New Delhi: A group of former ambassadors, chief secretaries and other high-ranking government officials have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing concern over the deteriorating communal relations in the country.
The strained relations between Hindus, Muslims and Christians has caused “extreme anxiety and insecurity” for the minority communities, the letter said, with the latest to blow to communal harmony coming in the form of surveys of historic mosques and dargahs.
The former officials said that while the country went through a period of communal unrest during and after Partition, the incidents of the last 10 years are markedly different because “they show the clearly partisan role of many state governments and their administrative machinery.”
Listing the progression of communal rhetoric that has been popularised in India, the letter said, “What started as incidents of bullying or beating up Muslim youth on charges of carrying beef, grew into lynchings of innocent people…followed by Islamophobic hate speeches with clearly genocidal intent. In the recent past there have been calls for boycotting Muslim business establishments…and unrestrained bulldozing of Muslim homes at the behest of chief ministers themselves led by a ruthless local administration.”
Such activity is unprecedented and has shaken the core of all those who believe in secularism, they wrote.
Also read: Three Muslims Killed as Locals Opposing Survey of Mughal-Era Mosque in Sambhal Clash With Police
The letter said that the latest blow to communal harmony in India has come from “unknown fringe groups demanding archaeological surveys on medieval mosques and dargahs” to prove that they were built over Hindu temples.
The letter also questioned the courts’ handling of such cases despite the clear provisions in the Places of Worship Act.
It appears unimaginable, for example, that a local court should order a survey on the 12th century dargah of the Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti [Ajmer Sharif Dargah]. An ideological assault on this uniquely syncretic site is an assault on our civilisational heritage and perverts the very idea of an inclusive India that you yourself seek to reinvigorate,” the former officials wrote.
They also urged the prime minister to hold an interfaith meeting and reassure the country that the government will ensure communal amity, harmony and integration.
The letter in full is produced below.
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Letter to Hon’ble Prime Minister
29th November, 2024
Dear Prime Minister,
We are a group of independent citizens who over the past few years have made efforts to improve the deteriorating communal relations in the country. It is abundantly clear that over the last decade relations between communities, particularly Hindus and Muslims, and to an extent Christians are extremely strained leaving these latter two communities in extreme anxiety and insecurity.
Under current circumstances we are left with no alternative but to address you directly, although we have no doubt you are well briefed on the prevailing conditions.
It is not that inter communal relations have always been good. The gory memories of partition, the circumstances leading to it and the tragic riots in its aftermath remain embedded in our minds. We are also aware that even after partition our country has periodically been rocked by gruesome communal riots and the situation now is no better or no worse than what it was earlier.
However, the incidents of the last ten years are markedly different in as much as they show the clearly partisan role of many of the state governments concerned and their administrative machinery. This, we believe, is unprecedented. What started as incidents of bullying or beating up Muslim youth on charges of carrying beef, grew into lynchings of innocent people within their homes, followed by Islamophobic hate speeches with clearly genocidal intent. In the recent past there have been calls for boycotting Muslim business establishments and eateries, non-renting of premises to Muslims, and unrestrained bulldozing of Muslim homes at the behest of Chief Ministers themselves led by a ruthless local administration. As reported in the press, about 154,000 establishments have been hit and lacs rendered homeless or bereft of their place of business. Most of these belong to Muslims.
Such activity is truly unprecedented and has shaken the confidence not just of these minorities but indeed of all secular Indians here and abroad.
As if these incidents were not enough, the latest provocation is of unknown fringe groups, claiming to represent Hindu interests demanding archaeological surveys on medieval mosques and dargahs to prove the existence of ancient Hindu temples on the sites where these have been built. Despite the clear provisions of the Places of Worship Act, the courts too seem to respond to such demands with undue alacrity and haste.
It appears unimaginable, for example, that a local court should order a survey on the 12th century dargah of the Sufi Saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti – one of the most sacred Sufi sites in Asia not just for Muslims but for all Indians who are proud of our syncretic and pluralist traditions The very thought that a mendicant Saint, a fakir who was an integral part of the Sufi/ Bhakti movement unique to the Indian sub-continent, and a paragon of compassion, tolerance and harmony could have destroyed any temple to assert his authority, is ridiculous. In fact, successive Prime Ministers, including yourself, have sent ‘chadars’ on the occasion of the annual Urs of the Saint as a homage to his message of peace and harmony. An ideological assault on this uniquely syncretic site is an assault on our civilizational heritage and perverts the very idea of an inclusive India that you yourself seek to reinvigorate.
Sir, society cannot progress nor your dream of a developed Bharat come to fruition in the face of such disturbances.
We as concerned citizens who have devoted their lives working for the Government of India in various capacities here and abroad, believe that you are the only person who can bring a halt to all illegal, pernicious activities. We, therefore, urge you to ensure that the Chief Ministers and the administrations under them adhere to the letter of law and the Constitution of India, and any dereliction in their duties will cause untold misery.
There is immediate need for an interfaith meeting under your Chairmanship where you as the Prime Minister of an inclusive Bharat should give out a message that India remains a land for all, where faiths have existed together and in harmony for centuries and that no sectarian forces will be permitted to disturb this uniquely pluralistic and diverse legacy. Sir, time is of the essence and we urge you to reassure all Indians, especially the minority communities that your Government will be firm in its resolve to maintain communal amity, harmony and integration.
We also request if a small delegation from amongst us is given time to call upon you.
Thank you,
Yours sincerely,
1: N. C. Saxena: IAS (Retd.): former Secretary, Planning Commission of India
2: Najeeb Jung: IAS (Retd.): former Lt. Governor, Delhi
3: Shiv Mukherjee, IFS (Retd.): Former High Commissioner of India to UK
4: Amitabha Pande: IAS (Retd.): former Secretary, Inter-State Council, GOI
5: S.Y. Quraishi: IAS (Retd.): former Chief Election Commissioner of India
6: Navrekha Sharma: IFS (Retd.): former Ambassador of India to Indonesia
7: Madhu Bhaduri: IFS (Retd.): former Ambassador to Portugal
8: Lt. General Zameeruddin Shah (Retd.): former Vice Chief of the Army Staff
9: Ravi Vira Gupta: IAS (Retd.): Former Dy. Governor, Reserve Bank of India
10: Raju Sharma: IAS (Retd.): former Member, Board of Revenue, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh
11: Saeed Shervani: Entrepreneur/Philanthropist
12: Avay Shukla: IAS (Retd.): former Addl. Chief Secy, Govt. of Himachal Pradesh
13: Shahid Siddiqui : former editor, Nai Duniya
14: Subodh Lal: IPoS (Resigned): former Dy. Director General, Ministry of Communications, GOI
15: Suresh K. Goel: IFS (Retd.): former DG, ICCR
16: Aditi Mehta: IAS (Retd.): former Addl. Chief Secretary, Govt. of Rajasthan
17: Ashok Sharma: IFS (Retd.): former Ambassador to Finland & Estonia
