sentiment regarding this war within the Muslim community. There is widespread resentment towards American President Donald Trump as well as towards Israel.” Mateen said that there is certainly a sense of resentment due to the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Israel just before the war broke out. He further said that assassination of Iran’s supreme Leader Khameini has shaken all the Muslim communities in the world, at the same time, his ‘shahadat’ and fierce resistance offered by Irani people has unified the Muslims divided in several sects.
Mateen also earnestly expressed the need for the majority and minority in India to raise their voice together against the injustice, and to bring public pressure on the government to take the right stance.
Consequences, Impact & Humanity Factor
The next speaker was Mohammed Satranjiwala, a liberal activist working in the fields of education and health, who has visited Iran for business purposes.
He said, “Even though this war is being fought in West Asia, its consequences are being felt across the entire world, including India. Oil is not the only commodity that comes from Iran. As many as 2,020 products are manufactured from crude oil. The shortage of these products could cripple the economy.”
“This war brought about many changes. Common people lost faith in the media. The illusion of America being a superpower was shattered. America has not even been able to protect the nations that pay it ‘protection money’.”
Satranjiwala said, “In this war, America and Israel have shown no regard for human rights. Iran has nothing left to lose. Therefore, Iran is putting up a fierce resistance. Due to the feeling of ‘natural unity’ created by the war, the Muslim community across the world is coming together.” Satranjiwala appealed that this unity should be forged not just among Muslims, but within the entire human race.
Relevance of Mahatma Gandhi
Maharashtra State PUCL’s Vice President Anwar Rajan recalled some of Mahatma Gandhi’s thoughts in the context of the developments in West Asia. He recollected, “When Israel was about to be established, Mahatma Gandhi had also taken the stand that creating a nation on the land of Palestine in such a manner was wrong.”
Presidential address
In his presidential address G. D. Parekh stated that considering the scale of human rights violations in Iran, PUCL felt it necessary to make civil society aware of the nature of this war. He drew attention towards some quotations of historian Ramchandra Guha, relevant to the war in West Asia.
Jahanara, a member of the PUCL Pune Branch, initially welcomed the dignitaries and the audience. Anagha Lele, Treasurer of PUCL Pune Branch, compered the program. Sayali Paranjape, a member of PUCL Pune Branch, proposed the vote of thanks. Among many who attended the programme included PUCLs Maharashtra State Secretary Shiraz Balsara-Prabhu and the senior members of PUCL, Pune – Mukta Manohar, Anant Phadke, Sandhya Phadke, Aruna Burte, Prakash Burte, and George Chira. Other eminent personalities among the audience included Laxmikant Deshmukh, Prashant Kothadiya, Dr. Achyut Godbole, and Dr. Pradeep Awate.