Haridwar hate speeches: Ex-armed forces chiefs write to President, PM

Five former chiefs of staff of the armed forces and more than 100 other people including veterans, bureaucrats, and prominent citizens have written to President Ram Nath Kovind and PM Narendra Modi protesting against the “open call for genocide of Indian Muslims” at various events.

“Any breach of peace and harmony within the nation will embolden inimical external forces. The unity and cohesiveness of our men and women in uniform, including the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Police Forces, will be seriously affected by allowing such blatant calls for violence against one or the other community in our diverse and plural society,” it said, further mentioning targeting of other minorities like Christians, Dalits, and Sikhs.

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Recently, at the Haridwar “Dharma Sansad”, direct calls for violence against Muslims were made along with speeches of anti-Muslim sentiment by a collection of right-wing activists, hard-line fundamentalists and Hindutva organisations. The event was attended by BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay and BJP Mahila Morcha leader Udita Tyagi. A similar event was organised in Delhi by the Hindu Yuva Vahini.

Referring to the Haridwar event, the letter said: “We are seriously perturbed by the content of speeches made during a 3-day religious conclave called a Dharma Sansad, of Hindu sadhus and other leaders, held at Haridwar between 17-19 December 2021. There were repeated calls for establishing a Hindu Rashtra and, if required, picking up weapons and killing of India’s Muslims in the name of protecting Hinduism.”