Open letter by eminent personalities to Karnataka CM decrying violence against minorities

In the open letter, they wrote, “Over the past few months, the State has witnessed the brutal killing of youths in several districts, rampant hate speeches, public threats and disruptions of worship by religious minorities, honour killings, moral policing, misogynistic statements by legislators, and incidents of hostile and violent encounters between various religious groups. These trends have been encouraged by the callous and un-constitutional statements made by legislators and the inability of the State machinery to rein in fringe anti-social groups.”

“Such trends go against the long history of Karnataka as a progressive state that facilitated social harmony of a plural society,” the letter read.

The letter, also addressed to legislators in the state, requested them to seriously review ‘negative trends’ and to ensure that the rule of law, the principles of the Constitution, the rights of all citizens, and the basic norms of humaneness prevail.