'End politics of hate': 108 former bureaucrats write to Modi
An open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by 108 former bureaucrats has called for an end to the "politics of hate" practiced "assiduously" by governments of his Bharatiya Janata Party. The signatories include former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, former Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, former Home Secretary GK Pillai, former Delhi Lieutenant-General Najeeb Jung, and former PM Manmohan Singh's Principal Secretary TKA Nair.
Why does this story matter?
The open letter comes as India has been witnessing rising communal violence, the most recent being Delhi's Jahangirpuri on Hanuman Jayanti (April 16). On Ram Navami (April 10) as well, similar incidents were reported from Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, and West Bengal. Incidents of hate speech and the Karnataka hijab row have also fueled communal tensions of late.
'Witnessing a frenzy of hate-filled destruction'
The former bureaucrats said, "We are witnessing a frenzy of hate-filled destruction in the country where at the sacrificial altar are not just Muslims and members of the other minority communities but the Constitution itself." They said they are compelled to express their "anger and anguish" at the "relentless pace" at which the "constitutional edifice created by our founding fathers is being destroyed."
'Your silence is deafening'
Raising concerns about the country's political situation, the former bureaucrats said the threat to India is "unprecedented." At stake is "not just constitutional morality and conduct" but India's "unique syncretic social fabric," which is the country's "greatest civilizational inheritance" and the constitution is designed to conserve, they said. "Your silence, in the face of this enormous societal threat, is deafening."
'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas'
The ex-bureaucrats said they hoped with the "Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav," the PM will rise above "partisan considerations." They said they hoped Modi would "call for an end to the politics of hate that governments under your party's control are so assiduously practicing." They reminded Modi of his promise of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas (development for all with everyone's contribution and trust)"
'Rising cases of violence against minorities'
They said that Muslims in states governed by the BJP were more exposed to communal hatred. They wrote about rising violence against minority communities, especially Muslims, in Assam, Delhi (police under the central government's control), Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, and all states where the BJP is in power. This has "acquired a frightening new dimension," the ex-bureaucrats wrote.
What they said on the Jahangirpuri demolition drive
On the recent Jahangirpuri violence, the ex-bureaucrats said that "even the orders of the highest court of the land appear to be treated with scant respect by the executive." This was in reference to a demolition drive continuing for a few hours despite the Supreme Court ordering a stay. They said the bulldozer has "become the new metaphor" for political and administrative power.
Systematic targets of hate
"The likelihood of our becoming a country that systematically makes sections of its own citizens minorities, Dalits, the poor and the marginalized targets of hate and knowingly deprives them of their fundamental rights is now, more than ever, frighteningly real," the letter said.
