Celebrities cite hate crime data to take on Modi

New Delhi: Expressing concern at the number of “religious identity-based hate crimes” in India, a group of eminent citizens has said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that ‘Jai Shri Ram’ has become a provocative war cry with many lynchings taking place in its name.

The letter also referred to findings of the “FactChecker indatabase” and the”Citizen's Religious Hate-Crime Watch” and said the number of “religious identity-based hate crimes” had gone up in the last nine years; 62 per cent of the victims belonged to the Muslim community.

“About 90 per cent of these attacks were reported after May 2014, when your government assumed power nationally,” the signatories told the prime minister.

They said they regretted that “Jai Shri Ram” has been reduced to a “provocative war cry that leads to law and order problems, and many lynchings take place in its name”. It is shocking, they said, 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,” the letter stated. Criticising the lynchings in Parliament is not enough, the civil society leaders said.

”What action has actually been taken against the perpetrators? We strongly feel that such offences should be declared non-bailable, and that exemplary punishment should be meted out swiftly and surely.” It also underscored the significance of dissent in a democracy.

“There is no democracy without dissent. People should not be branded anti-national or urban Naxal and incarcerated because of dissent against the government.”

If someone criticises the ruling party, it does not imply they are against the nation, the letter said.

The signatories also include Bengali thespian Soumitro Chatterjee, filmmaker-actor Revathy, directors Mani Ratnam and Shyam Benegal and activist Binayak Sen.