Outrage over Haridwar: "Five former chiefs of staff of the armed forces and over a hundred other people including veterans, bureaucrats, and prominent citizens" write to the President and Prime Minister

[Sukla Sen]

<<Five former chiefs of staff of the armed forces and over a hundred other people including veterans, bureaucrats, and prominent citizens have written to President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding "open call of the genocide of Indian Muslims" at various events, most recently in Uttarakhand's Haridwar and Delhi. The letter also mentions targeting of other minorities like Christians, Dalits, and Sikhs.

...

Any breach of peace and harmony within the nation will embolden inimical external forces. The unity and cohesiveness of our men and women in uniform, including the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Police Forces, will be seriously affected by allowing such blatant calls for violence against one or the other community in our diverse and plural society," it said.

Making a direct reference to the "Dharma Sansad" in Haridwar where direct calls for violence against Muslims were made, it said, "We are seriously perturbed by the content of speeches made during a 3-day religious conclave called a Dharma Sansad, of Hindu Sadhus and other leaders, held at Haridwar between 17-19 December 2021. There were repeated calls for establishing a Hindu Rashtra and, if required, picking up weapons and killing of India's Muslims in the name of protecting Hinduism," the letter said.

...

"We cannot allow such incitement to violence together with public expressions of hate - which not only constitute serious breaches of internal security but which could also tear apart the social fabric of our nation. One speaker made a call to the army and police to pick up weapons and participate in the cleanliness drive (safai abhiyan). This amounts to asking the army to participate in the genocide of our own citizens, and is condemnable and unacceptable," it added.>>

(Excerpted from: <https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/5-ex-armed-forces-chiefs-write-to-president-pm-on-haridwar-hate-speech-2682015>.)