Indian-origin techie Vaniya Agarwal was seen disrupting Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's talk at the company's 50th year celebration. Videos of Agarwal's protest against the leadership have surfaced online where she is seen saying, “I’m a Microsoft worker and I do not consent... 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft technology. How dare you? Shame on all of you for celebrating on their blood."

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Also read: 'Cut ties with Israel': Indian-origin Microsoft employee quits after confrontation with bosses over Palestine

Agarwal had joined Microsoft a year and a half ago and believed in their mission to “empower every person and every organisation on the planet to do more.” But she began to feel stifled as leaked documents revealed how Microsoft AI powers the most “sensitive and highly classified projects” for the Israeli military. In a mail written to all her employees and the leadership, she expressed her views on the ongoing war in Gaza. She wrote,"Microsoft cloud and AI enable the Israeli military to be more lethal and destructive in Gaza. It is undeniable that Microsoft’s Azure cloud offerings and AI developments form the technological backbone of Israel’s automated apartheid and genocide systems. Microsoft is so deeply connected to the Israeli military that it was just yesterday designated one of the priority boycott targets of the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) campaign."

Talking of how it is impossible to associate with the company and it's mission, she wrote, "As time goes on, I find it more and more difficult to continue giving my time, energy, and care to a company that is on the wrong side of history. If you also feel tricked into deploying weapons which target children and civilians, urge leadership (CC’ed) to drop these contracts."

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What is 'No Azure For Apartheid'?

She further urged her fellow employees to join 'No Azure For Apartheid', a movement to end all Azure contracts and partnerships with the Israeli military and government. The following is their demand: 
IOF Off Azure
Disclose all ties
Call for a ceasefire
Protect employees and uphold free speech

The website states, "As Microsoft employees of conscience, we refuse to be complicit in these grave violations of international law and Microsoft’s own commitments through our labor. Every person must truly mean every person, including Palestinian people. We refuse to remain complicit as Microsoft continues to stay silent and profit off of the violence and oppression that Palestinians face daily."

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Further adds, "This is not the first time Microsoft employees are raising their voices and demanding to be heard.  We, Microsoft employees of conscience, follow in the steps of these previous initiatives, and call on Microsoft to engage in actions that will heed our four demands above. It is unconscionable for us to remain silent any longer."