Mob Lynching In India: Anurag Kashyap, Aparna Sen, Mani Ratnam And Other Write An Open Letter To PM Narendra Modi
Bollywood filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap, Aparna Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mani Ratnam and Konkona Sen Sharma, have written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing their concerns over the growing cases of mob lynching in India
Forty-nine prominent celebrities have including Bollywood
celebs like Anurag Kashyap, Aparna Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Mani Ratnam and
Konkona Sen Sharma, have written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi
expressing their concerns over the growing cases of lynching in India. As many
as 49 celebrities from different backgrounds have joined forces to address the
issue and come out with the letter, dated July 23 and addressed to Prime
Minister Modi. Among the signatories are Shyam Benegal, Riddhi Sen, Ramchandra
Guha, Binayak Sen, Soumitra Chatterjee, Revathy, Shubha Mudgal, Anupam Roy
amongst others.
"Dear Prime Minister, 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," the letter starts.
"Our constitution describes India as a secular socialist democratic
republic where citizens of all religion, ethnicities, gender and castes are
equal," they said.
The letter further read: "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."
It's Intolerance 2.0 or 3.0? pic.twitter.com/fzkgIWkJWW
— Anindya (@AninBanerjee) July 24, 2019
They also pointed out: "254 religious identity-based hate crimes were reported between January 1, 2009 and October 29, 2018." The celebrities expressed regret that not much has been done to tackle the issue. "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 suck offences should be declared non-bailable, and that exemplary punishment should be meted out swiftly."
"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. It is shocking that so much violence should
be penetrated in the name of religion." On raising their voice against an
issues in the country, the celebrities noted that they should not be
"branded anti-nationals". "There is no democracy without
dissent. People should not be branded 'anti-national' or 'urban Naxal' and
incarcerated because of dissent against the government.
"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," it added.
They concluded the letter by saying: "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."