Former academicians Tuesday said incidents like Kathua and use of pellets guns in the Valley had debunked the ‘myth of tolerance and pluralism’ of the Indian society.
Expressing dismay and concern at the decline in secular, democratic and liberal values in the current political scenario in contravention of the preamble of Indian constitution, the retired academicians said the recent rape cases that had come to light in Unnao, Kathua, and Surat were nothing short of butcheries.
They said the entire world was shocked by the act performed by a group of lunatics in Rasana village of Kuthua.
“Asifa Bano was an eight-year-old girl child who was kidnapped, illegally confined, sedated, gang-raped and murdered by a group of conspirators who wanted to frighten the Bakerwal community,” they said.
They said it was the biggest shame that Kathua Bar Association obstructed Crime Branch officials from presenting a charge sheet against the culprits.
The retired academicians appreciated lawyer Deepika Singh Rajawat who is seeking justice for victims and facing threats from the powerful group within a particular community, particularly the Hindu Ekta Munch, Jammu.
“Even some BJP legislators and ministers like Chaudhary Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga supported these criminals through their political rallies and they are still a part of coalition government in the State,” they said.
The retired academicians expressed concern over the indiscriminate use of pellet guns against a crowd of school going boys and girls during the past four years and expressed grief over the killing of civilians by troops, paramilitary forces and police during civilian protests.
They said as responsible human beings, they could not but cherish the memory of these eminent people who sacrificed their lives for a just cause.
The academicians expressed sorrow over the lynching of innocent persons on the excuse of cow slaughter in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.
They said even cattle traders like Pehlu Khan had been killed only to frighten a particular community and wreak vengeance upon the Mughal king Babar.
“Muhammad Akhlaq’s brutal murder by his neighbors in Dadri village of New Delhi on Eid will remain etched in our minds and memories. Muhammad Afrazal’s murder in Rajasthan by a religious lunatic on the imaginary crime of ‘Love Jihad’ tells the tale of crimes against the humanity,” they said.
The members appreciated the open letter written by a conglomerate of 43 retired members of Indian Administrative Service who said they could not express support to views of such prisoners of conscience who had the courage to give vent to their agony of witnessing the current atmosphere of growing hate, chauvinism, and targeted violence, which instills fear among the minds of the minorities.
According to them, 637 academicians from all over the world including India had also castigated the Government of India for having failed miserably in safeguarding and protecting the lives of Indian womenfolk and girl children.
They expressed indignation over the tendency of today’s ruling elite to spread their message of hate, racism and baiting together with their acts of fascist intolerance as expressed in programmes like ‘Ghar Wapsi’, ‘bovine love’ and ‘vigilantism’.
“Cow vigilantism has, in fact, been a new addition to the misanthropic agenda of Sangh Parivar, of which ruling party is the predominant component. A particular community in the Arya Varta (Northern India) has particularly been at the receiving end all these four years,” they said.
The retired academicians said, “Voices of veteran liberal journalists like Gauri Lankesh, Dhabolkar, Kalburgi and Pansare were silenced during the past four years of Modi government.”
The signatories include former principals and professors of the valley colleges, Muzaffar Khan, G M Dar, M A Charoo, G M Mir, Rafi-ud-Din Bukhari, Muhammad Ismail, M R Sofi, G N Shah, Nazir Ahmad Gilkar, G N Ali, G N Bhat, M A Shah, G M Untoo, Mishal Sultanpuri, A R Wani, S A Shah, A M Lone, Babu Ghulam Rasool, Shafat Ahmad Chisti, Shafi Ahmad, A R Shalla, G M Malik, S A Shah, and Manzoor Hussain Bukhari.
Pellet gun use debunk ‘Tolerance, Pluralism myth’
