Our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s silence on the issues related to hate speech, communal violence and religious disharmony is disappointing. A group of students and faculty members of Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore and Ahmedabad took an initiative to express the hate-filled voices.
On Friday, 7th January , A letter flagging hate speech and attacks on minorities was mailed to the prime minister’s office with over 180 signatures including 13 faculty members of IIM Bangalore and IIM Ahmedabad.
‘THREATENS UNITY OF COUNTRY’
In the letter it was mentioned that – “Your Silence on the rising intolerance in our country, honourable prime minister, is disheartening to all of us who value the multicultural fabric of our country. Your silence, honourable prime minister, emboldens the hate-filled voices and threatens the unity and integrity of our country”.
As per Indian Express, Prateek Raj (Assistant professor of strategy in IIM Bangalore) said, the students and faculty members came forward with this initiative after realising that “Silence was not an option anymore”
The signatories’ objective was to underline the fact that “if voices of hate are loud, voices of reason should be louder” , he added.
‘SENSE OF FEAR IN COUNTRY NOW’
“Our Constitution gives us the right to practice our religion with dignity Without fear, Without shame. There is sense of fear in our country now- places of worship, including churches in recent days, are being vandalised, and there have been calls to take arms against our Muslim brothers and sisters. All of this is carried out with impunity and without any fear of due process”, the letter stated.
The signatories urged Modi to steer India away from the “forces that seek to divide us”.
They want to build our country in such a way that it can stand as an example of inclusiveness and diversity in the world. So it is hoped that Modi will lead the country in making the right choices.
