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Journalism of Courage
Union Union Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday dismissed concerns expressed by 49 eminent people from different fields over incidents of lynching and asserted that Dalits and minorities are safe in the country.
“We saw the same thing after 2014 (Lok Sabha polls) in the name of ‘award wapsi’. This is just part two of that,” the minister said, referring to the then protest by writers against the government’s alleged silence on violence and rising intolerance.
Naqvi said those “yet to recover from” the defeat in Lok Sabha elections are trying to communalise “criminal incidents”, PTI reported from Delhi.
The open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, signed, among others, by filmmakers Shyam Benegal, Anurag Kashyap, Mani Ratnam, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Aparna Sen, Ketan Mehta, singer Shubha Mudgal, actors Soumitra Chatterjee and Konkona Sen Sharma, historians Sumit Sarkar, Tanika Sarkar, Partha Chatterjee and Ramchandra Guha, and writer Amit Chaudhury, states that “lynching of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately”, and that the slogan “Jai Shri Ram” has become a “provocative war cry”.
The letter, dated July 23, maintained that there is “no democracy without dissent”, and that people should not be branded as “anti-nationals” or “urban Naxals” for voicing dissent.
Talking to PTI over phone, Minister Naqvi said, “No one should communalise criminal incidents. Dalits and minorities are safe in this country. Those who are yet to recover from the defeat of 2019 Lok Sabha polls are trying to do it.”
The letter stated: “Lynching of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately. We were shocked to learn from NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) reports that there have been no less than 840 instances of atrocities against Dalits in 2016, and a definite decline in the percentage of convictions.
“Further, 254 religious identity-based hate crimes were reported between January 1, 2009, and October 29, 2018, where at least 91 persons were killed and 579 were injured (FactChecker.indatabase (October 30, 2018)…. About 90 per cent of these attacks were reported after May 2014, when your government assumed power nationally.”
Asking what action has “actually” been taken against perpetrators, the writers stated, “We strongly feel that such offences should be declared non-bailable, and that exemplary punishment should be meted out swiftly and surely. If life imprisonment without parole can be the sentence in cases of murder, why not for lynching, which are even more heinous? No citizen should have to live in fear in his/her own country.”
Maintaining that Jai Shri Ram, “regrettably”, has become a “provocative war-cry that leads to law and order problems, and many lynchings take place in its name”, the letter stated, “It is shocking that so much violence should be perpetrated in the name of religion! 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.”
Aparna Sen told the media: “We have made two appeals before the Prime Minister. We expressed our concern over incidents of lynching on Dalits and minorities. Action must be taken against those perpetrating of this crime. Non-bailable sections must be slapped on them. Second, we have said that people must have the right to protest or express their dissent. They should not be branded anti-nationals or urban Naxals. We just want PM Modi to intervene.”
Goutam Ghose said, “We have to maintain the spirit of diversity. We don’t want to see any rift between communities. We have to abide by the Constitution. We hope there would be a positive outcome of the letter.”
Actor Kaushik Sen said, “There is a voice besides (political parties such as) TMC, BJP, CPI(M) and Congress. We are happy that many celebrities have come forward in this regard. In democracy, the voice of dissent must be respected.”
Among others who signed the letter are physician Binayak Sen, social worker Aditi Basu, filmmakers Anjan Dutt, Asha Achy Joseph, Goutam Ghose, singer Anupam Roy, activists Anuradha Kapoor, Bolan Gangopadhyay, sociologist Ashis Nandy, environmentalist Bonani Kakkar, designer Chitra Sirkar, Weavers Studio founder Darshan Shah, cardiologist Debal Sen, Calcutta Walks founder CEO Iftekhar Ahsan, artist Jayasri Burman, environmentalist Joya Mitra, actor Kani Kusruti, film and theatre personality Kaushik Sen, sculptor Narayan Sinha, publisher Naveen Kishore, actor Parambrata Chattopadhyay, market expert Mudar Patherya.
Researcher Piya Chakraborty, PUBLIC founder Pradeep Kakkar, mental health activist Ratnaboli Ray, filmmaker Revathy Asha, actor Riddhi Sen, musician Rupam Islam, Kolkata Sukriti Foundation director Rupsha Dasgupta, theatre personality Sakti Roy Chowdhury, scholar Samik Banerjee, surgeon Shivaji Basu, filmmaker Suman Ghosh, and cardiac surgeon Tapas Roychaudhury have also signed the letter.
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