West Asia today is engulfed in what appears to be spirals of conflict. The most flagrant example of this embattled scenario was the war in Gaza that saw a ceasefire earlier this month, which has already been violated multiple times. Other flashpoints in the region are the continued Israeli assaults in the West Bank, the simmering Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, and the Israeli incursions into western Syria.
The recent political change in Syria has significantly reduced internal conflicts in the country but outbreaks of violence remain areas of concern, most recently those targeting the minority Yezidi and Alawite population.
Amid all this, there has also been some positive news from the region relating to the struggle of the Kurdish people, which may have been missed. Rapid developments have taken place since Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan issued a historic ‘Call for Peace and a Democratic Society’ on February 27 this year.
The undisputed leader of over 50 million Kurds spread across four countries (Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran), Ocalan has been in a Turkish prison for 26 years on the island of Imrali. He is a prolific writer whose books and monographs on democracy, human rights, women’s freedom and the environment have inspired people and movements across the world. Ocalan’s prodigious work, however, is little known in India.
A crucial part of Ocalan’s ‘Call for Peace and a Democratic Society’ was for the PKK (the Kurdistan Workers’ Party) to dissolve and disarm. This step, including the move towards a non-violent struggle, has opened up the space for dialogue with the Turkish state.
Ironically, this move by Ocalan was, in part, a response to the statement by Devlet Bahceli, the head of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), calling on him to disarm the PKK and inviting him to speak at the Turkish Parliament. This, of course, is not possible unless Ocalan is freed from prison, a consistent demand of the Kurdish population.
As part of an international delegation visiting Istanbul in August 2025, I was witness to the tremendous solidarity the Kurdish struggle receives from a wide support base across the world. The delegation consisted of politicians, civil society leaders, trade union leaders, academics, and human rights experts from twelve countries.
We were in Istanbul for three days and were able to meet representatives from political parties, Turkish civil society leaders and the lawyers who are representing Ocalan. In what was perhaps the best moment, the international conference received a personal message from Ocalan. After our deliberations on strategising for improved global solidarity with the Kurds, we issued a concluding statement.
For us in India, the spirit and conscience of Ocalan and the Kurdish movement for cultural recognition and democracy resonate. There are many parallels between the precepts that Ocalan expounds on in his statements and writings and those of Mahatma Gandhi. As I dwell deeper into Ocalan’s writing, I find tremendous similarities between his thought processes and action points for the Kurdish struggle and those that Mahatma Gandhi used to bring us freedom from colonisation.
There is great similarity between, for example, Gandhiji’s use of Ahimsa and Ocalan’s call now for the Kurdish struggle to become non-violent; between Gandhiji’s idea of local democracy and Ocalan’s concept of democratic confederalism; between Gandhiji’s insistence on women leading the freedom struggle and Ocalan’s insistence on the leading role that women must play in the Kurdish struggle for freedom and democracy; between Gandhiji’s Swaraj and Ocalan’s call for ‘self-rule’ and ‘self-governance’ closely linked to individual and social freedom.
The practice of democratic governance, women’s participation and integration with other ethnic groups has already been demonstrated over the years among the Kurdish population in Syria and Turkey. In northern Iraq, the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region is an integral part of the country. In Syria, the Kurdish representatives of Rojava are part of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) which is in discussions with the new Syrian government to become part of the national political process.
In Syria and Iraq, the Kurdish people have created democratic local bodies that integrate with (and give representation to) other ethnic groups. The remarkable advance made by women as leaders and pioneers of the self-governing model in Rojava is well known as reflected at a recent meeting in Damascus.
After the call by Ocalan in February, several social and political developments have taken place that deserve to be better known in India and supported. The Turkish Grand National Assembly (Parliament), in order to move towards peace and conciliation with its Kurdish population, and as a response to Ocalan’s call, has established (in August 2025) a 51-member commission (drawn from all political parties represented in the Parliament except one).
This commission, named the National Solidarity, Fraternity and Democracy Commission, has already met 11 times in the first phase of its work, including hearings with civil society and legal and academic representatives. The commission is now preparing for the second phase of its work -- to propose legal reforms urgently needed to move towards democratic integration of the Kurdish population, including the release of thousands of political prisoners, the acceptance of Kurdish as an official language and the decentralization of the country through a strengthening of local municipalities.
We in India need to support the Kurdish struggle for democracy and national political integration in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. While the government in India is yet to announce its position on the developments concerning the Kurdish people in the Turkish Parliament, steps can be taken at the people to people level to express solidarity and enhance cooperation with them.
The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) works to strengthen the national unity of the Kurds and represent them with a united voice globally. The KNK does not demand a separate Kurdish nation state, but advocates for the democratization of the four countries the Kurds live in. The KNK has recognised lessons that can be drawn for their ongoing work from a deeper understanding of the numerous strategies developed during India’s freedom struggle and the continued work of Indian social movements, including examples of self-governance amongst our Adivasi communities.
At the same time, we in India can also draw important lessons from the many years of experience and practice of Kurdish groups in maintaining and sustaining democracy, self-governance and women’s rights. Sectors across India need to engage Kurdish individuals and those representing their political organisations. At a time when there is global backsliding on crucial efforts at sustaining democracy and people’s struggles, solidarity across countries is essential.
(The author is Visiting Professor, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, and former Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, UN Human Rights Council. Views are personal.)
