In the midst of all the cacophony and shrill pseudo-nationalist rhetoric that is destroying the fabric of a plural India, often in the name of the Armed Forces, 114 veterans of the Indian Armed Forces have spoken out. They have spoken out in no uncertain terms against targeted attacks on Muslims and Dalits and against the attempts to destroy the Constitution – upon which arose the new, independent India.
Image: PTI
An Open Letter from Veterans of the Armed Forces
To: the Prime Minister of India, Chief Ministers of the States, and Lieutenant-Governors of the Union Territories.
30 July, 2017
We are a group of Veterans of the Indian Armed Forces who have spent our careers working for the security of our country. Collectively, our group holds no affiliation with any single political party, our only common commitment being to the Constitution of India.
It saddens us to write this letter, but current events in India have compelled us to register our dismay at the divisiveness that is gripping our country. We stand with the ‘Not in My Name’ campaign that mobilised thousands of citizens across the country to protest against the current climate of fear, intimidation, hate and suspicion.
The Armed Forces stand for “Unity in Diversity”. Differences in religion, language, caste, culture or any other marker of belonging have not mattered to the cohesion of the Armed Forces, and servicemen of different backgrounds have fought shoulder to shoulder in the defence of our nation, as they continue to do today. Throughout our service, a sense of openness, justice and fair play guided our actions. We are one family. Our heritage is like the multi-coloured quilt that is India, and we cherish this vibrant diversity.
However, what is happening in our country today strikes at all that the Armed Forces, and indeed our Constitution, stand for. We are witness to unprecedented attacks on society at large by the relentless vigilantism of self-appointed protectors of Hinduism. We condemn the targeting of Muslims and Dalits. We condemn the clampdowns on free speech by attacks on media outlets, civil society groups, universities, journalists and scholars, through a campaign of branding them anti-national and unleashing violence against them while the State looks away.
We can no longer look away. We would be doing a disservice to our country if we do not stand up and speak for the liberal and secular values that our Constitution espouses. Our diversity is our greatest strength. Dissent is not treason; in fact, it is the essence of democracy.
We urge the powers that be at the Centre and in the States to take note of our concerns and urgently act to uphold our Constitution, both in letter and in spirit.
Signatories (in alphabetical order of last name)
- Lt Col EN Ambre
- Brig VKS Antony
- Maj MK Apte
- Col CT Arasu
- Lt Col Israr Asghar
- Cdr CR Babu
- Lt Cdr PS Bal
- Lt Cdr Rakeh Bali
- Maj Gen Dipankar Banerjee
- Lt Gen CA Barretto
- Brig Noel Barretto
- Col TS Bedi
- Surg Cdr P Bellubi
- Petty Off Gajanan Bhat IN
- Cdr PG Bhat
- Gp Capt AV Bhagwat
- Col V Bopiah
- Maj Gen PR Bose
- Vice Adm A Britto
- Col RT Chacko
- Lt Col M Chandrasekhar
- Cdre R Clarke
- Col KS Choudhry
- Brig TPS Chowdhury
- Brig Dileep Deore
- Col Samuel Dhar
- Lt Gen FT Dias
- Lt Col AP Durai
- Gp Capt MP Elangovan
- Maj Gen Shyamal Ghosh
- Col V Nanda Gopal
- Cdre EC Govindan
- Col V Govindarajan
- Col RP Grover
- Cdre PC Gulati
- Cdr M Hari
- Lt Col Muzaffar Hasan
- Brig Prem Hejmadi
- AVM Kapil Kak
- Col AT Kalghatgi
- Maj Gen MPS Kandal
- Col MS Kapoor
- Maj Gen TK Kaul
- Lt Col PB Keskar
- Lt Col V Kharkar
- Wg Cdr R Khosla
- Brig Anil Malhotra
- Col Arun Malhotra
- Lt Col RC Malhotra
- Brig GK Malik
- Cdre G Menezes
- Wg Cdr SN Metrani
- Maj GN Misra
- AVM RP Misra
- Col Biman Mistry
- Col RB Mistry
- Col AK Mitra
- Col Pradip Mitra
- Maj Gen H Mukherji
- Maj Gen RPRC Naidu
- Col Pavan Nair
- Lt Col VK Nair
- Col RLV Nath
- Cdr M Nirmal
- Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi
- Rear Adm Alan O’Leary
- Air Cdre Tanpat Pannu
- Lt Col Niraj Pant
- Col RC Patial
- Cdr Hector Poppen
- Capt Subbarao Prabhala IN
- Brig Ranjit Prasad
- Brig VHM Prasad
- Wg Cdr KV Raghuram
- Brig RS Rajan
- Col SS Rajan
- Cdr SM Rajeshwar
- Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar
- Col TN Raman
- Admiral L Ramdas
- Vice Adm IC Rao
- Col TK Ravindranath
- Air Marshal DS Sabhikhi
- Lt Col Nagaraj Sastry
- Lt Gen KM Seth
- Col PD Shah
- Brig Baqir Shameem
- Lt Gen YN Sharma
- Lt Col HD Shirmane
- Vice Adm MR Schunker
- Cdr MA Somana
- Brig Amardeep Singh
- Gp Capt DR Singh
- Brig Joginder Singh
- Brig Mastinder Singh
- Cdr Rajiv Singh
- Col Salam K Singh
- Col S Srikantha
- Brig M Sudandiram
- Flt Lt R Suresh
- Sgt MN Subramani
- Lt Cdr P Subramanyam
- Maj Gen L Tahliani
- Cdr SP Taneja
- Cdr TP Tharian
- Lt Col JK Thomas
- Cdr M Thomas
- Cdr N Tripathy
- Air Marshal NV Tyagi
- Capt AK Varma
- Wg Cdr BJ Vaz
- Maj Rajah Velu
- Lt Col R Venugopal
- Maj Gen SG Vombatkere