Well over a hundred prominent Indians from diverse backgrounds have today issued a statement condemning the Paris beheadings and deploring the outrageous statements by Muslim religious and political leaders. Among other things the statement read: “No God, gods, goddesses, prophets or saints may be invoked to justify the killing and/or terrorising of fellow human beings”.
The entire text of the statement may be read here:
We the undersigned unequivocally and unconditionally condemn the recent killings in France by two fanatics in the name of faith.
We are deeply disturbed by the convoluted logic of some self-appointed guardians of Indian Muslims in rationalising cold-blooded murder and deplore the outrageous remarks of some heads of state.
It has become the order of the day for all religious groups to indulge in whataboutery whenever such heinous crimes are committed by those belonging to their flock. Rationalising crimes by comparing them to similar crimes committed by others is an irrational and absurd argument as two wrongs don’t make a right.
We reject any ifs and buts in the justification of heinous crimes in the name of religion, any religion.
No God, gods, goddesses, prophets or saints may be invoked to justify the killing and/or terrorising of fellow human beings.
We stand in solidarity with the ‘French Council for the Muslim Faith’ for strongly condemning the attacks and issuing an appeal calling on all Muslims in France to “cancel all celebrations of the birthday of the Prophet as a sign of mourning and solidarity with the victims and their loved ones”.
Signatories:
1. Abdul Aziz Lokhandwala, Industrialist, Mumbai
2. Abhilasha Kumari, Researcher
3. Ahmad Rashid Sherwani, Hyderabad
4. AJ Jawad, Advocate, mediator, Chennai
5. Akbar Shaikh, Social activist, Sholapur
6. Amar Jesani, Medico Friends Circle, Mumbai
7. Amir Rizvi, Designer, Mumbai
8. Amita Joseph, Activist
9. Amitabh Mishra, Social Development Sector, Lucknow
10. Anand Patwardhan, Documentary film maker, Mumbai
11. Anil Dharker, Editor, columnist, writer, Mumbai
12. Anil Hebbar, Social Entrepreneur, Mumbai
13. Anil K Singh, Sansad, Delhi
14. Anil Trigunayat, Ambassador (rtd)
15. Anjum Rajabali, Screenwriter, Social Activist, Mumbai
16. Anurag Chaturvedi, journalist, Delhi
17. Anvar Rajan, Social activist, Pune
18. Anwar Hussain, Corporate executive, Mumbai
19. Arshad Alam, Columnist, educationist, Delhi
20. Askari Zaidi, Corporate Communications, Delhi
21. Bilal Khan, Social Activist, Mumbai
22. Bharti Sharma, Friends of Democracy, Mumbai
23. Cedric Prakash, Priest, Ahmedabad
24. Prof Chaman Lal, Rtd Prof JNU, Delhi
25. Charul Joshi, Political activist, Mumbai
26. Chayanika Shah, Queer Feminist Researcher, Mumbai
27. Chhaya Datar, retd professor, feminist activist, Mumbai
28. Danish Javed, Lyricist, writer, producer, Mumbai
29. Dilip D’Souza, Writer, Mumbai
30. Dilip Simeon, Historian, Delhi
31. Dolphy D’Souza, Police Reforms Watch, Mumbai
32. Fahad Ahmad, PhD Scholar, TISS, Mumbai
33. Feroz Abbas Khan, Writer-director, Mumbai
34. Feroze Mithiborwala, President, Bharat Bachao Andolan, Mumbai
35. Gauhar Raza, Anhad, Delhi
36. Gautam Mody, Trade unionist and activist
37. Ghulam Mohiuddin, Physician, PIO, New York
38. Guddi, S.L., Yusuf Meherali Centre, Mumbai
39. Hasan Ibrahim Pasha, Writer, Allahabad
40. Hasan Kamaal, Editor, columnist, poet, Mumbai
41. Hasina Khan, Bebaak Collective, Mumbai
42. Henri Tiphagne, Advocate and human rights defender, Chennai
43. Hussain Haidri, Lyricist, Mumbai
44. Hussain Indorewala, Academic, Mumbai
45. Jamsheed Rizwani, Sete, France
46. Jatin Desai, Journalist, social activist, Mumbai
47. Javed Akhtar, Poet, films, former MP, Mumbai
48. Javed Anand, Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD), Mumbai
49. John Dayal, Writer, activist, Delhi
50. Joycia Thorat, Ecumenical Activist
51. J.S. Bandukwala, Social Activist, Vadodara
52. Julio F Ribeiro, IPS (retired), Mumbai
53. Jyoti Punwani, Journalist, Mumbai
54. Kabir Khan, Director, Mumbai
55. Dr Kamal Chenoy, Rtd Prof JNU, Delhi
