New Delhi: On India’s Republic Day, January 26, a group of scientists, academics, lawyers and other civil society members from Karnataka have written an open letter to chief minister Basavaraj Bommai as well as the state’s legislators expressing concerns about the state’s “deteriorating governance and the frequent violence against religious minorities”.

Karnataka has, in the recent past, seen a considerable uptick in instances of violence against minorities, in particular, against Christians and Muslims. 

A Hindutva group had barged into a convent school and disrupted Christmas celebrations on December 23; more recently, after the Bajrang Dal held protests outside a police station in the state’s Gadag district, a Muslim man was fatally stabbed in the chest. These are only a few of the many such incidents reported from Karnataka, with increasing frequency.

A report jointly filed by several civil society rights organisations in November last year had found that, in the eight months preceding the publishing of that report, at least 71 instances of communal violence were reported in the state.

It is in this context that prominent civil society members such as historian and author Ramachandra Guha, advocate Flavia Agnes, professor Janaki Nair and 37 other academics, scientists, artists and beyond (the full list of signatories will be appended at the end of the article) have written the open letter.

The letter says that, over the past few months, Karnataka has witnessed, “..the brutal killings of youths, rampant ‘hate speeches’, public threats and disruptions of worship by religious minorities, ‘honour killings’, ‘moral policing’, misogynistic statements by legislators and incidents of hostile and violent encounters between various religious groups”.

Moreover, the letter notes that these disturbing trends have been facilitated by “callous and unconstitutional statements made by legislators” as well as the state machinery’s failure to “reign in fringe anti-social groups”.

Also read: Karnataka Home Minister Says 'Both Sides to Blame' for Increased Attacks on Christians

The letter then goes on to stress that Karnataka’s cultural history “celebrates the plurality of cultures and religious tolerance” which the recent trends go against. The signatories also mention Karnataka’s political history, saying that the once-progressive state had “facilitated social harmony of a plural society and initiated model welfare programs for all sections of the population.”

“We note with both sadness and alarm that these traditions of tolerance and shared well-being are being torn asunder,” the letter reads, before mentioning two contentious legislations recently passed by the assembly, namely the ‘Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2020’ (referred to in the letter as the “cow protection” bill) and the ‘Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021’ (the anti-conversion Act).

“The state is losing its identity on multiple fronts,” the letter says, describing these legislations as being against the, “economic and cultural rights of religious minorities” and noting that Karnataka is “losing its federal strength” on the fiscal, administrative and political fronts.

The letter further touches upon the economic implications of the Bommai government’s conduct, saying: “...if the above issues are not addressed, even Karnataka's reputation as a business destination is bound to be impacted negatively as all types of economic activity depend upon an atmosphere of social peace and harmony.”

Also read: Despite Mounting Criticism, Karnataka Assembly Passes Anti-Conversion Bill

“As elected representatives, it is the responsibility of the chief minister and all legislators to deliberate on all legislations, programs and policies in a democratic and open manner. Implementing received ideas and suggestions that seek to assert only narrow, sectarian agendas will only be antithetical to the interests of the state and its people,” the letter reads.

The signatories called upon the Karnataka government to take action to curb these negative trends and to “ensure that the rule of law, the principles of the Constitution, the rights of all citizens and the basic norms of humaneness prevail.”

“On this special day, as we celebrate our national status as a ‘Republic’ and as a state within this federal republic, we write this with hope that you will initiate a period of social harmony, just legislations and democratic functioning of the state machinery,” the letter concludes. 

Signatories:

1. Professor Vinod Gaur (former Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Geo-Physicist)
2. Flavia Agnes (Lawyer and Author), Mumbai
3. Professor Janaki Nair (Historian)
4. Professor Vidyanand Nanjundiah (Scientist) 
5. Professor Sharadchandra Lele (Ecologist)
6. Ramachandra Guha (Historian and Commentator)
7. Professor Rameswari Varma (Economist and Theatre personality, Mysuru)
8. K.P. Suresha (Poet, Essayist and Translator)
9. Professor Mahesh Shah (Scientist)
10. Purushottama Bilimale (Writer, Literary Critic, New Delhi)
11. Professor Prajval Shastri (Astro-physicist)
12. Professor Satish Deshpande (Sociologist, New Delhi)
13. Almitra Patel (Environmentalist)
14. Yellappa Reddy (Forester and Environmentalist)
15. Aroon Raman (Writer and Industrialist)
16. Rammanohar Reddy (Editor, The India Forum)
17. Professor Renee Borges (Ecologist)
18. Balan Nambiar (Artist)
19. Ammu Joseph (Journalist, Writer)
20. Dileep Kamat (Community Organiser)
21. Professor Tejaswini Niranjana (Writer and academic)
22. S.G. Vasudev (Artist)
23. Professor Govind Rao (Economist)
24. Harish Narasappa (Advocate)
25. Major General S.G. Vombatkere (VSM, Retired)
26. Nagesh Hegde (Environmentalist, Journalist)
27. Professor Subramony Mahadevan (Scientist)
28. Professor Mary E. John (Independent Scholar)
29. Vivek Shanbhag (Writer)
30. Professor Sharath Ananthamurthy (Physicist)
31. Professor V.K. Natraj (Economist, Educationist)
32. Bezwada Wilson (Human Rights’ Specialist)
33. Pushpamala N. (Artist)
34. Professor Mohan Rao (Independent Researcher, Community medicine)
35. Professor Satyajit Mayor (Scientist)
36. Professor Madan Rao (Physicist)
37. Asad Hajeehoy (Stained Glass Artist)
38. Professor Sriram Ramaswamy (Scientist)
39. Professor Shrikant Shastry (Scientist)
40. Professor A.R.Vasavi (Social Anthropologist)

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.