SIO urges Telangana to put T-Hub event with Israeli firms on hold

Hyderabad: The Student Islamic Organisation (SIO) has urged the Telangana government to distance itself from companies linked to Israel, ahead of a delegation of 20 Israeli technology firms visiting T-HUB in Hyderabad on Monday, November 16.

At the time of filing this report, T-HUB had already deleted its post about the event.

Addressing the media at the Press Club in Basheerbagh on Saturday, November 14, the SIO quoted a report by Siasat.com, which found that several companies invited for collaboration with T-Hub are linked to Israel’s genocide in Palestine.

The report examined the participating companies’ military contracts, company records, and other available evidence. It reported that several companies have links to the Israeli military, while five supply hardware, software or services reportedly used by Israeli armed forces in Gaza or the occupied Palestinian territories.

These include technologies relating to attack drones, military artificial intelligence, tank sensors, robotics and surveillance. The investigation also identified the participation of the Israeli Ministry of Defence’s Directorate of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D) in the wider programme.

The organisation criticised the Congress government for the “Global Justice” theme of the ongoing Bharat Summit.

SIO has some questions

In a statement, the SIO said, “The stated objective is to bring together progressive political forces and stakeholders from the Global South and Global North to discuss common challenges and develop collective responses.”

Addressing the media, Telangana SIO president Mohammed Faraz Ahmed said, “Today, the Telangana government is hosting the Bharat Summit with a theme of Global Peace. We want to ask the government whether Palestine’s cause will also be discussed at the summit.”

While welcoming the meaningful international discussions on these subjects, the SIO questioned: How can a government host an international summit on global justice, non-violence and peaceful coexistence while its own institutions facilitate commercial engagements with companies reportedly connected to the military and surveillance infrastructure used against Palestinians and weaken democracy globally?

“How can Telangana speak about democratic values, human dignity and solidarity with the Global South without examining the human rights implications of its own international business engagements? Global justice cannot be selective. It must be reflected in government policies, institutional decisions and economic partnerships,” it said.

SIO’s demands

The SIO put forth four demands, including the suspension of the Telangana–Israel technology and business partnership and putting on hold the November 16 T-Hub business meet ‘until an independent and transparent human rights due diligence assessment of all participating companies is completed’.

Ensuring consistency between the principles of the Bharat Summit and the government’s institutional engagements with countries involved in war crimes and human rights violations. “We also expect the current Bharat Summit to adopt a resolution opposing engagements with Israel and entities that support or facilitate its violations of international law,” it said.

The SIO said that “the government must disclose all such arrangements and the safeguards against misuse, ensuring that no partnership compromises citizens’ privacy, democratic freedoms or constitutional rights”.

It has also sought a clear human rights due diligence framework for T-Hub and other government-supported institutions to ensure that public resources and institutional platforms are not used to facilitate business relationships that contribute to or enable violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.

Get the latest updates in Hyderabad City News, Technology, Entertainment, Sports, Politics and Top Stories on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. You can also download our app for Android and iOS.