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As many as 273 concerned citizens and organisations have demanded strict action against recent instances of hate speech against Muslims during the recently held Dharma Sansad. They have demanded that the perpetrators of hate be charged under various sections of the IPC including sedition.
Disconcerted by the hate speeches and call for genocide by various right-wing leaders at the event that was held in Haridwar between December 17 and 19, 2021, citizens said such behaviour violates the Indian Constitution. The Constitutional Conduct Group decried such an open proliferation of hate in a letter that was also endorsed by eminent personalities and human rights groups such as Admiral (Retd.) L.Ramdas, Dr. Ganesh Devy, Indian Cultural Forum and Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan.
“Instead of taking immediate and exemplary action against the perpetrators, public authorities have reacted in a tepid manner and are seeking to whitewash these events,” said signatories in a joint letter.
Further, 76 Supreme Court lawyers wrote to the Chief Justice of India, asking him to take suo motu cognisance of the matter and requesting him to “issue directions for taking action against the guilty persons” under various IPC sections penalising hate crime against religious groups as well as the sedition law.
Uttarakhand police is still not taking case under proper sections even as Narsinghanand is now made accused. Since most of the speakers at the Haridwar Dharma Sansad were speaking in innuendos and in vague terms, case under 295A and 153A will not stand in court.
— Dr. N. C. Asthana, IPS (Retd) (@NcAsthana) January 2, 2022
While condemning the Haridwar event, the letter also denounced another event organised by the Hindu Yuva Vahini in Delhi on December 19. Similar to the former, this event also encouraged hate against minority communities.
“We request public authorities in Delhi and Uttarakhand to take action as per law,” they said in the letter showcasing how failing to do so will harm the idea of India as a constitutional democracy with fundamental rights and secularism as part of the basic structure of its Constitution. The letter compared the behaviour at these events with that of officers during Nazi Germany, saying, “The parallels with what happened in Nazi Germany are chilling: to remain silent or inactive in the face of such abominable speeches is to be complicit in crimes against humanity.”
Earlier, various naval staff, air marshalls, senior officers and people’s collectives also wrote an open letter on December 31, 2021 to raise concern about such calls for communal genocide.
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