More than 270 concerned citizens and organisations, condemning the recent incidents of hate speech and call for genocide against Muslims in Haridwar between December 17 and 19, 2021, have sought "strict action" against the perpetrators. In an open letter, they said, "The parallels with what happened in Nazi Germany are chilling: to remain silent or inactive in the face of such abominable speeches is to be complicit in crimes against humanity."
The signatories include Admiral L Ramdas (former Chief of Naval Staff), Aruna Roy IAS (resigned), linguist Dr Ganesh Devy (President, Rashtra Seva Dal), Githa Hariharan (writer), Deb Mukharji, IFS (retd), Justice (retd) AP Shah (former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court), Julio Ribeiro IPS (retd) (former adviser to Governor of Punjab), TM Krishna (musician), SG Vasudev (artist), Bela Bhatia (human rights lawyer), Maya Krishna Rao (theatre artist), and Nandita Das (film-maker and actor).
The organisations which signed the letter include Indian Cultural Forum, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan and Constitutional Conduct Group (consisting of former civil servants).
Warning that "we will not remain silent when we hear hate speech", the open letter said, the call to kill a community "were made by Hindutva-oriented organizations and individuals, signifying their "outrageous behaviour" in "complete violation of law and the Indian Constitution."
"Instead of taking immediate and exemplary action against the perpetrators, public authorities have reacted in a tepid manner and are seeking to whitewash these events", letter regretted, recalling, 76 Supreme Court lawyers have written to the Chief Justice of India, asking him to take suo moto cognizance of the matter and requesting him to “issue directions for taking action against the guilty persons under Sections 120 B, 121 A, 124 A,153 A, 153 B, 295 A and 298 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.”
"In similar vein, we request the public authorities in Delhi and Uttarakhand to take action as per law. Otherwise, the idea of India as a constitutional democracy with fundamental rights and secularism as part of the basic structure of the Constitution will no longer have any meaning and India as we know it may cease to exist", it added.
"In similar vein, we request the public authorities in Delhi and Uttarakhand to take action as per law. Otherwise, the idea of India as a constitutional democracy with fundamental rights and secularism as part of the basic structure of the Constitution will no longer have any meaning and India as we know it may cease to exist", it added.
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