¡®Jai Shree Ram¡¯ Now A War Cry: 49 Eminent Personalities Write To PM Narendra Modi Over Lynching

Eminent film personalities and celebrities have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over growing hate crimes, lynching and growing religious intolerance in the country.

Directors and actors such as Adoor Gopalkrishnan, Mani Ratnam, Anurag Kashyap and Aparna Sen, Konkona Sen Sharma, Soumita Chatterjee have written a letter to PM Modi voicing concerns over growing cases of mob lynching.

Forty-nine celebrities have signed the letter and mentioned that they regretted that ¡°Jai Shree Ram¡± has become a war cry in the country presently.

The letter also states, "Ram is sacred for the majority community, stop defiling the name of Ram."

They said: "The lynching of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately. We were shocked to learn from the NCRB that there have been no less than 840 instances of atrocities against Dalits in the year 2016, and a definite decline in the percentage of convictions."

Below is the copy of the letter:

The letter dated July 23 reads, ¡°You have criticised such lynchings in Parliament Mr. Prime Minister, but that is not enough! What action has actually been taken against the perpetrators?

"Regrettably "Jai Shri Ram" has become a provocative "war cry" today that leads to law and order problems, and many lynchings take place in its name."

Historian Ramchandra Guha, Soumitro Chatterjee, Revathy, Shyam Benegal, Shubha Mudgal and sociologist Ashis Nandy are among those who have signed the letter.

The letter also highlighted the intolerance for dissent in the country. It said, ¡°people should not be branded anti-national or urban Naxal and incarcerated because of dissent against the government."

BCCL

¡°Our Constitution describes India as a secular socialist democratic republic where citizens of all religions, ethnicity, gender and castes are equal,¡± reads the letter.

The letter comes at a time when cow-related mob lynching and thrashing and deaths in the name of gods and religion have become an everyday affair.

People from the minority communities have been targeted time and again for their religion and have been made to chant religious slogans, failing to do so often results in death.