Mr PM, will you address lynchings, hate crimes, celebs ask in open letter
In the backdrop of horrifying incidents of lynching across the country, as many as 49 celebrities from different fields have written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, drawing his attention to the growing incidents of lynching and hate crimes and the usage of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as a war cry for violence.
Among personalities who have signed the letter are filmmakers Aparna Sen, Mani Ratnam, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shyam Benegal and Anurag Kashyap; actors Revathy and Riddhi Sen, singer Shubha Mudgal, historian Ramchandra Guha and social activist Binayak Sen.
The letter dated July 23, urges the Prime Minister to ensure that the lynchings of Muslims and Dalits are immediately stopped.
“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,” it stated.
Referring to Modi’s criticism of the Jharkhand lynching in Parliament, the petitioners demanded that accused of lynching incidents be given life imprisonment without parole.
“You have criticised 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,” it said
The letter said that the name of Ram, sacred to many in the country is being defiled by being used for hate crimes.
“Regrettably “Jai Shri Ram” has become a provocative ‘war cry’ today that leads to law and order problems and many lynchings take place in its name … 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,” it stated.
Asserting that dissent is integral to democracy, the letter said people shouldn’t be branded anti-national or ‘urban naxals’ and incarcerated for speaking against the government.
Soon after the letter went viral, the hashtags #UrbanNaxals, #AwardWapsiGang and #Intolerancegang started trending on Twitter with trolls going hammer and tongs against the petitioners. While many criticised them for not expressing the same amount of concern over the lynching of ‘Hindus’, others said they are being sponsored by “the enemy country” for criticising the government.
