Over 180 Cultural, Literary Persons Endorse Letter to PM by 49 Celebrities, Condemn FIR
185 members of
Cultural Community, including actor Naseeruddin Shah, dancer Mallika
Sarabhai, authors Ashok Vajpeyi, Nayantara Sahgal and Shashi Deshpande,
historian Romila Thapar, singer T.M. Krishna, and artist Vivan Sundaram, have
endorsed an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by 49 eminent citizens
against mob lynching, and have condemned the FIR against them in Muzaffarpur in
Bihar, alleging "sedition" among other charges.
Read the full
statement: An FIR has been lodged
against forty-nine of our colleagues in the cultural community, simply because
they performed their duty as respected members of civil society. They wrote an
open letter to the Prime Minister, expressing concern about mob lynching in our
country. Can this be called an
act of sedition? Or is harassment by misusing the courts a ploy to silence
citizens’ voices?
All of us, as members
of the Indian cultural community, as citizens of conscience, condemn such
harassment. We do more: we endorse every word of the letter our colleagues
wrote to the Prime Minister. This is why we share their letter here once again,
and appeal to the cultural, academic and legal communities to do the same. This
is why more of us will speak every day. Against mob lynching. Against the
silencing of people’s voices. Against the misuse of courts to harass citizens....
Text of open letter
written to Prime Minister Modi on 23 July 2019 by 49 eminent citizens:
We, as peace loving
and proud Indians, are deeply concerned about a number of tragic events that
have been happening in recent times in our beloved country.
Our Constitution
describes India as a secular socialist democratic republic where citizens of
all religions, ethnicities, gender and castes are equal. Hence, to ensure that
every citizen enjoys the rights given to her/him by the Constitution, our
submission is:
1. The lynching of
Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately. We were
shocked to learn from the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) reports that
there have been no less than 840 instances of atrocities against Dalits in the
year 2016, and a definite decline in the percentage of convictions. Further, 254 religious
identity-based hate crimes were reported between January 1, 2009, and October
29, 2018, where at least 91 persons were killed and 579 were injured
(FactChecker.in database, October 30, 2018). The Citizen's Religious Hate-Crime
Watch recorded that Muslims, (14% of India's population) were the victims in
62% for cases, and Christians (2% of the population), in 14% cases. About 90%
of these attacks were reported after May 2014, when your Government assumed
power nationally.
You have criticized
such lynchings in Parliament Mr. Prime Minister, but that is not enough! What
action has actually been taken against the perpetrators? We strongly feel that
such offences should be declared non-bailable, and that exemplary punishment
should be meted out swiftly and surely. If life imprisonment without parole can
be the sentence in cases of murder, why not for lynchings, which are even more
heinous? No citizen should have to live in fear in his/her own country!
Regrettably "Jai
Sri Ram" has become a provocative 'war-cry' today that leads to law and
order problems, and many lynchings take place in its name. It is shocking to
see so much violence perpetrated in the name of religion! These are not the
Middle Ages! The name of Ram is sacred to many in the majority community of
India. As the highest Executive of this country, you must put a stop to the
name of Ram being defiled in this manner.
2. There is no
democracy without dissent. People should not be branded ‘anti-national’ or
'urban Naxal' and incarcerated because of dissent against the Government.
Article 19 of the Constitution of India protects freedom of speech and expression
of which dissent is an integral part.
Criticising the ruling
party does not imply criticising the nation. No ruling party is synonymous with
the country where it is in power. It is only one of the political parties of
that country. Hence anti-government stands cannot be equated with anti-national
sentiments. An open environment where dissent is not crushed, only makes for a
stronger nation.
We hope our
suggestions will be taken in the spirit that they are meant – as Indians
genuinely concerned with, and anxious about, the fate of our nation.
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