56. Kamayani Bali Mahabal
57. Dr K L Sharma, University of Rajasthan
58. Kasim Sait, Businessman, Chennai
59. Kavita Srivastava, Civil liberties & human rights activist, Jaipur
60. Kirtika Singh, Advocate, Allahabad High Court
61. Kishore Jagtap, Dalit activist, Mumbai
62. Krishnakant Chauhan, Environmentalist and Activist
63. Krishnaswamy Kumar, Rtd Prof, Coimbatore
64. Lalita Ramdas, Social activist, Raigad
65. Lara Jesani, Advocate, Bombay High Court, Mumbai
66. Admiral L. Ramdas, retd Chief of Indian Navy, Raigad
67. Mallika Sarabhai, Theatre personality, Ahmedadad
68. Masooma Ranalvi, Co-Founder, India Lead|WeSpeakOut, Delhi
69. Medha Patkar, National Alliance of People’s Movements
70. Mihir Desai, Senior advocate, Bombay High Court
71. Mohammed Arif, Social activist, Varanasi
72. Mohammed Imran, Delhi/New York
73. Dr Mridula Mukherjee, Rtd Prof JNU, Delhi
74. Mukta Srivastav, Social Activist, Thane
75. Muniza Khan, Social activist, Varanasi
76. Mushfiq Khan, Film maker, Mumbai
77. Nandan Maluste, Finance, Mumbai
78. Nandita Bhawnani, Writer, Mumbai
79. Nandita Shah, Feminist activist, Mumbai
80. Naseeruddin Shah, Actor, Mumbai
81. Nasreen Fazalbhoy, Professor (retired), Mumbai
82. Niraja Jayal, JNU, Delhi
83. Nityanand Jayaraman, writer and social activist
84. Noorhehan Safia Niyaz, Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, Mumbai
85. Pramod Mujumdar, Social Activist, Mumbai
86. Prashant Bhushan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court, Delhi
87. Qaisar Sultana, Home-maker, Allahabad
88. Dr Ram Puniyani, Author, social activist, Mumbai
89. Dr Ramesh Dixit, Rtd Prof Lucknow University, Lucknow
90. Rohit Prajapati, Environmentalist and human rights defender, Vadodara
91. Rukmini Sen, Journalist, Mumbai
92. Sabah Khan, Activist, Mumbai
93. Sachidanand Sinha, JNU, Delhi
94. Salim Sabuwala, Social activist, Mumbai
95. Sandeep Pandey, Academic, social activist, Lucknow
96. Sandhya Gokhale, Feminist activist, Mumbai
97. Prof. Sanjay MG, National Convenor, National Alliance of People’s Movements, Thane
98. Dr Satya Mohanty, former Secretary, Govt of India
99. Shabana Azmi, Actor, former MP, Mumbai
100. Prof. Shafaat Khan, Marathi Playwright
101. Shameela Zaidi, HR Manager, Mumbai
102. Shikha Sen, Documentary editor
103. Dr Saif Mahmood, Advocate, Supreme Court, Delhi
104. Sajal Mittra, Rtd IAS
105. Selvyn Jussy, University of Calcutta, Kolkata
106. Shama Zaidi, Writer, documentary film maker, Mumbai
107. Shabnam Hashmi, Anhad, Delhi
108. Dr Shahnawaz, Physician, Sultanpur
109. Sitaram Prasad Singh, Theatre artist
110. S N Sahu, former OSD to President of India
111. Simantini Dhuru, Educationist, Mumbai
112. Sohail Hashmi, Writer, film maker, Delhi
113. Subhash Gatade, New Socialist Initiative, Delhi
114. Sucheta Mahajan, Professor JNU, Delhi
115. Sujata Gotaskar, Feminist activist and researcher, Mumbai
116. Sukla Sen, Peace Activist, Mumbai
117. Sumedh Jadhav, President, Republican Panther, Mumbai
118. Suresh Sawant, President, Samvidhan Sanvardhan Samiti
119. Sultan Shahin, Editor, New Age Islam, Delhi
120. Dr Sunilam, Leader farmers & workers movement, Indore
121. Dr. Suresh Khairnar, Social Activist, Nagpur
122. Swara Bhaskar, Actor, Mumbai
123. Swatija M. Paranjape, Feminist activist, Mumbai
124. Prof. Tahir Mahmood, Legal luminary, Delhi
125. Dr Tarannum Siddiqui, Jamia Millia Islamia, Dehi
126. Teesta Setalvad, Citizens for Justice and Peace, Mumbai
127. T.K. Arun, Consulting editor, The Economic Times
128. Tushar Gandhi, Writer, activist, Mumbai
129. Ujjwala Mhatre, Mumbai
130. Prof Vasanthi Raman, Delhi
131. Veena Gowda, Advocate, Mumbai
132. Vibhuti Narain Rai, IPS (retired), Noida
133. Vimla Chand, Consumer advocate
134. Vijay Krishna Acharya, Director, Mumbai
135. Vishwas Utagi, Economist & Trade Union Leader, Mumbai
136. Yoginder Yadav, Political Activist, academic, Delhi
137. Dr. Zaheer Ahmed Sayeed, neuro-surgeon, Chennai
138. Zaman Ali, Advocate
139. Zaman Habib TV Writer-producer, Mumbai
140. Zeenat Lakhani, Screenwriter, Mumbai
141. Zeeshan Ayub, Actor, Mumbai