5 former armed forces chiefs write to President: Five former army chiefs, big bureaucrats and activists have written an open letter to the President and the Prime Minister against the hate speech in Haridwar ‘Dharma Sansad’. In this, they have referred to the alleged ‘call for genocide of Indian Muslims’ at various events and said that such calls of violence can lead to instability in the country. Referring to such programs in Haridwar, Delhi and other places in Uttarakhand, the letter cautioned that other minorities like Christians, Dalits and Sikhs are being targeted.
Such calls for violence can create internal disturbances and strengthen external enemy forces, it said in an open letter addressed to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Those who wrote the open letter included former Navy Chief Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, Admiral Arun Prakash and Admiral RK Dhawan, former Army Chief Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi and many former senior army officers, former IPS officers Julio Ribeiro, Rajmohan Gandhi, Najeeb Jung, Aruna Roy, many former senior officials, writers, activists, researchers etc.
Let us tell you that there has been a sharp reaction all over the world regarding Haridwar Dharma Sansad. Many eminent people including American tennis star Martina Navratilova, Byline Times journalist CJ Werleman, have condemned it. International newspapers New York Times, Al-Jazeera, Bloomberg, BBC as well as The Washington Post have also reported it.
Now in this fresh open letter, apart from the President and the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, heads of parties like BJP and Congress, the chiefs of the three armed forces and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval have also been addressed.
5 former armed forces chiefs write to President, PM
In this open letter, the ‘Dharma Sansad’ held in Haridwar has been mentioned in the name and cautioned against hate speeches.
According to the report of NDTV, the letter said, ‘We are seriously perturbed by the content of speeches made during a three day religious conclave called Dharma Sansad held in Haridwar from December 17-19. There were repeated calls for establishing a Hindu Rashtra and, if required, picking up weapons and killing of India’s Muslims in the name of protecting Hinduism.”
The letter also mentions an incident in Delhi when a large number of people gathered in Delhi and reportedly publicly pledged to make India a Hindu Rashtra and to ‘fight and kill if necessary’. “More such seditious meetings are being organised in other places” the statement said.
The letter said, “We cannot allow such incitement to violence along with public displays of hatred. These are not only serious issues for internal security but can also break the social fabric of our nation. A speaker called upon the army and police to take up arms and participate in the cleanliness drive. This is tantamount to asking the military to massacre our own civilians, and this is reprehensible and unacceptable.” In the letter, the government and the judiciary have been asked to take action at the higher level.
Let us tell you that just a few days ago, senior lawyers of the Supreme Court have come forward against the hate speech made against Muslims in Haridwar Dharma Sansad. 76 such lawyers had written to CJI NV Ramana and asked him to take cognizance of similar programs organized in Dharma Sansad and Delhi also.
This letter has been written by many eminent lawyers including Dushyant Dave, Prashant Bhushan, Vrinda Grover, Salman Khurshid, former judge of Patna High Court Anjana Prakash.